In a dazzling display of creativity and problem-solving prowess, Grade 10 students at Shiv Nadar School Gurugram, Faridabad, and Noida (a not-for-profit initiative of the Shiv Nadar Foundation in K12 education) showcased some cutting-edge technical prototypes solving real-life concerns at Colloquium 2023. The coveted first prize went to team Communica from Shiv Nadar School (Gurugram), comprising Aaditya Seth, Samaira Taneja, Vanij Gupta, Armaan Srivatsan, and Sehraj Kapoor. Their groundbreaking invention — an intelligent glove translating sign language into speech and vice versa won them a trip to CERN. CERN is a European Organization for Nuclear Research, one of the world’s largest and most respected centres for scientific research. It is the site of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s largest and highest-energy particle collider.
Team BlinkTalk, another stellar group from Shiv Nadar School (Gurugram), secured the second place. Comprising Akshayae Tehlan, Amber Punni, Ayan Sachdeva, and Kunshima Malhotra, the team developed an AI-enabled communication ecosystem for individuals with Aphasia.
The projects underwent a rigorous two-tier evaluation process, initially by a sub-jury, followed by a presentation and discussion, and later assessed further by an external jury. The external jury, including luminaries like Mr. Samik Roy, Executive Director (Corporate, Medium, Small Biz), Microsoft India; Mr. Lokvir Kapoor, Executive Chairman & Co-Founder, Pine Labs; and Mr. Gaurav Mehta, Chief Marketing Officer, Noise, assessed the viability, aesthetic appeal, and effectiveness of each project.
Col. (Retd.) Gopal Karunakaran, CEO, Shiv Nadar School, highlighted, “Colloquium is a platform for our students to identify and address real-world challenges over a duration of six months. It is a dynamic and engaged approach to learning and problem-solving, where students have the agency to identify problems, form teams, and apply learnings from their Technology Curriculum in a real-world context. They leverage the knowledge acquired from our integrated technology curriculum and from within the classrooms. The experiential learning approach encourages learners to reflect on their hands-on experiences and develop the ability to come up with viable projects and implement them in a real-world setting.”
Dr. Shashi Banerjee, Director of Education, Shiv Nadar School, emphasized, “At Shiv Nadar School, our DNA is woven with curiosity, progressiveness, and humility, with a mission to inspire joy for learning, fostering creativity and a sense of purpose. Our curriculum includes giving students exposure to Design Thinking, empowering them to attempt more complex issues while approaching these from a perspective of empathy. Empathy and inclusion need to be at the core of the privilege of education. Colloquium is this belief in action. Our students not only grasp advanced technical concepts but also innovate by applying them to address real-world challenges while keeping the human element at its core. From a groundbreaking sign language translator to an AI chatbot for mental health, our students, time and again, have showcased how to unlock new opportunities to make meaningful contributions to society. This further strengthens our belief in preparing students to navigate a dynamic world with resilience and purpose.”
Some of the other innovations which received a special mention from the jury including:
Limbsure – A cost-effective neural prosthetic arm for enhanced independence and mobility
- Aéras– A comfortable yet effective and durable Bi-PAP mask for Sleep Apnea Patients
- AgroVenture– An IoT device to empower farmers with real-time soil analysis for enhanced crop decisions
- Replastify– Upcycling PET bottles to 3D-printing-filaments for printing personalised products
- LimbTech – An affordable AI-powered transtibial prosthetic solution for individuals with paraplegia
