By Godson Umejiego, Bureau Chief, The Americas

Samsung Electronics America has announced that 300 public schools across America have been named State Finalists in the 13th annual Samsung Solve for Tomorrow national competition. Representing the cream of more than one thousand competition entrants, each State Finalist has won a package of US$2,500 in technology and school supplies. These Finalists advance to additional stages of the competition that will culminate in three schools being selected in May as National Winners, and receive US$100,000 prize packages. The full list of State Finalists can be found here.

The annual Solve for Tomorrow competition challenges public school students in grades 6-12 to explore the role science, technology, engineering, and math (the core STEM subjects) can play in addressing some of the biggest issues in their local communities. The competition is designed to engage students in active, hands-on learning that can be applied to real-world problems – making STEM more tangible and showcasing its value beyond the classroom.

“As a company and as individuals, STEM is incredibly important to Samsung – we depend on STEM-savvy people to envision, implement, and engage with innovative STEM-dependent products and services,” observed Chief Marketing, Citizenship & Communications Officer, Samsung Electronics America, Michelle Crossan-Matos. “Between 2019 and 2029, the number of STEM jobs are predicted to grow 8 per cent, a higher rate than non-STEM jobs. But while STEM skills are key to a 21st century workforce, we know that national test scores in STEM subjects like Math have fallen by the largest margin in 30+ years. Solve for Tomorrow was designed to provide schools and teachers with an innovative, problem-based learning approach to STEM education to boost student interest, proficiency, and diversity in STEM. This fresh crop of impressive State Finalists is proof that we’re succeeding.”

Senior Director, Corporate Citizenship, Samsung Electronics America, Ann Woo noted several significant trends in the programme proposals submitted this fall, “Every year’s entries provide a window into the concerns and aspirations on the minds of that cohort of middle and high school students,” Woo said. “A common theme this year is ‘connecting’ – whether that’s connecting people to people, peer to peer, across generations, or even around the globe. In fact, one school’s entry is based on its connection with a school in Ukraine – proposing a solution for providing solar power to students in a war-ravaged community. Climate change, school/student safety, and mental health are other top issues of concern for this year’s problem-solvers.”

“Giving students a voice in real-life issues affecting their communities allows them to see firsthand the change they can create in the world,” said Computer Science teacher at Baltimore’s Green Street Academy, who is a State Finalist in this year’s competition and a 2021-2022 National Finalist, Harry Preston. “We find our students are more engaged in our lessons and excited to learn new subjects when they are given the opportunity to learn through the kinds of hands-on experience Solve for Tomorrow delivers.”

From the pool of State Finalists announced today, State Winners will be announced in mid-February 2023.

Teachers and students at each State Finalist school across the country are now asked to submit lesson plans detailing how their proposed STEM project will address the identified community issue.

Based on those plans, 50 State Winners will be selected to receive a prize of US$20,000 in technology and supplies and advance to the next phase of the competition. Each State Winner will also be given a video kit to help document their project in action.

One of the 50 State Winners will also be named the Sustainability Innovation Award Winner, receiving an additional US$50,000 prize package of eco-conscious classroom technology.

From those video submissions, 10 National Finalists will be chosen to pitch their project to a team of judges. Seven National Finalists will each receive a US$50,000 prize package and three National Winners will each be awarded the ultimate prize package worth US$100,000.

Of the 10 National Finalists, one Community Choice Winner will be named through online public voting, winning an additional US$10,000 in Samsung technology, and one Employee Choice Winner will be selected by Samsung employees to also receive US$10,000 of technology in addition to their national winnings.