Strengthen S&T programs in school to prepare future generations

As an alumna of the Tanza Child Development Centre (TCDC), I was thrilled to read the article “Teach students to invent and innovate through S&T programs” (Letters, 6/9/23).

Growing up as a kid, I wasn’t really exposed to technology as it was not such a big thing in my family. What’s more, I preferred reading books and literature to sitting through class discussions on famous scientists and their significance, or anything pertaining to technology.

As time went on, I started to feel that there was this techno-cultural gap between my more techie peers and me as I could not relate to them whenever they talked about the latest gadgets and devices. But thanks to TCDC, I was exposed to technology through its robotics program, which required all of us students, from preschool to senior high school, to create robots.

Robotics was an eye-opener for me as it piqued my interest in science and technology. Through this program and the annual Robofest, the school prepared us students for the future. Young as we were, the very hands-on do-it-yourself (but with guidance) robot-making activities we dabbled in made us feel that we could someday contribute to the improvement of our country technologically. As a result, my lukewarm relationship with science and technology (S&T) drastically changed, so much so that I am now taking up the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) strand in senior high school at the Technological Institute of the Philippines (TIP) Manila, from where I am set to graduate this month.

I am happy to share that in October last year, my two teammates and I, representing TIP Manila, won first runner-up at a national competition, the Metafocus 2022 Inter-Senior High School Competition for STEM Students organized by the Institute of Electronics Engineers of the Philippines, Inc. (IECEP). With the theme, “ECEs at the Forefront of Nation Building,” the competition aimed to showcase the participants’ “innovative thinking and communication skills and ability to apply emerging technology solutions to current issues of the society based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 10 specializations of IECEP Inc.”

With the sixth SDG—access to clean water and sanitation—in mind, my teammates and I created the “BuzzBuzz,” a device that can help clean polluted water by absorbing pollutants like micro-bacteria. As we explained to the panel, the BuzzBuzz could be used in polluted rivers and other bodies of water, especially in areas inhabited by the underprivileged who have little to no access to safe and clean water.

TCDC provided me with a solid foundation in technology and electronics, that’s why I can now easily understand what to do when it comes to innovating a device. The school taught me all about programming and circuitry which greatly contributed to our success at the Metafocus competition.

It will make a big difference if schools beef up the technological background of the next generation. We should let them experience the society we live in at an early age to prepare them for our constantly evolving world, and so that maybe, should they choose to do so, they can contribute to the development of our country in the realm of technology, just as I plan to do once I graduate from college some years from now.

As a young woman immersed in S&T in these modern times, I see the importance of having a strong S&T program in our schools as the world becomes more and more digitally inclined and dependent. This is something that we should prepare the younger generation for.

Nichole Emmanuelle BarcelonaGrade 12 STEM student

Technological Institute of the Philippines Manila