Panhellenic Competition STEM 2023-2024

STEM Education President’s Introduction

It has been ten years since hundreds of students from all over the country responded to our call and took part in the 1st Panhellenic STEM competition on the theme “My Town.”

This year the theme of the competition is “Mediterranean Sea: Source of Life and Culture,” a tribute to the culture and study of the sea that surrounds us with the aim of the student community becoming the guardian of the purity of the Mediterranean.

Over the course of ten years until today, the competition has grown in size, with the result that first the contestants take part in the headquarters of each geographical region of our country, and then those who qualify take part in the Panhellenic competition.

The most important elements of the competition are:

The path to the competition. Teams have six months to prepare and present their projects based on the competition theme
How students form teams, the role of the mentor coach, the role of parents and managing their time
The training of the teams and especially the coaches is completely free.
The analysis of the topic of the competition, the exchange of opinions, the management of the sources to deepen the topic, the decision of the group and finally the implementation of the idea of the group with the assumption of roles and tasks by each member of the group
The exchange of knowledge from teachers to teachers is completely free of charge in a perpetual cycle from competition to competition.

It is a unique way for young students to understand science, programming, and automation, learn to think like engineers, develop their ability to solve problems, and expand their creativity, making them social and active citizens. Ultimately, the participants and especially the students will gain confidence through knowledge.

The competition lays the groundwork by focusing on a single theme that allows students of all ages to understand important chapters of physics, mathematics, and engineering, such as:
● The introduction of simple machines
● The introduction of measurements in Primary.

After ten years of active participation in the educational community, this endeavour has culminated in the greatest student event, which effectively complements the comprehensive curriculum. incorporates STEM methodologies into the educational processuses and promotes information throughout our country

With the active support of our strategic partner COSMOTE, we have equipped dozens of primary schools and trained hundreds of teachers for free, a unique event in our country.

The Panhellenic Competition supports STEM as a methodology for compulsory education and defines the ways in which students will acquire the skills of the 21st century. By participating in the competition, the educational community, from kindergarten to high school, is invited to respond to the convergence of Greece with technologically developed countries, a fact that is certified by the quality of the works of hundreds of students from all over the country.

Ioannis Somalakidis

At the same time, as part of the Panhellenic STEM Competition, free training seminars will be held for the coaches of the teams that will participate in the competition. The educational seminars will be held remotely.

Mediterranean: source of life and culture

The Mediterranean is a transcontinental sea and an extension of the Atlantic. It “separates” Europe from Africa and borders the following countries: Spain, France, Monaco, Italy, Malta, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco

It covers 2,510,000 square kilometres and includes over 10,000 islands, inhabited by more than 15,000,000 people. Its name was first used by the Latins in the third century, specifically by Solinos, who referred to it as “Mare Mediterraneum,” or “the sea between two continents.” As for the Greek term  “Μεσόγειος” it comes from the geographer and bishop of Athens, Meletius II.

The Mediterranean’s deep blue colour is due to plant non-growth due to nutrient deficiency. However, this deprivation does not imply a lack of biodiversity, as over 12,000 species can be found in its waters, ⅓ of which are endemic, such as the Caretta caretta turtle and the Monachus monachus.

It is not unfairly called the “incubator of Western civilization”, as due to the cultural exchanges that occurred due to trade, some of the greatest civilizations developed on its shores. Thus both the arts and the sciences, such as astronomy and mathematics, experienced great flourishing.

To this day, the Mediterranean remains an integral part of world trade, shipping, and, of course, tourism. That is why finding ways to protect it is critical.

COMPETITIVE CATEGORIES

The Panhellenic Educational Robotics Competition is open to students from all academic levels throughout Greece. Different educational goals are established for each level, resulting in distinct competition categories and standards.

HIGH SCHOOL