The Minister's Innovation Challenge 2024

Topic: Career development

Year Level

Content Type

Audience

Learning Area

2024 participating schools and their projects

Teams worked with an industry mentor to identify and solve a local issue or problem. Teachers were supported to help students use design thinking to develop innovative solutions.

A summary of the problem statements and solutions developed by the school teams is listed below.

School	Problem statement	Solution
Albany Senior High School	Not provided	Not provided
Alkimos College	The cost of living is causing inequitable access to school supplies, specifically uniforms	App to access second-hand uniforms
Armadale Senior High School	Bees and snakes appearing on school grounds which is uncharacteristic, caused by loss of habitat due to urbanisation	Build bee hotels to provide shelter
Balcatta Senior High School	Students overwhelmed by excessive assignments	Student planner and digital notice board to ensure assessments are spread across term
Ballajura Community College	Limited infrastructure and increased demand for power for personal devices, combined with an insufficient number of charging ports is leading to students facing interruptions to their learning, teachers challenged in maintaining engagement and high economic and environmental costs to the school	A designed sustainable solar-powered charging station, so students can charge their devices during break times and use them to engage in learning
Belmont City College	Food insecurity in Belmont	Eco Exchange – a vending machine that swaps recyclable containers for packets of seed
Belridge Secondary College	The mental health of students and boredom at recess	Create a safer, more inviting outdoor area that facilitates more activity and socialisation
Bob Hawke College	Limited volunteering opportunities for teens	Writing letters to the elderly during school time
Bridgetown High School	Not provided	Not provided
Bunbury Senior High School	Not provided	Not provided
Butler College	Excess food waste	Reduce food waste through Harvest Hub – selling surplus food
Canning Vale College	Increased cost of living and specifically lack of access to fresh produce	Pop up gardens
Cecil Andrews College	Toilets kept locked during class time causes time-wasting	Solar-powered intercom system connected to student services
Champion Bay Senior High School	How might we minimise congestion on the school stairs for students and teachers so they can get to class safely and on time?	A simple system of arrows and signage on the stairs to instruct people how to use the stairs safely. Also an infographic in the school diary as well as direct teacher instruction during form
Christmas Island District High School	Tourists that come to Christmas Island don't have enough knowledge about the Island so they don't have a good experience as a tourist	An informative website to find out information about the island and things to do
Clarkson Community High School	The low usability and attractiveness of the school is contributing to students not wanting to engage with the school	Creating an app that helps students have a voice and leads the planning of revitalising spaces within the school
Dalyellup College	Large numbers of mosquitoes	Solar powered, Ribbit Repellent, that expels citronella and breaks the water tension to drown mosquito larvae
Darling Range Sports College	Girls dropping out of team sports	A peer mentor program for girls aged 10 - 12 run by girls, for girls
Denmark Senior High School	Limited Housing availability to attract essential workers to Denmark	Tiny home community
Duncraig Senior High School	People are still unaware of the shothole borer	An app that provides information to help identify affected trees.
East Kimberley College	Tourists cost the Kimberley $12 million due to fatalities and injuries	Create a multilingual app to provide tourists with more information
Esperance Senior High School	Since 2019, seven lives have been lost around Esperance due to people slipping off the coastal rocks. Black Moss seems harmless when it is dry, but as soon as it is wet by a wave or wet feet, it becomes deadly	A curiosity campaign that uses a scatter bomb technique across town. This includes an unmissable billboard as you enter the Town to t-shirts worn by Tourist Information Centre staff and key businesses, like fishing and camping stores
Exmouth District High School	Fish waste is causing environmental issues, such as poisoning local wildlife and creating hazardous conditions	Instead of throwing fish waste into landfill bins, the offcuts go into a waste management system that grinds it, freezes it and turns it into a fish-based fertiliser or into burley, a product used in Exmouth by the keen fishing community
Governor Stirling Senior High School	Some schools are under-resourced while others are underutilising their resources	Xchange-EDU – a listing website to facilitate exchanges
Halls Head College	How might we provide unhoused persons with a safe and secure space to keep their belongings?	The Freedom Cart, is designed to allow unhoused persons to have a 'house on wheels', providing them with security and dignity
Harrisdale Senior High School	Overgrown bushes affect visibility and cause accidents	Bush Buddy app to report bushes to Councils
Hedland Senior High School	Limited access to viewing turtles due to poor mobility or other factors	Virtual Reality Turtle Experience
Joseph Banks Secondary College	Teenagers find it difficult to get their first job due to lack of experience	REST – an informative app that connects employers and teenagers
Kalamunda Senior High School	Lack of entertainment for teenagers	Extend the Sunday Market to involve teenagers
Kelmscott Senior High School	Teenage nutrition issues caused by poor food choices and restrictive diets	Yummify, a healthy cooking app for teens
Lakeland Senior High School	EALD students need to translate language in classrooms. Translations can sometimes be out of context	Transl8pic – a translator app that is subject content-specific
Laverton School	Smashed glass is making public spaces unsafe	A reusable tote bag allows people to store their bottles until they get to a bin
Lesmurdie Senior High School	How do we prevent the spread of dieback by bicycles at Jorgensen Park, to help protect the trees in our community?	The Dieback Decimator is a device that disinfects bikes from dieback traces, by providing a way for cyclists to clean their tires before they leave the area
Lynwood Senior High School	Canning City Centre congestion	Free electric CAT-style bus
Mount Lawley Senior High School	Overbooking of assessments and too many assessments in a day	Mobile app and digital noticeboard, using AI to help with scheduling
Newton Moore Senior High School	Year 7s were struggling with finding new friends and feeling unsafe	Moore Maps, an app with several functions, including a map with direct access to the Chaplin located on devices around the school
Ocean Reef Senior High School	Invasive plants harm soil and it takes too much time and effort to remove them	A drone that identifies weeds and kills them
Perth Modern School	Accessibility for students with disabilities around the school	An app that generates an accessible route
Piara Waters Senior High School	Rubbish left in the schoolyard	Recycling and general waste bins that use facial recognition to distribute random rewards
Warnbro Community High School	Vandalism leads to an overall decline in the aesthetics in the area	Creating a designated graffiti area

2024 winners

The challenge took place over 6 weeks in Term 4 and culminated in an online exhibition where the Minister for Education announced the 5 top-ranked teams.

Below are the videos of the final pitches from the challenge winners in 2024.