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Posted: Friday 7 August, 2020 at 11:46 AM

SPISE 2020 runs virtually unimpeded by COVID-19

Team members top to bottom are: Nia Belle (Dominica), Hailey Boriel (St. Lucia) and Steven Henry (Jamaica)…
Logon to vibesbarbados.com... Barbados News 
By: (SPISE), Press Release

    Bridgetown, Barbados, 07 August 2020 - The Student Program for Innovation in Science and Engineering (SPISE) is hosted annually by the Caribbean Science Foundation (CSF) for the most gifted 16-18 year old students in the Caribbean who are focused on pursuing careers the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) disciplines. Although COVID-19 got in the way, the CSF was determined not to disappoint our STEM superstars who were looking forward to a taste of the summer SPISE.

     

    Thus, SPISE was held virtually for 5 weeks beginning on July 5, 2020, and ending on August 8, 2020. The 2020 SPISE class of 17 students was smaller than in previous years in which we typically served about 22 students.

     

    This year, this the participating students hailed from 5 countries – Antigua, Barbados, Dominica, Jamaica and St. Lucia, and the students all worked virtually from their homes. The syllabus included university-level calculus, physics, biochemistry, and entrepreneurship, as well as hands-on projects in computer programming and electronics. To carry out the electronics projects at home, each student was shipped a kit that included 4 Arduino microcontrollers, a wiring breadboard, a set of resistors, capacitors, light emitting diodes, photo-detectors, humidity, carbon dioxide and pH sensors, and micro-cameras.

     

    The goal of SPISE is to help groom the next generation of Caribbean science and engineering leaders. Creativity, innovation, teamwork and excellence are the standards at SPISE.  SPISE instructors comprised academic and industry professionals from the U.S. (including MIT), faculty from UWI, and leaders from the biotech and high tech industries. Guest speakers included Mr. Ian Hickling - CEO of Lenstec, Barbados, Mr. Mark Levin – Founding Partner of Third Rock Ventures, Dr. Dinah Sah  - Biotech Executive and Director of SPISE, Dr. Jeanese Badenock - Senior Lecturer at UWI-Cave Hill, Emeritus Professor Jay Mandle - Colgate University, Professor Robert Sah – UC San Diego, Barbadian Professor Cardinal Warde - MIT, and university admissions officers from MIT, Columbia University, Princeton, U Penn, Acadia University in Canada and UWI – Cave Hill.  

     

    On Friday 07 August 2020, the program culminated with the students of the SPISE presenting their hands-on projects in microcontroller electronics, computer programming, and entrepreneurship to an enthusiastic online audience of sponsors, colleagues, friends and family at the Final Project Presentations.  In her opening remarks at this final event, Dr. Dinah Sah, SPISE Director, stated “we are delighted to be able to hold SPSE 2020 despite the challenges of COVID-19.  The students adapted to the all-virtual format very quickly, and this contributed to the exceptional success of the program. We are tremendously grateful to our sponsors and donors who supported our decision to go forward with SPISE in spite of the complexities posed by the virus.” 

     

    After SPISE, the graduates continue to receive assistance with their university applications, and many go on to enroll at the world’s top universities to continue their STEM careers (including 14 at MIT in total). SPISE students are also eligible for STEM internship positions in the Caribbean, Canada, UK and the US, which give them the opportunity to work in business settings and experience first-hand the application of science and engineering to developing innovative services and products.

     

    The CSF is a non-profit organization promoting STEM for Caribbean youth with the long term goal of assisting with economic diversification and raising the standard of living of the people in the Caribbean. Key important partners for SPISE are the UWI - Cave Hill Campus, and the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC). More information about SPISE can be found at http://caribbeanscience.org/spise.

     


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