Southern Regional Technical College’s Innovation Day
THOMASVILLE, Ga. – Southern Regional Technical College (SRTC) is putting creativity to the forefront with their annual Innovation Day.
This unique and dynamic event fosters innovation and promotes STEM education by bringing together K-12 students to showcase their problem-solving skills.
The competition challenges students to identify a global or community issue and develop an invention that effectively addresses the problem. Through this hands-on experience, they gain valuable skills in critical thinking, engineering, and teamwork.
“Innovation Day on K-12 Inventure Prize. It is an initiative through Georgia Tech to help spark the interest of our K through 12 students in innovation as well as entrepreneurship. And, they use this program to do that. Now, K-12 Inventure started on a collegiate level and then you had some of the powers that be. That says, “you know what, we need to bring this on to our elementary, middle and high school level.” And, that birth K-12 Inventure a prize itself, which again is 11-years-old this year,” said Willie Allen, SRTC Director of Innovation.
After presenting their groundbreaking ideas, students were evaluated by a panel of judges, who awarded top honors to the most innovative solutions.
“Their creativity in the project where it meets a need, a common need, whether it’s marketable, what type of iteration, the iteration process that they went through, having different prototypes. The effectiveness of it and just wanting to know the research. Is it something that’s already out there on the market similar to this? And, if it is, how is your product different? Why should I purchase your project over there’s?” said Allen.
Georgia AIM’s mobile studio was also present at the event, providing a diverse group of rural Georgians with hands-on exposure to cutting-edge technology and AI innovation.
By bringing advanced manufacturing directly to local communities, the initiative ensures that all individuals have access to the tools and technology shaping the future workforce.
“Inventure Prize is hosted by Southern Region Technical College. It is also through a grant called Georgia aimed at Georgia Artificial Intelligence Manufacturing Technology Grant. It was a $65 million grant that was used to spark, again, innovation, entrepreneurship skills. And, more so, so looking at the workforce development, trying to build that workforce pipeline from school to businesses and K-12 is just one of those tools that we use to try to upskill or build those skills as students or try to identify and help develop those skills and students,” said Allen.
De’Andra Jacobs reporting.
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