Sagicor Visionaries Challenge
The Caribbean Science Foundation (CSF) partnered with Sagicor and the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) to host the Sagicor Visionaries Challenge (SVC) in 2013-2016. The Challenge was a design competition with the overall goal of creating more sustainable Caribbean communities.
Challenge Goals
For the Challenge, students in Caribbean schools work in teams and use Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) to develop effective, innovative and sustainable solutions to the challenges facing their school or community. Student teams receive assistance from a teacher in their school, as well as from mentors. We have come to realize that most Caribbean secondary school students do not personally know a scientist or an engineer, or the wide variety of job opportunities available to scientists and engineers and so an important part of the challenge involves mentoring. Each team is assigned one or more professionals by the Caribbean Science Foundation. Mentoring is done in person or remotely, and may include any or all of the following activities: providing feedback on ideas, answering questions related to ideas, reviewing competition materials, and sharing expertise & experiences.
Competition entries are first evaluated and judged at the national level in each of the Challenge countries. The winning school in each country moves on to the Regional competition. Representatives of each winning national school team and their respective teacher participate in a 7-day, all-expenses-paid STEM Ambassador Program to Florida.
In October and November of 2012, sensitization workshops were held with teachers and students in several of the Challenge countries, including major publicity campaigns to encourage applications from school teams. For the first year, the challenge was open to the following twelve Caribbean countries: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad & Tobago.
National Winners 2015
The 2015 Sagicor Visionaries Challenge concluded with the Regional competition being held in July, 2016. As in the previous years, student and teacher sensitization workshops were conducted at several schools in each competing country prior to each National Competition.
Entries were received from Antigua, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Guyana, St. Lucia, Tampa (Hillsborough https://www.codaworx.com/online-pharmacy/ County) and Trinidad & Tobago. Over 100 project proposals were submitted by the schools and several teams of judges gathered from academia, industry and various STEM disciplines were engaged to assess the projects. In addition to the written proposals, the competition included an oral PowerPoint presentation and a question and answer session. The team from Queen’s College Barbados placed first overall, with Six Rivers Secondary of Trinidad & Tobago placing second and St. Anthony’s Secondary in Antigua & Barbuda placing third.
NATIONAL CHALLENGE WINNERS 2015
| Country | School | Project Name |
| Antigua & Barbuda | St. Anthony Secondary | Organic Waste Reduction in Residential Areas |
| Barbados | Queen’s College | Sweet Coconut Grey Water Filtration System |
| Belize | Belize High School | Value of A Nuisance |
| Dominica | St. Martin Secondary School | Mosquito Buster |
| Guyana | Bygeval Secondary | The Eradicator |
| St. Lucia | St. Mary’s College | A New Way to Walk |
| Trinidad & Tobago | Five Rivers Secondary School | Project Eco Clean |
National Winners 2014
The 2nd Annual Sagicor Visionaries Challenge (SVC) was held in 2014. The aims and format were very similar to those of the 2013 competition, but with some modification in some areas. As with the previous year, teacher and student sensitization workshops were conducted in the countries where the challenge was being staged.
Approximately 250 student teams from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Guyana, St. Lucia, Tampa (Hillsborough County) and Trinidad & Tobago submitted entries to the SVC at the national level during the project submission period from September – November. The National Competitions took place during the months of November and December in Antigua (6 entries), Barbados (12 entries), Belize (32 entries), Dominica (35 entries), Guyana (more than 70 entries), St. Lucia (30 entries) and Trinidad (6 entries).
Prior to the National Competition, each team was required to submit a detailed project proposal, which was evaluated by a panel (the Competition Judges). On the day of National Competition, student teams gave presentations comprising two parts: an oral 2-minute PowerPoint presentation, consisting of two slides, to the entire audience, followed by an at-the-booth exhibit and question and answer session that complemented and added further detail to the oral presentation. At each National Competition, the panel evaluated all eligible competition submissions, based on specific criteria. A combination of the scores allotted to these three aspects was used to determine the National winner.
NATIONAL CHALLENGE WINNERS 2014
| Country | School | Project Name |
| Antigua & Barbuda | Christ The King High School | Nevo Oven |
| Barbados | Queen’s College | The Green Way to Get Styrofoam Away |
| Belize | Bishop Martin High School | Chaya Mayan Power for Modern Times |
| Dominica | St. Martin Secondary School | Techno Gardeners |
| Guyana | Abram Zuil Secondary School | Paddy husk Particle Board |
| St. Lucia | St. Mary’s College | Amylo-plastikos |
| Trinidad & Tobago | Five Rivers Secondary School | Cardboard Box Pellet recycling Project |
Scenes from National competitions 2014
Awards to the winning teams included a computerized Caribbean Science & Technology Mobile Centre, and 6 CXC-approved science kits (3 biology, 2 chemistry, 1 physics), as well as a trophy and certificate.
The winner of each National Competition will participate in the Regional SVC in July 2015 in Tampa, Florida to compete for the overall Regional award. In addition, while in Tampa, the students will take part in a 7-day all expenses paid trip as part of the STEM Ambassador Program. The students will have the opportunity to visit Disney World’s EPCOT Centre, Kennedy Space Centre, the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) and the University of South Florida (USF) labs. They will focus on nanotechnology, rocketry, alternative energy, hydroponics and sustainable agriculture.To find out more about the 2014 challenge
National Winners 2013
The Sagicor Visionaries Challenge was piloted in 2013. In its first year, close to 170 submissions were received from over 100 schools in 12 countries.
National competitions were held in each individual country, at which a winning national team was determined. These winning national teams then moved on to the regional round which was held in Barbados. There, the team from Belize copped the title of Regional Champion while the teams from Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago placed second and third respectively. As a prize for winning the Nationals, a representative of each winning national school team and their respective teacher participated in a 7-day, all-expenses-paid STEM Ambassador Program to Tampa, Florida.
2013 Regional winners Bishop Martin High School, Belize
NATIONAL CHALLENGE WINNERS 2013
To view more detailed information about the winners of each National competition, please visit https://sagicorvisionaries.com/event/2013-event/
| Country | School | Project Name |
| Anguilla | Albena Lake Hodge Comprehensive School | Alternative Energy Revolutionized |
| Antigua/Barbuda | St. Joseph’s Academy | Mulching Remote Control Lawnmower |
| Barbados | St. Winifred’s Secondary | Healthier Lungs With the Help of the CARbon-Ionizer |
| Belize | Bishop Martin High School | Coconuts 4 Life |
| Dominica | St. Martin Secondary School | Little Water, Big Flush |
| Grenada | T.A. Marryshow Community College | Water Striders: Conserving Water and Promoting Health by Going Green |
| Guyana | Zeeburg Secondary School | Use of a Shrimp Dryer to Reduce Air Pollution at Zeeburg Secondary School |
| Jamaica | Wolmer’s Boys School | Electro-Light;Making Your Electricity Bill Lighter |
| St. Kitts & Nevis | Washington Archibald High School | When Rubber Hits the Road |
| St. Lucia | St. Mary’s College | Obstacle Detector for the Visually Impaired |
| St. Vincent & the Grenadines | St. Vincent Girls’ High School | Paper Bricks |
| Trinidad & Tobago | Naparima Girls’ High School | So Who is the Farmer in Your Neighbourhood? |
The 2013 SVC Winners at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida