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May 20, 2016

Design Challenge 2016: Award Ceremony and Winners

High spirits and ecstatic energy flowed through the Zahir Pajaziti Square in Prishtina on the morning of May 20, 2016, where the atmosphere was quite promising.

The exhibition of the creations which was the collection of the products of the Design Challenge project was set up in the center of Prishtina, with the aim to engage the audience, in order to see the unique and interesting projects from young creative scientists-to-be. The youngsters were involved in this project since April 2016, when they got the instructions and the challenges for this year. The tasks were challenging for them but yet attractive, because they required a mix of skills, including creativity, problem-solving, engineering, and tech skills.

The day was fully packed and it all started with a beautiful music from students of the elementary schools, followed by keynote speakers of the event.

“The most valuable resource of Kosovo is its people, and that is the exact reason why USAID is cooperating with IPKO Foundation and Basic Education Program, to bring such valuable knowledge to these aspiring young minds” – said Brian Fahey, Acting Director of Economic Development at USAID in Kosovo, in the opening ceremony of Design Challenge. While similar thoughts were shared from Arsim Bajrami from Ministry of Education, Science & Technology, who said that “the main reason why the Ministry cooperated with BEP, IPKO Foundation and USAID is to help develop technological skills that will follow the students through their entire life as crucial knowledge of the 21 Century.”

Soon thereafter the winners were called on stage and presented their certificates and trophies with ear-to-ear smiles on their faces, all the while encouraged by the attentive and supporting audience. After the award ceremony, the participants and audience were invited to take a look and satisfy their curiosity as to what the interesting contraptions actually did. Both the Minister of Education, Science & Technology and the Acting Director of Economic Development at USAID Kosovo were carefully presented the details by the encouraged creators of each project.

Having inherited the Design Challenge project from Basic Education Program in 2016, IPKO Foundation is honored and proud to have come together with such a colorful event, all thanks to the help and partnership of USAID and Basic Education Program. We are excited to see what next year will bring, and hope to develop Design Challenge to include even more practical knowledge that the young upcoming scientists can benefit from in their future careers.

The winners of Design Challenge 2016 are:

Software “Alice”:

  1. “Vellezerit Frasheri” School in Lipjan
  2. “Bajram Curri” School in Drenas
  3. “Zekeria Rexha” School in Gjakove

Automata

  1.  “Naim Frasheri” School, in Banje Malisheve
  2.  “Vellezerit Frasheri” School, in Lipjan
  3.  “Isa Boletini” School in Rahovec and  “Ahmet Delija” School in Skenderaj

Control Box

  1. “Vellezerit Frasheri” School in Lipjan
  2. “Halil Bajraktari” School in Glogovac

LEGO Robot

  1. “Avni Rrustemi” School in Mramur
  2. “Vellezerit Frasheri” School in Lipjan
  3. “Naim Frasheri” School in Prishtine

Logo

  1. “Halil Bajraktari” School in Glogovac
  2. “Naim Frasheri” School in Prishtine
  3. “Eqrem Çabej” School in Mitrovice