Year 10 Academy U Team Take Part In The Sustainable Futures Hackathon

20 Sep 2023

Students at the Western Sydney University Sustainable Futures Hackathon with Mrs Xuereb, Leader of Learning Pathways and Partnerships on left

The Year 10 Academy U Team recently had the opportunity to be involved in a Sustainable Futures Hackathon at Western Sydney University, Parramatta South campus.

Academy U is a program through Western Sydney University which provides invited students an opportunity to participate in university subjects whilst still at school.

During the Sustainable Futures Hackathon the students were placed into small groups with students from other schools and asked to come up with a solution to sustainability issues faced by Western Sydney. Many groups focused on finding ways to tackle climate change due to the recent bushfires and flooding, while others found innovative ways to harness rainwater.

The groups had 70 minutes to forge their ideas and summarise it into a 60 second pitch. One of our students, Joaquina, with her group members, made it into the final which was a tremendous achievement.

Emma, one of the Academy U students, said that what she enjoyed most about the day was “forging new friendships and gaining a new perspective of our world, however the challenge on the day was that we had many different ideas which we really struggled to express in one minute. Being concise in our language, as well as determining a strong solution was quite difficult.”

The students were challenged throughout the day but developed a deeper understanding of their role in developing a sustainable future. The day also gave students an opportunity to enhance valuable skills such as communication, collaboration, critical thinking, problem solving and articulation. The hackathon was not only a learning experience but a fun and inspiring way for students to showcase their innovative ideas on building a more sustainable future.

Well done to Fiona C., Isabella L., Niamh M., Sophie B., Hannah K., Aureila C., Makayla D., Elisha Z., Joaquina J. and Jasmine S.