Team Ultimatus Electricus, a group of undergraduate engineering students from the University of Guyana has been declared the winner of the inaugural million-dollar National Science Fair Competition.
The National Science Fair Competition and Expo was hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport over the weekend at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre. Thirty projects from categories such as Energy, the Environment, Agriculture, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Housing and water from youth groups across Guyana were on display and competing to win $1 million.
All the regions with the exception of Region Eight were represented at the fair. Prior to the past weekend’s activities, six regional fairs were held. While none was held in hinterland regions, several secondary schools were brought out to showcase their own innovations.
Team Ultimatus copped the first prize and was awarded $1 million for their wireless fault line indicator that could help the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) restore electricity faster. According to the group, the indicator will help detect faults along the transmission line almost immediately and GPL will no longer depend on reports from persons.
Chicken Fried Rice Studio came in second and won $500,000 while President’s College came in third place and won $200,000. Persons also won tickets for the CPL matches and Cricket Carnival Events.
Charles Ramson, the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport told participants that their projects are the first step in finding solutions to issues in Guyana.
“I grilled all of you. You were very formidable in your responses and passionate about your projects,” he said.
He also announced that the Science Competition and Expo will become an annual event. Among the projects on display were various solutions to clean up oil spills. Teams from Uitvlugt Secondary on the West Coast Demerara and Anna Regina Secondary noted that now that Guyana is an oil producing country, solutions to tackle oil spills must become a priority.
Others projects include ideas to farm sustainably and conserve energy.
