2024 Queensland BIOTech Futures Challenge Symposium Showcases Young Innovators
Brisbane, 3rd October 2024
The Queensland BIOTech Futures Challenge Symposium, a landmark event dedicated to fostering the next generation of leaders in biotechnology and STEM, wrapped up with resounding success. Hosted by the Training Centre for Joint Biomechanics at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT)this year’s challenge brought together 14 exceptional teams, comprised of more than 45 students from 12 schools across the state, including metro areas and regional hubs like Emerald. With support from dedicated mentors in both academia and industry, these talented students showcased innovative solutions to some of the pressing issues in biotechnology and beyond.
Inspiring Innovation in Biotechnology
The 2024 event was the largest yet, with participants from 12 schools across Queensland: Earnshaw State College, Chancellor State College, Mansfield State High School, Queensland Academy for Science Mathematics and Technology (QASMT), Brisbane Girls Grammar School, Emerald State High School, Assisi Catholic College, Rochedale State High School, Mt Gravatt State High School, Mango Hill State Secondary College, Corinda State High School, and Wavell State High School.
Students from these schools worked under the expert guidance of leading mentors from academia and industry across 6 weeks to select a real-world problem and to innovate, design and prototype their solution in several academic discipline areas from medicine, biology, and engineering. Our expert mentors, including Dr Victoria Camilieri-Asch, Dr Natalia M Castoldi, Alba Cisneros, Minne Dekker, A/Prof Devakar Epari, Luke Hipwood, Dr Adi Idris, Hamid Reza Jarrah, Finja Joerg, Brooke Lundon, A/Prof Saulo Martelli, Lin Li Yeoh, Dr Fernanda Zamboni, Dr Max Lavaill and Francois Bruyer-Monteleone, played a pivotal role in helping students tackle cutting-edge biotech projects, empowering them to explore creative solutions and present their work culmination in a 3-minute pitch at the QLD symposium.
Celebrating the best in biotech
The Symposium began with a dynamic student poster display on The Cube at 2:30 p.m., where attendees had the opportunity to network and engage with the students about their cutting-edge research. Distinguished Professor Christopher Barner-Kowollik officially welcomed the crowd at 4:15 p.m., followed by a competition overview presented by Centre Director Professor Yuantong Gu. The students then took the stage to deliver their presentations, impressing the audience with their research, creativity, and technical expertise. Joining the event was also a rising star of the QUT community, Mr Sameel Deoji, an Assistant Producer at channel 7 who is currently studying a Bachelor of Business (Management) and a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) as our Master of Ceremonies who energised the crowd.
The event featured a special Q&A session, where mentors provided valuable feedback and insights to the students. Special thanks were given to the event’s guest judges: Professor Shaun Gregory, Dr Naomi Paxton, and Dr Marco Branni. Their expertise and insights were invaluable in evaluating the students’ presentations. A heartfelt thank you also goes to the event’s MC, Sameel Deoji, for skillfully guiding the proceedings throughout the day.
The symposium culminated in the Awards Ceremony, where the best teams were recognised for their outstanding achievements. Awards included Best Poster and Short Answer Questions, Best Presentation, Overall Runner-Up, and the prestigious Overall Winner award.
After a very close race to determine the best presentation and prototype from a range of solutions to environmental issues, novel drug delivery, spinal disease, skin cancer and wound gel technology 2 teams clearly emerged as the winners:
- Winner: Statavac – Earnshaw State High School, with a novel vacuum cleaner attachment that uses static electricity to suck-up Styrofoam from our beaches, and
- Runner-Up: ‘Serum Switch’ – Queensland Academy of Science, Mathematics and Technology (QASMT) a database designed to promote alternate sources of Bovine Foetal Bovine Serum’ for researchers around the world.
Mt Gravatt State High School was also awarded Best Presentation, while Earnshaw State College also won Best Poster and Short Answer Question.
The top teams will now advance to the National BIOTech Futures Competition in Sydney, where they’ll have the chance to compete against the brightest young minds from across the country.
Congratulations to both teams and their mentors, we wish you the best of luck for your participation in the National finals at the University of Sydney on Monday the 14th of October!
Looking to the Future of STEM
The support and contributions from everyone involved made this year’s Queensland BIOTech Futures Challenge Symposium an outstanding success, fostering a promising future for STEM in Queensland.
The BIOTech Futures Challenge continues to serve as a key initiative for engaging young minds, promoting innovation, and driving interest in STEM careers. The Queensland BIOTech Futures Committee looks forward to witnessing the continued success of these students as they progress through the National Competition and into their future careers. We would like to recognise and thank the University of Sydney’s Prof Hala Zreiqat and the national organisational committee for their support to run the QLD chapter and look forward to the 2025 competition to inspire the next generation.
