NEW ZEALAND – 5 October 2021 – After a strenuous judging process, a clever group of students at Howick College has been crowned the winner of Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow 2022 competition.

Delivered in partnership with MOTAT, Solve for Tomorrow is a celebration of young people using design thinking and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, Maths) to innovate and solve issues in their communities – helping to change the world for good.

The judges were hugely impressed with students Eva Malez, Htet Waiyan, Lennox Dilworth and Kurt Marshall’s entry Non-Invasive Diabetics Device, which aimed to devise a more practical and less invasive way for diabetics to measure their glucose levels.

“I was absolutely blown away with the calibre of entries this year, especially the top two teams. What was exceptional about the Non Invasive Diabetics Device was not only did this group ideate a breathing device and app to measure blood glucose levels for diabetics, they prototyped it, too! The science behind this idea is incredible and I haven’t seen anything like it. It was a close race between first and second though, as the other project, Kitchen Tools Reimagined, really stood out to me as well,” says Solve for Tomorrow judge, Associate Professor Siouxsie Wiles.

Second place went to a group of students from Mount Richmond Special School, for their idea Kitchen Tools Reimagined, which created kitchen utensils that are safe for people with disabilities to use, allowing everyone to participate in daily cooking activities.

“This entry tracked a really important issue and what particularly made it shine was the team’s ability to take on feedback. During the project plan phase of the competition, the judges asked to see more user feedback, and the team really took this on board and implemented it throughout their submission, which got a huge tick of approval from me,” says Julie Baker, Solve for Tomorrow judge and Education Manager at MOTAT.

This is only the second year the competition has been held in Aotearoa, however judges reported a big step up in the quality of the problems identified and the depth of engagement in the design thinking process.

“Kiwi kids really took the competition up a notch this year, and it was truly inspiring to read all of the submissions. Changing the world for good is what the Solve for Tomorrow contest is all about and this is exactly what each and every entry showed, not just the winners,” adds HM Chun, Head of Samsung Electronics New Zealand.

The competition also saw two teams secure highly commended titles, including Brooklyn’s Nighttime Heroes by Brooklyn Johns from St Mary's School Rotorua and Be Cool Bike to School by Xavier Wasek-Webb and Tristan Jayasuriya from Campbell's Bay School. The first and second place winners shared a prize pool of $20,000 in cash and Samsung tech for them and their schools, with the highly commended entries also winning Samsung tech. Each winner will be recognised at an event ceremony later today.

Samsung Regional President SH Jo, is currently in New Zealand on behalf of Samsung, as a private sector member, to show support for Busan's bid to host the World Expo 2030.