SWENext Counselor and SWE Global Ambassador Catherine Ameh led a team of six volunteer SWE collegiate members to carry out a STEM event, including a talk and a science project competition, at the Dominican College SWENext Club earlier this year. Dominican College is located in Mafoluku in Lagos State, Nigeria.
There were about 300 students under 18-year-old and 30 teachers. SWE’s code of conduct was applied to ensure that every 10 students had a SWE member or adult attending to them.
The event started with a talk on “Addressing Loneliness and Impropriety Among Modern Youths.” One of the SWE volunteers, Engr Tinuade Oguntiyi, elaborated on using practical questions and answers.
Ameh further engaged the students with some ice-breaking events, whereby different groups participated in different games. The winners in each group received stationary as gifts on behalf of SWE.
The students were then taught the principles of project management with a competition to see which team could build a structure with toothpicks and clay (see illustration at the end of this article).
The students were grouped into 17 teams, with each team having a project manager who was responsible for choosing a design and managing the construction using the available resources. A winning team emerged after a rigorous marking by some of the teachers and the students.
“Many thanks to SWE for the wonderful opportunity to engage with the students in such an educating, exciting, and professional manner. We hope to take the science projects to the next level by engaging in more productive and hands-on learning that will further enlighten the students in STEM fundamentals,” said Ameh.
Dominican College SWENext Club Project
You are a team of structural engineers responsible for building a new settlement area where basic structures and amenities are required.
1. Select a project manager
2. Choose a structure to build (e.g., hospital, terraces, bungalows, a fire truck, etc.)
3. Draw the prototype
4. Choose your model from the image below
5. Plan your project: define time, scope, and purpose
6. Build the structure in 3D
