Creating my own project and teaching myself python pandas from research. It’s been a proud moment for me seeing it come together without any prior knowledge or experience of python pandas. I also felt like an entrepreneur, managing my own startup, trying to meet very tight deadlines. Although I did feel some pressure, I remained motivated because I want to win the Data Science Category.

I’ve learned more about animation, how to time the frames and the importance of choosing the right music to match the animation. I struggled a bit with some parts of the animation but I really wanted to finish it so I kept going.

The problem we want to solve is the inequality between genders. We focussed on this idea because we are the only group of girls in an entire class of boys. We wanted to break the stereotype of only boys coding, as people assume only boys do ICT and gaming. There aren’t many games that have gender-neutral characters. Most let you choose either boy or girl, so there are no options for people who don’t identify as either or would rather not be limited to customisation items based on their gender.

We have all learnt how to work better in a team and how to manage our time well. Another thing is how we now know how to take feedback well.

During this project, I have learned valuable and important lessons and rules that could be integrated into later products and projects, such as the organisation needed to compile ideas and sketches as well as how presentations should traditionally be laid out. Also, I learned the crucial components that are needed to manufacture cameras and the names of those components.

Also, I have now understood what is needed to create a successful product by using large amounts of research and information to formulate a good base to build my product upon.

It is important to understand your consumers and how life has changed the way that they act and feel.

While making this project, we have all realised that every single person can make a difference, whatever age. This is really encouraging when we think about the future.

We have used apps that we had never used before and began to understand more about how people who create real and very famous websites do what they do and share their ideas.

We have learnt how determined and passionate we all are to solve global warming and climate change. We understand that this website alone isn’t going to change everything, but we think it is a step in the right direction.

We have learnt more about using our imagination when coming up with logos, slogans and screen designs. Having an image in your head already of what you want is so useful, because then you can try to make something as similar as you can with the software you have!

We have definitely learned that we have to be patient when working in a team, because sometimes we had different ideas and so we had to talk it all through and understand each other’s way of thinking.

An advantage of working in a team was that we managed to split up the work so that none of us had to work for hours. A disadvantage of working in a team was that when we wanted to do some work on our own (after school, for example) we weren’t able to work together.

We have definitely learned more about motivation because we have had to keep going. This was shown when we kept making screen designs but we felt that none of them were special enough and so we had to keep making them until we found the right one.

We learnt how to create a good looking slideshow on a project, how to collaborate and share ideas with others and how to work with people we’ve never met before.

I’ve really enjoyed seeing how innovative the students have been and how they have developed their ideas.

It’s been really mind-blowing to see the amazing, wide-ranging ideas young people in Year 8 have for making life better in the future. When imaginations are allowed free reign, phenomenal talent is revealed and great hope that we have the capacity to create much-needed improvements.

The journey of developing a product from concept to a stage that would be put into production. We’ve really enjoyed working and seeing the creativity and problem solving shown by the students and their passion for new technology.

The whole process of coming up with the idea, researching, designing, modelling and seeing through to a finished prototype. I have enjoyed working with my pupils, and I have been blown away by both their dedication and resilience throughout the project.

Once again, we took part in the popular City of Tomorrow sessions with girls interested in IT and coding the girls enjoyed the innovation live workshops some, I believe, even signed up to the masterclasses in the Easter holiday. It’s extraordinary to come out of the two-year pandemic period straight into one of the busiest years for STEM since 2019.

The young people have been fascinated to discuss each others’ ideas and really enjoyed developing and explaining their own innovations so others can understand them. Teen Tech Awards create a real buzz in our school and there is genuine pride when they read the Judges’ feedback and get their certificates, with the consequent boost to their self-esteem and appreciation of their success from classmates. Those who have interacted with Mentors found it so rewarding and hard to believe that these people genuinely wanted to know more about their ideas.

We’ve learnt to give the students more space to be creative and to problem solve on their own.

I learned that my students are very capable of completing a project independently and are able to guide themselves to a good final outcome!

From a teacher’s perspective, I have learnt the importance of offering extracurricular activities that encourage pupils to think beyond the curriculum.

I think the Teen Tech Awards are a brilliant way of captivating young people’s imagination and giving them such a great sense of worth, which young people don’t always get. It raises their awareness and helps them to believe they too could be influential. A great confidence booster.

I wish your team could have heard the conversations of working students – totally on the task and bouncing ideas around each other. I feel lucky that I was a part of the ‘buzz’ of working on the projects with them.