2024 Caribbean STEM Olympiads (CSO) celebrates excellence in the region

The 2024 Caribbean STEM Olympiads (CSO) concluded recently, after brilliant performances from students. The event was hosted virtually by the Caribbean Science Foundation (CSF), from the 17th of January to the 21st of January.

The Caribbean STEM Olympiads (CSO) celebrates the successes of Caribbean citizens and students who have devoted their lives to the pursuit of STEM fields which include science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

The event is also seen as one of the most efficient and exciting ways in which parents, students, teachers and the public can engage with STEM fields while learning more about them and developing an appreciation for the efforts being made to provide secondary and tertiary levels of scientific education in the region.

The Caribbean STEM Olympiads, which were conducted for the first time in January 2023, have now become an integral part of the efforts being made in the region to bring STEM fields to the forefront.

The details of the Olympiads are summarized and published online, giving details about the events themselves, as well as details about the winning teams by country and age level, in the form of a press release.

The 2024 Caribbean STEM Olympiads has three chief categories, including the CSF Math Olympiad, the Robotics Olympiad and the CSF Computer Coding Olympiad, which allows participants to solve an issue being faced by the Caribbean.

A brilliant aspect of this initiative is that it is open to participation in multiple forms. While principals and teachers are encouraged to send teams to the Olympiads from their respective CARICOM and CARICOM-Associate countries; clubs, associations and independent entities are also encouraged to send teams.

This initiative has been recognized as the backbone of the efforts being made by the Caribbean to raise the level of technical education and focuses specifically on the following objectives:

1. Ignite and nurture the STEM inventiveness in the youth of the Caribbean.

2. Encouraging students to pursue higher education in STEM-related disciplines.

3. Giving medallists a competitive advantage on their university applications.

4. Attracting scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs and world-renowned technology academicians to the region.

5. Assisting with reforms in STEM education and the popularization of sciences in the Caribbean.

6. Raising awareness about the importance of science and technology for job creation in the region.

7. Providing informal learning opportunities in mathematics, coding, and robotics (especially for young women and at-risk youth).

The format of the 2024 Caribbean STEM Olympiads is such that it aims to assess the level of creativity, logical and analytical thinking, problem solving, leadership and teamwork abilities of the participants.

It also tests the participant’s ability in fields like math, coding and robotics, to form a holistic understanding of how they approach problems and solve them in these specific fields, in accordance with predetermined criteria.