Speech - Prize Giving
Ceremony - Science Quest 2014
I am very pleased to be here today for the Prize Giving Ceremony of the
first edition of a new activity of the RGSC, “Science Quest 2014”. This is yet another new project of the RGSC
for our students in our quest for promoting and popularizing Science,
Technology & Innovation as well as boosting Science Education.
But before I move on, let me inspire all of you my young friends by quoting the words of one of the world’s
greatest scientist, Albert Einstein:
“Learn from yesterday, live for
today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is to NOT stop questioning.”
Ladies and Gentlemen
Science Quest 2014
This new project
forms part of our strategy to promote science and technology and through such
activities we offer students the opportunity to investigate issues related to
science and technology using scientific methods, and bring the best potential
out of our young scientists.
The Science Quest
2014 project integrates, into one functional activity, virtually all of the
skills and arts that are usually taught separately. When brought to completion,
the project is an amalgamation of reading, writing, spelling, grammar, maths,
statistics, ethics, logic, critical thinking, computer science, graphic arts,
scientific methodology, self-learning of one or more technical fields, public
speaking and defence in front of an experts panel.
It is, perhaps, one
of the rare educational activities that allow students to teach themselves to
take from the established information, what
they need to discover something exciting and new, and to identify and
choose the tools that they need to conduct and conclude their project.
Participation
in activities such as the Science Quest 2014 is one sure way to build student
confidence, self-esteem, and sense of achievement.
For this
first edition of Science Quest, over 200
projects were received from all secondary schools in Mauritius. Since each team is composed of 4 students it
implies that over 800 students have
participated in this event. I am informed that the jury panel composed of
professionals from the MIE, UOM, and UTM have screened the proposals and about
70 teams have been selected to participate in this national exhibition. Interestingly there is a fair distribution of
projects in the 3 categories: Form 1-3, Form 4-5, and LV1-UV1.
Rajiv
Gandhi Science Centre
The Rajiv Gandhi Science centre has been
organising competitions, workshops, outreach programmes , including the
Caravane de la science. Since July 2010, the Caravane de la Science has visited
different regions of the country and nearly 50,000 students have participated
in these science- related activities. These activities are meant to arouse the
curiosity and interest of these students in Science and Technology. We are now
implementing a project to extend the galleries and include new exhibits as well
as construct a planetarium with the assistance of the Government of India.
I would like at this juncture to make an
appeal to the staff and management of our schools to include a visit to the
RGSC as part of their calendar of activities. This is a centre which has been
built to promote Science and Technology to the general public but more
specifically for our young children to inculcate in them the importance of
Science and Technology in their everyday lives. This Centre belongs to you and
you should make the most of its facilities. I am confident that many of you
will take this message back in your schools and very soon we will have bus
-loads of students visiting the centre and interacting with the staff of the
centre.
I have
no doubt we are doing the right thing by investing in others facilities which
would make the centre even more attractive to our students. As I already mentioned the RGSC is being
extended to provide for additional galleries and Exhibits which will certainly
make your visit more interesting. We are also building a Planetarium in
Pamplemousses which will certainly interest our young minds who are very keen
on studying the stars and the planets. All these new developments are exciting
and I must tell you I am also looking forward to these added features to the
RGSC.
End
note
Dear students I wish to
congratulate you all again for your participation in this project. I am sure
with the usual support of my Colleague the Minister of Education and Human
resources this event will attract the participation of more and more students
in the years to come. We must also recognise the role of the supervising
teacher in this process. So I extend my warmest
congratulations to the teachers and rectors of the different participating
schools for providing the necessary support and guidance to their students.
Finally I wish to thank the members of
the Jury Panel of this competition who I
am sure have had a tough job in choosing the best projects.
Thank you for your
attention.
