The first ever Caribbean Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Olympiads were held virtually by the Caribbean Science Foundation (CSF) from January 20 – 22, 2023. On January 22, 2023, the winners of the Olympiad competitions were announced, and Jamaica took home the greatest number of medals with seven. Guyana won five medals, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago both received four medals, and Antigua and Barbuda won three medals, two of them gold. A noteworthy fact cited by event organizers was that females outperformed males in regard to the total number of medals won by about 5 to 3.
Jamaica received three platinum medals. Campion College student Ehinome Ehikhametalor, who represented himself, was the winner of the Level 1 Math Olympiad platinum medal, and Glenmuir Math Club members Micaela Mclean, Orvi-Ann Brown, and Keneilia Bailey won the Level 3 Math Olympiad platinum medal. The third platinum medal was presented to Campton College students Abigail Allen, Laraine Williams, Nishanae Williams, Demaria Walker, and Kristian Coke for winning the Level 2 Computer Coding Games platinum medal.
The CSF STEM Olympiads featured both individuals and teams who represented educational institutions, clubs, or themselves in competitions designed for three age levels. Level 1 comprised competitions for participants between the ages of 12 and 15, while Level 2 was for competitors 16 to 18 years of age, and Level 3 was designed for 19- to 21-year-olds.
Included in the Olympiads were competitions in a Robotics Showcase, Computer Coding Games, and Math Olympiads. In the Computer Coding Games category, participants were challenged to solve one of six problems facing communities in the Caribbean. These included food security and food safety, non-communicable diseases, energy production and consumption, transportation, money movement, financial education, and geohazards and climate change.
There were 215 students from ten countries in the Caribbean registered for the STEM Olympiads. Once the preliminary rounds of competition ended, 30 teams, a total of 98 students, made it to the finals. The Math Olympiads featured 28 finalists, the Robotics Showcase had 34 finalists, and the Computer Coding Games portion had 36 finalists. Finalists were presented with platinum, gold, silver, and bronze medals, with cash prizes associated with each level. Platinum medal-winning teams received US$400, teams that won gold medal winners US$300, team winners of silver medals received US$200, and bronze medal winners got US$100.
Photo by MarÃlia Castelli on Unsplash
