The Lemelson-MIT Program has announced the 2016-2017 InvenTeams, 15 teams of high school students nationwide, each receiving up to $10,000 in grant funding to solve real-world problems through invention.

The InvenTeam initiative, now in its 14th year, inspires youth to invent utilizing hands-on, active learning strategies. Active learning strategies in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) are best practices promoted by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) in which students engage, think about, and solve problems. In a recent study conducted by the Lemelson-MIT Program, 67 percent of InvenTeam alumni college graduates reported they are now working in a STEM field, demonstrating the impact of this learning approach in empowering and educating the next generation of scientists and engineers.

"My experience as a member of the Northeast High School Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam taught me that science can be used as a tool to solve problems and improve lives,” said Kiona Elliot, 2012 InvenTeam member, 2013 White House Science Fair exhibitor of her team’s invention, and a current senior at the University of Florida majoring in horticultural science. “During this time, I realized that invention using science and technology is more than the development of the latest smartphone; it provides a real opportunity to make a difference. After graduating from UF, I plan to take the lessons I learned from the InvenTeam initiative to graduate school and use my skills and knowledge to feed our growing global population."

“Kiona speaks eloquently for other InvenTeam students who want to make a difference in our world through thoughtful consideration of technological inventions that can improve our lives,” said Leigh Estabrooks, invention education officer for the Lemelson-MIT Program. “It is rewarding to see students actively engaged and integrating STEM while working on their inventive solutions to real-world problems, but the truly inspiring impact is the long-term effect on the students and the leadership qualities the InvenTeam initiative instills in participants.”

The 2016-2017 InvenTeams are from 13 different states and represent public schools, charter schools, private schools, and afterschool programs, proving that active learning can take place anywhere. This year’s InvenTeams, comprised of students, teachers, and community mentors, will pursue year-long invention projects, including a system to provide temporary shelter for people who are homeless, a device to sense pets and children in the backseats of cars, and a robotic device that monitors the environment to help prevent heat stress in young chickens.

A respected panel of invention and academic leaders from MIT, the Lemelson-MIT Program, industry, and InvenTeam student alumni selected this year’s InvenTeams from a national pool of applicants. They are:

Solving health problems

Solving environmental problems

Solving safety problems

The 2016–2017 InvenTeams will showcase their projects at EurekaFest in June 2017. EurekaFest is the Lemelson-MIT Program’s multi-day celebration of the inventive spirit at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Calling All Young Inventors!

The Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam application for the 2017-2018 school year is now available at lemelson.mit.edu/inventeams. Teams of high school students, teachers, and mentors are encouraged to apply now through April 10, 2017.

Reprinted with permission of MIT News