Samsung Canada Announces Top 12 Regional Finalists for 2024-25 Solve for Tomorrow Contest

Samsung Canada today unveiled the top 12 regional finalist schools in the 10^thannual Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition[1], a national initiative that challenges students to apply Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) to solve real-world challenges in their communities. With a total of $125,000 in prizing across all finalists and winners, this year’s competition is focused on three key themes: sustainability, equity-seeking groups and health.

“It’s truly inspiring to see the ingenuity and creativity shown by these bright young minds,” said Brian Shin, Samsung Electronics Canada Inc. President & CEO. “At Samsung, we are committed to fostering STEM education that goes beyond the classroom—one that empowers students to transform their communities and solve global challenges. These students are envisioning a better future and actively building it.”

The top 12 regional finalist schools include:

• Aldershot School (Burlington, ON): Employing the quantum monte-carlo method, students proposed a more effective method to identify faults in photovoltaic farms.
• Allan A. Martin Senior Public School (Mississauga, ON): To avoid the environmental consequences of mining lithium for batteries, students proposed creating aqueous magnesium batteries as a more sustainable alternative.
• Bishop Reding Catholic Secondary School (Milton, ON): To reduce food waste and food insecurity, students proposed an app to connect individuals in need to businesses donating excess meals or groceries.
• École Publique aux Quatre Vents (Parry Sound, ON): Recognizing a lack of proactive methods to detect issues in the ocean, students proposed the development of a smart buoy to track the conditions of the Georgian Bay in real-time.
• Elsie MacGill Secondary School (Milton, ON): As an alternative to fossil fuels, students proposed kinetic plates to convert kinetic energy to electricity to sustainably power homes and their city.
• Grandview Heights Secondary School (Surrey, BC): To raise awareness to the dangers of vaping, students proposed to create an app to evaluate lung health and encourage users to quit through the tracking of streaks.
• Merivale High School (Nepean, ON): To prevent electricity waste, students proposed a smart lighting system with a machine learning module that adjusts to environmental conditions and user preferences.
• Port Credit Secondary School (Mississauga, ON): To reduce the reliance on HVAC systems, students proposed creating heat-absorbing bricks that would release the stored heat during peak energy usage hours.
• Saint John Paul II Catholic Secondary School (Scarborough, ON): To reduce plastic waste, students proposed a recycling system to convert plastics in usable 3D print filaments.
• STEM Innovation Academy High School (Calgary, AB): To promote increased autonomy for wheelchair users, students proposed a headband that reads the user’s brain waves to operate the wheelchair.
• Thomas A. Blakelock High School (Oakville, ON): To reduce the instances of marine bycatch, students proposed magnetized fishing nets that sends warning signals to repel sharks.
• Unionville High School (Markham, ON): Acknowledging the declining number of Ontario’s farms and farmers, students proposed an AI-powered farming app to enhance efficiency and sustainability while relieving the work load of farmers.

The top 12 schools will now advance to the next stage of the competition, where they will collaborate with Samsung mentors to refine their project ideas, as well as gain expert insights and strategic feedback on their proposed solutions. As part of their development, they will also attend a Design Thinking masterclass led by The Knowledge Society, equipping them with advanced problem-solving skills. To compete for one of the four (4) available spots as a national finalist, each top 12 regional finalist will submit a five-minute video presentation of their idea, which will be evaluated by a panel of judges in April 2025.

To learn more about Samsung Solve for Tomorrow, the finalist projects, and how Samsung is shaping the future of STEM in Canada, visit www.samsung.com/ca/solve

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[1] Terms and Conditions apply. The Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest begins on12:00:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (“EST”) on Tuesday, October 15, 2024 and ends at 11:59:59 p.m. EST on Wednesday, April 30, 2025.Open to residents of Canada who are twenty one (21) years of age or older and are currently employed as full-time teachers in a public Middle School, Junior High School, or High School, grades 6-12, including Charter Schools that are 50% or more publicly funded in Canada. All Canadian publicly funded schools are eligible to participate. Schools that are publicly funded but outside of the provincially-run school board/district/division system, such as Charter Schools in Alberta and Federally-funded schools in FNMI communities, are eligible to apply if they meet the grade requirements. A full-time teacher, as defined above, is eligible to enter the Contest as part of a team with at least one (1) or more students up to a maximum of fifty (50) students (the “Participant”). The Contest is divided into three phases. Phase One requires teams to submit a written entry through the registration link on samsung.com/ca/solve between 12:00:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (“EST”) on October 15, 2024 and 11:59:59 p.m. EST on January 31, 2025. Twelve (12) Regional Finalist teams will be selected on or about February 19, 2025 by a panel of six (6) qualified judges selected by Samsung based on the selection criteria stated in the full Official Contest Rules. Each eligible Regional Finalist will receive a Samsung Voucher to purchase Samsung technology, and/or select Samsung products, with a total value of $2,500 per selected team. During Phase Two, each Regional Finalist team will be required to submit a video between February 20, 2025 at 12:00:01 a.m. EST and March 28, 2025 at 11:59:59 p.m. EST to be eligible. All eligible submissions received will be judged by a panel of six (6) qualified judges selected by Samsung based on the criteria stated in the full Official Contest Rules, and four (4) National Finalists will be selected. Each eligible National Finalist will receive a Samsung Voucher to purchase Samsung technology, and/or select Samsung products, with a total value of $5,000 per selected team. Phase Three requires each National Finalist team to make a presentation to judges on their Project based on the criteria provided by Sponsor (the “Presentation”). All eligible Presentations will be judged by a panel of six (6) qualified judges selected by Samsung based on the criteria stated in the full Official Contest Rules, and one (1) Grand Prize Winner, and two (2) Runner Up Winners will be selected. The eligible Grand Prize Winner and Runner Up Winners shall receive winning prizes as follows: Grand Prize Winner – Samsung Vouchers to purchase Samsung technology, and/or select Samsung products with a combined total value of $50,000; First Runner Up Winner – Samsung Vouchers to purchase Samsung technology, and/or select Samsung products with a combined total value of $10,000; Second Runner Up Winner – Samsung Vouchers to purchase Samsung technology, and/or select Samsung products with a combined total value of $10,000. The videos of all four (4) National Finalists will exhibited on samsung.com/ca/solve, and eligible members of the general public will be permitted to vote on their favourite National Finalist Entry. Voting will be open from 12:01:01 a.m. EST April 15, 2025 and end at 11:59:59 p.m. EST on, April 28, 2025 (“Public Voting Period”). The eligible National Finalist who receives the most qualifying votes will be awarded Samsung Vouchers to purchase Samsung technology, and/or select Samsung products with a combined total value of $5,000. All prizes will be made payable to the Participant’s school for use by the winning teacher. Odds of winning depend upon the total number of entries received during each phase. Must correctly answer a mathematical skill-testing question to win. For more information and a copy of the full Official Contest Rules, visit samsung.com/ca/solve.