The 2025 NIWA Canterbury-Westland Science and Technology Fair has just wrapped up, and Burnside High School students have once again made us proud, bringing home an impressive set of awards.
This year, 25 students entered 15 projects, all in the Technology category, and together they brought home an impressive set of awards.
Corey Griffiths presented Doom Wheel, a high-performance, single-wheeled electric vehicle. Designed as a more affordable and longer-range alternative to current one-wheel designs, this prototype offers a practical and powerful solution for personal mobility. Corey won the Tait Communications Award for Best Exhibit Utilising Electronics or Electricity.
Miguel Monreal, Isaac Latimer, and Xander Hales developed Soul Courier, a rogue-like dungeon crawler video game with a unique Kiwiana twist. Players must fight mythological Māori monsters, collect their souls, and harness Māori abilities to progress through the dungeon. The team was awarded third place in the Year 11–13 Technology category.
Zeeshan Khan created Mindfall, a 2D platformer video game designed to raise awareness about mental health challenges. Each level immerses players in a different experience of these challenges. Zeeshan’s project earned second place in the Year 9–10 Technology category.
Finally, Ron Livne impressed the judges with HighlightEd, an interactive lecture platform designed to transform online learning. The system allows lecturers to upload videos that are automatically transcribed, while students and lecturers can highlight sections, add notes, post questions, and respond to comments—turning passive listening into active, collaborative learning. Ron was awarded second place in Year 11–13 Technology and, most impressively, third place overall against nearly 150 science and technology projects.
This was Ron’s third consecutive year entering the Science and Technology Fair. Over those three years he has earned six awards, and it is especially fitting that in his final year at Burnside High School he placed so highly in both his category and the overall competition.
Congratulations to all our Burnside students for their creativity, innovation, and hard work—your projects truly stood out among some of the best science and technology entries in the region.
