Burnside High School students Genevieve Rankin, Lucy Phan, Sreemoyee Tarafdar, Chloe Pyo, and Iris Zhang are taking part in EVolocity’s new Solar Innovators Programme.
This programme is an eight-week engineering pilot designed to build confidence, capability, and long-term pathways for young wāhine in STEM.
Launched at the University of Canterbury Faculty of Engineering – Te Kaupeka Pūhanga, the programme gives students a hands-on opportunity to design and build their own solar-powered remote-control vehicles. Across the project, students are developing practical skills in CAD, 3D printing, soldering, electronics assembly, problem-solving, and iterative design.
The programme is part of EVolocity’s Young Wāhine in STEM strategy and is supported through partnerships with the University of Canterbury, Orion, and the Freemasons Foundation. Students attend sessions at the University, receive mentoring from technical experts, and will test their completed solar vehicles at a Race Festival later in the programme.
It has been fantastic to see Burnside students engaging confidently with real-world engineering processes and representing the school in a programme that encourages innovation, belonging, and future pathways in technology and engineering.
Read more about the programme here:
Solar Innovators Pilot Programme Set to Ignite STEM Futures for Young Wāhine
Photos: Burnside High School students working on their solar-powered vehicle projects as part of the EVolocity Solar Innovators Programme.
