Contest inspires student innovation at college

At the sector competition, students will be pitted against successful candidates from Northern Ireland’s five other Further Education Colleges with the hope of securing the title of "Best Project Based Learning Project".

This year students have competed in one of two categories, either up to Level 2 which includes Traineeship students and Level 3 and higher. This predominantly involves students undertaking Advanced Technical Award studies but is open to all students completing further and higher education courses with a project-based learning element within the course. Whether working solo or teaming up with peers, students showcased their creativity and innovation through their projects.

Students excelling at the first stage of competition activity and qualifying to represent SRC at the sector competition were:

Up to Level 2 Winner: Nathan Grover (Information Technology Level 2 Traineeship). Nathan presented a project on technology solutions for a Smart Gym.

Level 3 and Higher Winner: Leah Omuvwie (Health & Social Care Advanced Technical Award Level 3 Extended Diploma). Leah's project focused on improving health and wellbeing outcomes for Special Educational Needs (SEN) service users.

Up to Level 2 Runners-Up: Peter Conroy & Dovydas Saknis (Information Technology Level 2 Traineeship). They also presented their Smart Gym project.

Level 3 Runner-Up: Nathan Magee (Business Advanced Technical Award Level 3 Extended Diploma). Nathan's project involved students pitching business ideas to a panel of seasoned experts.

Additionally, Leah Omuvwie received the "Best on Day" prize.

Winners were awarded Amazon vouches and runners up were also rewarded for their efforts.

External judge Matthew McKeown from Catalyst said: "It was fantastic to see so many young people applying design thinking approaches to their projects, actively using the skills they’ve unlocked through their curriculum.

"Even more inspiring was watching them step out of their comfort zones to present their ideas with confidence and creativity. It was lovely to be a part of this process and reaffirmed to me, the power of hands-on learning, in shaping the problem-solvers of the future.”

Project based learning requires students to tackle complex, real-world challenges, encouraging them to think creatively and develop innovative solutions. Instead of starting with predefined answers, students acquire the necessary knowledge and skills throughout the project's duration, leading to deeper learning and the development of valuable employability skills.

By the end of the project, students are inspired to think critically and creatively, having honed multiple in-demand skills such as time management, teamwork, professionalism, digital literacy, and citizenship. Engaging in real-world challenges allows students to apply their knowledge in meaningful and purposeful ways.

Carson Jennett, a current Sports and Exercise Science Level 3 extended diploma student at the College was the winner of his sector PBL Competition category in 2024.

On the value of undertaking PBL, Carson said: “Project based learning is incredibly beneficial. It has allowed me to be creative and think of solutions to various challenges within my course area. The approach encouraged me to come up with ideas that no one has thought of before, potentially leading to the next big business innovation.”

This year, Southern Regional College proudly marks a decade of project-based learning. Over the past 10 years, students have been learning through projects and developing skills to help make them work-ready.

Lynne Ervine, project based learning and technology enhanced learning manager at Southern Regional College said: “The Project Based Learning competition exemplifies our goals in implementing PBL as a teaching and learning methodology. It showcases students confidently presenting their projects to judges, demonstrating not only their acquired curriculum knowledge but also their readiness for the professional world through the skills they have developed.”