Costa Rican students with original tech solution achieve Solve for Tomorrow victory

Five students from Atenas Technical Professional School in Costa Rica were crowned champions of the 2024 edition of Solve for Tomorrow (SFT), Samsung's global education program. This is the third regional championship for the Costa Ricans, who also won in 2020 and 2022.

An awards ceremony was held at the iconic National Palace in Guatemala, attended by members of the three finalist teams from Costa Rica, Belize and Panama, as well as representatives from public organizations, educational institutions and the media. The winners of the Virtual Community and Samsung Community categories, which went to Ecuador and the Dominican Republic, respectively, were also announced.

This year in Solve for Tomorrow, which has been running in the region since 2014, the registered projects reflected a broad social vocation and a connection to the reality of their communities. Students Valentina González Rodríguez, Dayanan Carvajal León, Alina Álvarez Guzmán, Constanza Camacho Herrera, Sofia Hernández Sequeira, along with teacher Yamil Vega Díaz, presented their project, an intelligent beehive divided into two sections, one for the bees' habitat and the other for the automated and non-invasive extraction of apitoxin (poison secreted by workers) through electrostatic shocks. It includes sensors and cameras for monitoring that provide real-time data to ensure the well-being of the bees and facilitate remote management by beekeepers, promoting the sustainability and conservation of these insects.

The jury, made up of professionals from the educational and social sectors, recognized the effort, creativity, and originality of this technological solution to a local problem. The evaluation criteria focused on the innovation and transversal impact of the proposals, as well as the teamwork and management of each member of the finalist teams. The teams from Belize and Panama also received praise and congratulations for their technological proposals. Team Belize designed a device that translates signals and movements in people who have suffered a stroke while Team Panama consists of a modular system programmed to detect and remove dead cables in power lines.

The young winners and Professor Yamil Vega agreed on this final assessment: for Dayana Carvajal, the experience was very productive. "I was able to develop new skills and learn a lot. Thanks to the support of all the people who trained us. That is why we won first place". Her teammate, Alina Álvarez, also expressed her satisfaction and sent a message to the youth of the region. "I recommend that students be encouraged to participate because it is a unique experience," she said. And the person who played the important role of tutor, Professor Vega, emphasized the importance of the training his students received: "SFT trains students in many skills, improves their abilities and enables them to develop their projects."

María Fernanda Hernández, Samsung's Corporate Citizenship Manager, thanked the collaborative efforts of all the organizations involved in the Solve for Tomorrow program, whose work has allowed this educational program to grow exponentially since its launch in 2014. "After the pandemic, this program expanded its reach and this year we had 12,800 students from 11 countries in the region participate, including all of Central America, the Caribbean, Ecuador and Venezuela."