Students and teachers of Colombia celebrated the sixth execution of Samsung Solve for Tomorrow in 2022. Since its launch, Solve for Tomorrow has been a project of choice for young STEM leaders of Colombia for its quality education and the fun it provides. This year alone, over 1900 projects were submitted by students from public institutions in grades 9 to 11.

Finding the cause and creating a solution

In line with the philosophy of Solve for Tomorrow, students were challenged to develop innovative solutions to problems that their communities face.

“We advise the participants to distinguish a social problem and come up with a technological solution to alleviate it,” says Iván Laverde, corporate citizenship manager at Samsung Colombia. “The students are encouraged to present new ideas and are teamed with groups of mentors to help their ideas come to life. We are providing an environment where students can find a cause and make a real impact in their communities.”

Cool Roof for a cooler indoor environment

In this round of Solve for Tomorrow, three girls from the north of Colombia won the competition with an idea to protect their local community from the scorching South American heat.

Ana María Charris, Nathaly Sierra, and Luis Padilla are three girls from Carlos Restrepo Araujo School that indicated heat as a problem that many people face, especially during summer, in their town and country.

Determined to help improve the living conditions of the neighborhood, the students came up with an idea to create modular temperature insulation panels that can effectively protect people from the sun. Named the ‘Cool Roof’, the panels would be installed on roofs and decks with plants planted on top to act as natural barriers to the weather. With these panels built above the ceiling, the insides of the buildings, houses or even classrooms would have lower temperatures.

Ana María and her teammates say, “Cool Roof decreases the temperature without much cost and also without harming the environment. We hope that our community’s everyday lives can be improved with Cool Roof offering a cooler environment for everyone.”