YCIS Shanghai Puxi Secondary recently held its first-ever groundbreaking Innovation Expo and TEDx event at the school’s Gubei Campus on Saturday, April 13. The expo showcased the advanced technology and innovative products and projects from a wide range of companies and organisations, as well as high-level innovation across all faculties and the STEM-related projects from YCIS Puxi Secondary and Primary students. Furthermore, the event included a TEDx talk featuring three talented YCIS Puxi Secondary student groups as well as three world-renowned speakers who shared their ideas on various aspects of innovation.

The event was organised by Dr Christopher Hurley, Innovation Coordinator at YCIS Puxi Secondary, along with several students and staff members, and the objective was to introduce and spark inspiration surrounding many innovative ideas, concepts, products, and services for the school community and beyond. The theme of the day was “Building a Better World” and encompassed a broad range of key topics and subject fields aimed at improving life, lives, and communities both locally and internationally.

Innovation Expo

Taking place in the school gym, the Innovation Expo showcased projects from students with an innovative and entrepreneurial aspect alongside locally-based startups, companies, and universities who displayed their innovative products, services, and ideas. The expo provided a number of exhibits, discussion opportunities, and short workshops designed to inspire creativity, ingenuity, and innovation.

TEDx Youth @YCIS Shanghai Event

Following the lively expo, the campus hall saw a completely full-house for the TEDx talk, an internationally-recognised programme, which showcased students, staff, and speakers, including: 

•    Ms Yanyue Yuan, Visiting Assistant Arts Professor at NYU Shanghai, who spoke about adjusting our perspectives on things when they go wrong, and reframing it to find the good and the opportunity in the mishap; 

•    Mr Will Marcus, Principal and Managing Director of ARGO Architects + Engineers and Blue Ring, a special-purpose company established to manage the repatriation of extremely damaged landscape, who spoke about finding innovative solutions to economic hardships for locals living in the low-income Patayas region of the Philippines; and

•    Dr Clarence Tan, university professor and ambassador for many organisations, who spoke on how the development of many fields is growing exponentially. He explored how many people are worried about the future of jobs when they should see the development of artificial intelligence as a way to enhance work and enable us to be more creative as computers do the more mundane tasks in our workplaces.

The three student groups presented their own ideas on the following:

•    A Water Saving Project, which highlighted an innovative approach to reducing water use and plastic waste;

•    A Happiness Project, which presented the idea of an app which focused on boosting and tracking happiness and supporting people during times of stress; 

•    A New Thinking in Diabetes Project, which focused on pharmacology and the impact of diet on medicine, in particular how Oolong tea negatively affecting the efficacy of Metformin, a diabetes medicine.

Dr Hurley was thrilled with the event, saying “The stunning success of the Innovation Expo and the TEDx Youth event didn’t happen by magic but rather from the hard work of many who quietly supported us in bringing the idea to a reality. The feedback from attendees has been overwhelmingly positive with delight being registered from our guests about the quality and level of innovation that is occurring on both our Primary and Secondary campuses.”

This event is just one of the many ways YCIS Puxi supports innovational excellence among our students. It served to raise students’ confidence and showcase their incredible understanding and will set them further along the path to outstanding university and career success. Plans are already being put in place for next year’s event, and the whole school congratulates the forward-thinking leaders for their hard work and massive success.