The Eskom Expo for Young Scientists is a South African exposition that is aimed at showcasing scientific research made by high school learners from all regions of the country.
The executive director of the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists, Parthy Chetty, said the event is the oldest and the only official science fair in South Africa which began in 1980.
“The Expo provides a high quality resource material for the learners and teachers, online training sessions and workshops, science clubs and one-on-one mentorships”, added Chetty.
Bryanston High School learner, Kavya Kaushik, virtually competed against young scientists from various parts of the world in the International Science Fair (ISF). She shared her views on the phenomenal experience. “I learnt an incredible amount about time management, communication, and presenting a project on a big scale. I had the opportunity to interact with many inspiring people and learn about some amazing projects. The experience I gained from the expo was invaluable.”
Kavya explained more about het project. “My project was a machine learning model which relies heavy on data. Considering the sensitivity of the healthcare industry, finding the right kind of open source data and modifying it to suit my goal was the most challenging thing. It took me about eight months to prepare my project for ISF which is organised by the Eskom Science Expo.”
Megan Lester, a life science teacher at Bryanston High School, added that Kavya’s achievements led to a ripple effect that encouraged young learners from the school to participate in the prestigious event. “We have four learners from Grade 9 who will be entering projects in the Eskom Expo this year.
“Learners receive guidance all the way through the project from conceptualisation of a project idea right through to review of their final project report write-up.”
Lester expressed her feelings on the subject of her learners showcasing their projects and said, “I am hugely proud of any student that completes and submits an expo project regardless of the outcome. Expo is an excellent learning experience on so many levels.”
With discussions on the adaptation of the pandemic, Chetty said, “We limited the numbers at science camps, much of the training is done online and the judging is also done online.”
According to the official website of the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists, the annual exposition will virtually host nine provincial expositions this year, from August 26 to September 11 and, one ISF from October 4 to October 8, where participants will have an opportunity to represent South Africa.
