My Girl Scout troop met up with some other Beijing Girl Scouts for our trip to Xinglong Observatory. The weekend of our trip coincided with the alignment of all eight planets, and we were hopeful to see them all. We were met by a physics professor and an astronomy professor, who talked to us about the history of the observatory and its function.

We travelled on the train from Beijing Chaoyang Station and then on a bus to Xinglong Observatory. When we arrived, we had a delicious local lunch and then met with Mr. Chen, who showed us a model of the observatory and explained that Xinglong Observatory is the largest in Asia. He told us some of the history behind its creation and the types of telescopes that were there.

Luckily, the sun was visible, and so we went to a building that had a slide on the roof. When the roof was opened, we looked through a special telescope which was focused on the sun and had a special filter to protect our eyes. The sun was bright red, and what looked like dust was moving away from the edges. We saw a dark sun spot. It was beautiful, and I felt very surprised by what I saw.

That evening, we went back to the same building and looked through a different telescope. We were very lucky to be able to see satellites flying quickly past, and I saw Jupiter’s colors and two of its moons.

Fun Fact – Jupiter has 95 moons in total, but it’s hard to see all of them.

The following day, we learnd about how a telescope works by using light reflection. We examined a telescope that can track asteroids called the Schmidt Telescope, and I was able to look inside to see the mirrors that capture and reflect the light from distant galaxies.

Find it:
Xinglong Observatory
Xinglong is in the Yanshan Mountains in Hebei Province

Images: Pexels, Girl Scouts

Microplastics are invading our oceans! To fight back, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems have developed jellyfish-like robots that scoop up pollution to protect marine life. Here in Beijing, another team of engineers huddles over their latest prototype of marine technology. They test ideas, troubleshoot, and refine their designs, just like the experts. Their secret strength? They’re first graders, and their robots are made of LEGO.

My 6-year-old, Leili, and her teammates aren’t just stacking bricks. They’re part of FIRST LEGO League (FLL), a global robotics competition that challenges kids to solve real-world problems. I first heard of “LEGO robotics” from friends back in Washington DC, who wanted to spark their kids’ interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math). Their middle schoolers seemed happy to build cool robots. It’s part play, part engineering, and 100 percent fun.

What is FIRST LEGO League?

FLL is an international robotics program where kids aged 4-16 learn coding and problem-solving by designing LEGO-based solutions to scientific challenges. Teams compete in three age categories:

• Discover (4-6 years old) – STEM basics with LEGO DUPLO
• Explore (6-9 years old) – Intro to robotics and programming
• Challenge (9-16 years old) – Advanced coding of robots to complete missions

Each season features a new theme, with past topics covering energy solutions, transportation logistics, and creativity in technology. This year’s theme, SUBMERGED, plunges kids into underwater exploration, sustainability, and marine innovation.

 Beijing’s Thriving LEGO Robotics Scene

FLL has taken off in China, with over 200 teams in Beijing competing in high-octane tournaments at venues like the National Aquatics Center (“The Cube”). Finalists advance to the FLL Asia Open Championship – last year held in Hong Kong and this summer in Sydney.

The competition is rigorous. Teams of 4-6 kids:
Identify a real-world problem related to the theme
Research solutions and develop LEGO-based technology
Build and test prototypes, document their ideas, and present their work to judges

The best teams advance to regional and international championships, showcasing their ingenuity on a global stage.

Younger kids at 2023 FLL Beijing, held at The Cube. Photo credit: The Cube.

Older kids at FLL 2023 Asia Open Championship. Photo credit: True Light School of Hong Kong.

Forming Our “Dream Team”

Instead of joining a school-based team, we formed our own group of 6- and 7-year-olds in the Explore category. Our goal? To work through as many SUBMERGED-themed engineering modules as possible before next year’s challenge is announced.

To coach us, we partnered with Creativa, a Beijing-based ed-tech company led by Jessica and Carlos Soto, two engineers with over a decade of experience training young innovators. With their guidance, we kicked off our first session in January, meeting monthly to build, experiment, and – true to LEGO’s motto of “Learn through play” – have fun.

What the Kids (and Parents) Are Saying

Recently, the team completed the Abyssal module, exploring the ocean’s deepest layer – the Midnight Zone. They built seacopters and submersibles designed to probe these depths and presented their creations to parents, just as they would to a judges’ panel.

What do they love most about LEGO robotics?

“When I build, I can create my own things,” says 6-year-old John from British School of Beijing (BSB) Sanlitun
“Coding,” says 7-year-old Isabel from Western Academy of Beijing (WAB)
“I like controlling the boat a lot of times!” shares 6-year-old Leili from House of Knowledge (HOK)
“Robots are COOL,” says 6-year-old Karl from HOK

And from the parents …
“Full of fun and creativity combined with logical thinking. Perfect match for kids, preparing them for the future.” – John’s mom
“Gives my kids the chance to develop their teamwork and presentation skills.” – Enya’s mom
“Combines fun and learning.” – Karl’s dad
“It’s a great basis for coding.” – Leili’s dad

Insights From the Coaches

While we champion learning for learning’s sake and the thrill of the competition rather than fixating on winning, we couldn’t help but ask our coaches how to maximize the team’s performance.

“‘Explore’ teams should ideally complete all core modules before the competition to build their skills and confidence,” Coach Carlos told our group of parents. “With practice, they start thinking like a team – that’s when they get really good.”

The key first step? Enjoy coding. Some schools start learners off by writing hundreds of lines of code, but Creativa’s goal is to “make kids love code.” They want to ignite kids’ intrinsic passion, then guide their skills to take flight.

Coach Carla, herself a systems engineer, reflected: “Since university, I always dreamt of teaching girls. I was the only woman in my class, and I always questioned – why not girls?” She believes LEGO robotics makes STEM accessible to all.

 Want To Get Involved?

My bottom line: FLL is an engaging, hands-on way to fuel kids’ enthusiasm for STEM.

Check out:
FIRST LEGO League – global resources
FLL’s Community Blog – team stories

In Beijing:
Creativa can help you start or join a team. Scan the QR code to get in touch.

Stay tuned for the next big FLL event in Beijing this fall. Until then, happy innovating!

Images: The Cube, Tara Fegelein

From dazzling demonstrations of chemical reactions to intricate engineering marvels, each project featured in the BCIS Science Fair tells a story of imagination, hard work, and the relentless pursuit of knowledge. Beijing City International School is excited to host BSF II, scheduled to convene in person Jun 6-7 and open to Grades 4-12 with three different divisions. This is an opportunity for students interested in STEM to establish bonds across schools and grades. The fair is not just a research and investigation competition between groups delving into specific topics; it is also as a platform for STEM and innovation clubs to share their achievements for the past two semesters. 

BSF II will feature a series of workshops and guest speakers from various fields within STEM. These sessions are designed to provide students with insights into real-world applications of their studies and to inspire the next generation of innovators. All participants are encouraged to interact actively, ask questions, and learn from the experiences shared by our esteemed guests.

In the initial launch year of the BCIS Science Fair, students from Grades 4-10 delved into fascinating research topics and immersed themselves in the investigation process. BSF I included G9 and 10 STEM exhibits such as the G9 VEX robots, G9 architecture models, G9 Python animations, G9 Math Ramp proposals, G10 jewelry designs, and G10 Python games, with an addition of STEM club achievements throughout the year, with the Aerospace & Aviation club’s airplane models as a great example, further expanding the scope and diversity of the event.

By preparing and delivering engaging presentations, participants enhance their communication abilities, learning to clearly and effectively convey their ideas to both their peers and judges. These experiences can be particularly valuable for those aspiring to pursue jobs in STEM fields, where the skill to communicate scientific findings is paramount. Students from each age division who demonstrated the thoroughness of their research and their outstanding research and presenting skills will be awarded prizes and further opportunities to participate in advanced regional, national, and international science fairs.

One group of Grade 8 students prepared thorough research into the distribution of world primates and came up with issues to solve to achieve primate protection.

Austin Qiang from the Elementary School investigated different methods to meliorate sleep conditions. His research in melatonin and sleep cycle is beyond the expectation for average Grade 5 students.

Several groups of students creatively integrate chemistry and science fiction to propose future fuels for space travel. Their aspiration for interplanetary transportation astonished everyone.

Hundreds of Elementary students came to the exhibition and celebrated the STEM achievements of their classmates.

As we look further into the future, the significance of science fairs will only continue to grow. In an era of rapid technological development, the skills and knowledge acquired through these events will be invaluable. By cultivating the scientific passions of students, we are investing in the future of our society, paving the way for groundbreaking discoveries and innovative solutions to global challenges.

We believe that collaboration is paramount to advancing knowledge and inspiring innovation. This event is not just about competition; it’s about collaboration, learning, and building a community that values STEM education.

If you’re interested:

Express your interest by filling out the form at this link

If you have any questions, email science.fair@bcis.cn or contact Qi Ziyao (Vickey) at 2019136050@bcis.cn.

Vickey Qi is a Grade 10 student at Beijing City International School who loves astrophysics, astrophotography, volleyball, and singing.

Images: Vickey Qi

Perhaps you or someone you know has a great STEM project that could be promoted and marketed to a wider audience, is conducting a science research project, or is a STEM enthusiast. If you relate to any of that, then the Future Science Scholar Organization (FuSSO) has something to offer!

FuSSO was founded back in 2022, and was originally named the High School Science Research Organization (HSSRO), when the founder, Sophia X., driven by a passion for science, united like-minded counterparts and founded an organization dedicated to fostering scientific excellence and nurturing the next generation of scientific leaders. As the team worked towards expanding the impact of the organization and having more students join the community, members from a range of age groups connected and led FuSSO to its success today.

The leadership team decided to change the name of the organization as the structure and professionalism of the organization upgraded to the Future Science Scholar Organization. In response to the organization’s growth, a revolutionary change was implemented in its structure, resulting in the development of “Advanced Programs” and “Basic Programs” to effectively address the evolving requirements of student projects and drive future advancements in FuSSO’s services to students. These new programs were designed to cater to the diverse needs of the organization as collaborating students opened the doors to new disciplines and areas of research in the STEM community that have never been explored before and laid the foundation for continuous improvements and growth.

The Future Science Scholar Organization has just been federally registered as a nonprofit organization (NPO), and its charter has also been approved by the North Carolina Secretary of State’s Office in the US. It has successfully transformed into a dedicated nonprofit organization focused on innovative research and product development as of 2025. Moving forward, they are committed to turning students’ ideas into reality and addressing pressing global challenges to create a better world.

As a now well-established NPO, FuSSO’s impact in the realm of science has also been notable. Their mentorship team consists of students and faculty members from top universities such as Harvard, Yale, MIT, and Johns Hopkins. As the organization grows, more programs are being added, and FuSSO will be hosting its first Hult FuSSO Proposal Competition, a competition for students interested in STEM to propose their ideas to FuSSO. Approved proposals will receive mentorship from the FuSSO mentor. Details on the competition will be updated on FuSSO’s official WeChat account (FuSSO) and 小红书 account (fusso2022).

If you want to support FuSSO’s journey, you can show your support by donating to them through the poster below.

Images: Pexels, FUSSO

You still have time to book it over to the Jingkids Summer Fling today from 10am-6pm, but until then, we have two great camps that we’re sure those curious kids of yours will love!

Kidtopia Summer Camp 2021

Ages: 4-9 Years Old
Short description: The summer camp at KCM is an unforgettable, fun-filled summer camp where campers spend their entire day exploring creative ideas, making memories, and building friendships, all while learning. This camp is largely guided by just how unusual the past school year has been. That’s why KCM decided to align its projects with age-appropriate school curricula. Give your child an extra boost in academic subjects like English (reading and writing), Math (supplemented by logic and reasoning), and Science (hands-on activities with technology). Likewise, there will be art and engineering classes to keep younger learners engaged.
Who: KCM, Kidtopia Children’s Museum
What:  KCM, Kidtopia Children’s Museum is an international education group founded in 2015. It provides high-quality afterschool programs and summer camps that cover a range of disciplines including STEAM, Math, Reading and Writing, Science, Language Arts, and Art and Design. These KCM learning experiences are designed to not only get children interested and engaged in STEAM and other courses but develop tangible skills and 21st-century proficiencies to help them become successful lifelong learners.
Where: 北京市朝阳区小亮马桥路安家楼村1号橙天娱乐集团园区1号楼 KCM国际教育; Search Baidu Maps for KCM 国际教育
When: Jul 26-Aug 20
Teacher to Child Ratio: 1:5
Language: All courses are conducted in English (except Mandarin classes); PE classes are bilingual
Prices: RMB 4,800-RMB 4,980/week, 5% off for KCM members, RMB 500 off for early-bird
Curriculum: NGSS Standards guided curriculum using teaching content from reputed publishers such as McGraw Hill, Nat Geo Kids, NASA Kids, DK, Scholastic, and MacMillan Education. All foreign educators are qualified teachers with thousands of teaching hours under their belt.
Conclusion: At the end of the summer camp children will be invited to an exhibition party where they will display their work and get certificates that will be valuable accolades in their academic endeavors.
About: KCM is run by a core group of education experts who are alumni of Harvard Graduate School of Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, and Beijing Normal University.
More Info: 

WanTrain Summer Coding Camp

Ages: 6-17 Years Old
Short description: During this two-week boot camp, students engage in hands-on activities and lessons to ensure they understand and develop the necessary skills to solve coding problems.
Who: WanTrain Educational Technology
What: Summer Coding Camp
Where: Two locations; Krypton Space Liangmaqiao and Riviera Club Shunyi
When:
Jul 5-16
Jul 19-30
Aug 2-13
Aug 16-27
Teacher to Child Ratio: 1:8
Language: English as the main language, with additional French and Chinese support if needed
Prices:
RMB 2,100/three days
RMB 3,000/five days
RMB 5,600/ten days
*Snacks and soft beverages provided
Curriculum: Young coders will start with the basics of comprehending and mastering advanced computer languages, such as game making with Scratch, mobile app design, Sphero Robotics, code games with Python, and web development with HTML. Group size is limited to eight students for a more personalized learning experience.
Age Group Categories:
Group I Mini Coders: 6-8 years old
Group II Junior Coders: 9-12 years old
Group III Teenage Coders: 13-17 years old.
Conclusion: Upon completion of a full ten-day course, each student will be awarded the following:
Certificate of Completion
Ollie Darkside Robot
USB drive containing the summer camp’s lesson codes and a booklet with the summer camp’s lesson contents
About: WanTrain Educational Technology specializes in science technology workshops, school holiday boot camps, and weekend coding classes for students between the ages of 6-17. Young coders learn how to become makers of various apps, games, websites, and more!
More Info:

KEEP READING: Drumroll, Please: Announcing the Summer Camps You’ll Meet Saturday at the Jingkids Summer Fling!

Images: Courtesy of the camps

I started my Girl Scout journey as a Brownie, kind of the Pre-K to the Girls Scouts’ primary school activities. Long before STEM became a household phrase, my sister and I worked through that guidebook diligently to earn ourselves all the badges we could: cooking, sewing, crafting, even basic survival skills. My first overnight camp was with our Girl Scouts troop, and many friendships were forged at those meetings. If I had girls, I’d be all over this volunteer opportunity!

Mom Amy Kennedy put out the call for volunteer troop leaders this weekend so the Girls Scouts of Beijing are able to expand. If you’re interested, check out our Q&A with her below and contact Kennedy for more details.

Are you interested in helping your daughter and other girls develop courage, confidence, and character? Join Girl Scouts of Beijing! We are looking to form new troops around Beijing. Troops consist of two adult volunteers and up to 12 girls of similar age levels. We have badges and activities covering outdoors, STEM, life skills, and entrepreneurship. 

BJK: This sounds so fun! How much of a time commitment are we talking about?

Amy Kennedy (AK): Getting involved with Girl Scouts is a lot of fun for adults too! Meetings are held weekly or biweekly for 1-2 hours depending on the ages of the girls. A little prep work and coordinating with your co-leader is also required.

BJK: Are troop leaders responsible for finding a location, finding a troop, or putting together any supplies?

AK: Troop leaders are responsible for finding a meeting location — mostly happening in homes this fall. There is some online training required — maybe a 90-minute commitment. We provide additional resources and support. And if you are reading to start a new troop, don’t worry, if you start it, girls will come!

BJK: What training is provided?

AK: We have online training and some local training a few times a year.

BJK: Do leaders follow a schedule or is it up to the individual troops?

AK: Leaders can organize their meetings whenever is convenient for them. We do organize a few activities at various points in the year. We all celebrate World Thinking Day at the end of February, for example.

BJK: Can my friend and I sign up to lead a troop together?

AK: Yes, finding a friend to start a troop with is a great way to go! Being a Girl Scout leader has meant ready-made friends and support for me in four of our international moves. I have made lifelong friends and have even been on holiday with some of these women. Girl Scouting really is not just for girls! That said, we welcome any Dads out there who want to get involved as well.

BJK: Who can get involved in Girl Scouts?

AK: Girls must be foreign passport holders and English speakers.

BJK: How do people get involved?

AK: Contact me via WeChat on Amy_Kennedy or email beijinggirlscouts@usagso.org.

KEEP READING: Grateful For It All: How To Take Part in The 30-Day Gratitude Challenge

Photos: Courtesy of Girl Scouts of Beijing, USA Girl Scouts Overseas

“How long is it going to take?” ponders ninth-grader Tobias, who is huddled around a laptop with his two project teammates. “What if they want a really complicated design?”

They had the problem. How to guarantee business efficiency and customer satisfaction at the same time? The solution was much harder to identify. For several weeks, the Dulwich College Beijing (DCB) students inched toward the answer. By mid-October, they had one: a template was the only way to design custom-made USBs on demand. So the team created one, using a 3D printer. From there they were free to crank out dozens more USBs — holiday-themed, monogrammed, you name it. And with that, their startup concept, The Handy Dandies, was that much closer to living up to its name.

These business projects are somewhat hypothetical, but every step is a rigorous education in reality beyond graduation. Sometimes, these semester-long collaborative ventures result in actual businesses outside the classroom. But this enterprise approach to education emphasizes perseverance over profit. And ideas are incubated and hatched within Dulwich’s studio-lab curriculum known as SE21 — shorthand for STEM and Enterprise Skills for the 21st Century (also conveniently, DCB founding school Dulwich College sits in Southeast London, in the SE21 postcode). Now in its second year, SE21 offers students a more enterprise-driven approach to learning science, technology, engineering, and math.

Enterprise Education underpins a model of teaching and learning based on engaging in projects, collaboration, creating value, and solving problems. It means developing an ability to invent opportunities.

Dulwich students dress the part; they wear dark-blue suits and red neckties.  Divided into groups of three, each teammate morphs into a digital designer, a coder, or a marketing expert. Collectively, they collaborate: the teens come up with an idea, develop a business plan, pitch to an investor (the school), even forecast a profit margin, all on a tight deadline. The tasks are enough to make professionals twice their age reach for the nearest fidget spinner — which, by the way, the students also happen to design and make in the shop. Sometimes, though, the spinners just don’t spin. And that’s O.K.

“In our classrooms, we encourage failure,” says STEM teacher Yosef Karasik, as he tests a fidget spinner fresh from a 3D printer. “Failure is a skill. At the end of the day, we want self-regulated learners. And one big aspect of self-regulation is self-evaluation and self-reflection.”

For two years now, that introspective, enterprising spirit has been nurtured inside a sleek, brightly-lit space on Dulwich’s sprawling campus. SE21’s creators think of it as a “mindset,” and indeed it is something of an intellectual playground: humming 3D printers, rows of mobile workstations, a student-assembled Formula One car track running the length of a studio wall. Prior to SE21’s arrival at Dulwich, Karasik says, “innovation existed in a different form here. Now, it’s explicit.”

“We were questioning how much value design was adding to our curriculum,” says Natalie Stevens, Dulwich’s Head of Technology. “Were our students taking away what they needed to? Were they gaining the skills they needed to become engineers, designers, or architects? The answer was not always, so we had to change the focus.”

The question then became: How should SE21 & Technology better prepare students to enter the world’s top universities?

Throughout his presidency, Barack Obama pushed to expand student access to STEM education, and estimated that the US workforce would need 1 million more STEM graduates by 2022. In China, that need is far greater and much more immediate.

A recent Peking University study of Chinese colleges and universities reported a low career survival rate for graduates who studied entrepreneurship. And the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor noted that China has one of the world’s highest fear-of-failure rates, which prevents many graduates from ever attempting to get their vision off the ground.

“I think there’s a real disconnect between Chinese education and the realities of where you’re going to go when you graduate,” says Julian Fisher, who two years ago co-founded Venture Education, an Enterprise Education curriculum now taught in 25 Beijing schools. “I think a lot of students have never realized what’s it like to be completely at the bottom.”

This downward trend in post-graduation attitudes toward success reflects the paramount importance of a curriculum like the one used within SE21, where students gain not only technical skills but also what teachers call “soft skills” essential to making it in the real world: teamwork combined with critical thinking and communications skills.

Fisher, who also chairs the Education Forum for the British Chamber of Commerce in China, acknowledges that the concept of Enterprise Education may appear to contradict the success stories of billionaire entrepreneurs like Mark Zuckerberg and the late Steve Jobs.

But there’s a major difference between Enterprise Education and Entrepreneurship Education, Fisher argues: the former is about the mindset, the latter is often only about venture creation and money. “One of the weaknesses of the entrepreneurial ecosystem is that notion of, ‘I just need a great idea, and then I’ll get funding, and then I’ll get rich,’” he says.

Instead, Fisher points out, consider the 13-year-old boy from the UK who made a nuclear fusion reactor. Or the 13-year-old Mongolian girl who hunts with eagles. “These are not kids making money,” he says. “The point is they are having an impact.”

At their core, Enterprise Education curriculums like SE21 prioritize the inculcation of the value of the design process, fostering confidence, making ideas happen, and figuring out how those concepts will help people. Rather than consulting a textbook on how to run a business, improve a societal ill, or make the general population happier, students are pushed to rely less on classroom instruction and more on group instinct and judgment in order to see a project through.

Some SE21 students are as young as 13, and many already talk like techies. Buzzwords suited to Silicon Valley — “beta phase,” “bigger vision,” “mockup business experience” — roll off the tongue. At the center of SE21 sits what is currently known as the War Room, where project strategies detailing Dulwich’s upcoming Enterprise Fair are scrawled in pen on the glass walls. “We don’t always come to the best solution first,” admits Jadelle, a tenth-grader in her second year of SE21.

Jonathan, one of the program’s youngest students, understands Jadelle’s observation all too well. Every day during lunch hour, he drops by one of SE21’s makerspace rooms to inspect a pet project he enjoys tinkering with. He realizes a mistake the moment he removes two neon-green plastic pieces from the 3D-printer.

“I’m gonna need to design some more parts for this marble run,” Jonathan says with a slight grin. “They don’t fit together.”

“They almost fit together,” offers his STEM teacher, Andrew Walton. “Just a smidgen more tolerance, and they would fit.”

One aspect of learning from failure comes from breaking down an idea’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats — and then just going for it. Jonathan does not appear frustrated; in fact, his miscalculation illuminates something bigger. And he says he’s now better prepared to take another shot at improving the intricacies of track design.

In class, SE21 students consult a system to help guide them through the many stages of an idea: empathizing (understanding a client’s need); ideating (brainstorming); prototyping (creating something); testing; and, finally, reflecting. Students are told they might fail at any point. But this sort of structure keeps them honest with themselves, encourages them to research further, and gives them the confidence to start all over again.

During our visit to SE21 on a Friday afternoon, there was a remarkable lack of visible stress inside the classrooms. With so much at stake, with so much time and work invested in an idea that could fall apart at any time, the students manage to hold it all together.

“Their understanding of business, it’s already there,” says business teacher Li Jian Newman. “What makes it such a pleasure to teach students like these is they’re just so willing to get involved, to think about things differently, to really think about the world from a different perspective.”

Take the group tasked with creating the artwork for a brochure advertisement. Their big idea: Merchiful, a solution to improving the complicated world of gift-giving. Say your aunt knows you’re a fan of K-pop music. But that’s all she knows, and she has no clue where to begin shopping. Instead of frantically searching Taobao for the perfect gift, Merchiful will curate and creatively package a K-pop box set for her.

“It’s kind of ambitious,” admits Cathy, Merchiful’s marketing captain, whose command of an elevator pitch would be the envy of most adults. “We asked for the most funding out of all of the groups.” Students apply for up to RMB 750 from the STEM program to start a business. Any funds raised above the amount of the loan are reinvested into STEM projects or donated to charitable causes.

Once the teachers approve a project idea, the students spend eight weeks developing it. Along the way, they manage orders, manufacturing, sales, and product distribution. One student group is working on how to effectively market the upcycling of discarded wine bottle corks into miniature, magnetic plant pots. “It’s not exactly our concept,” one teammate says. “But we’re gonna make it ours. We’re trying to think more of the aesthetic factor.”

Down the hall during lunch hour, students staff and stock the school’s student-run shop, called the Friends Shop, with supplies and healthy snacks. Sixteen-year-old William manages it with a team of classmates and says he rarely encounters a smooth week. “One little mistake, one little communication error may result in a day without sufficient student shifts” he says.

William decided to take things up a notch in the name of health after he contacted a startup in Shenzhen. His idea was to rent the company’s vending machines to replace the school’s food dispensing machines. The shop has since served as William’s portal into the risks and challenges associated with running a business, warts and all. “The biggest thing that textbooks can never teach you is the logistical and organizational issues,” he says. “Learning, I don’t think, has to be confined to traditional academia. Collaboration and empowerment are everything.”

Asked about the value of enterprise education versus entrepreneurship education, William says students “should be careful of” aspiring to be the next Jeff Bezos of Amazon, for example. “I think we should develop our own unique way of doing things,” he says, “instead of trying to become someone else.”

“It’s finding a new way to challenge yourself,” adds tenth-grader Tiare. “That doesn’t mean it just has to be with a textbook; it can be creative as well.”    

SE21 hosts the Technology department which every student takes in sixth to eighth grade and then optional from ninth to twelfth grade. SE21 is a hive of activity throughout the day. The space encompasses a swarm of lessons and extracurriculars, exams, and clubs. But it is the enterprise philosophy learned here that shapes and pushes young minds toward graduation and beyond. It’s where students discover that enterprise is less about making money for themselves and more about creating value for other people. It’s a mindset where playing it safe often inhibits progress, and where failure is often the only sure path to success.

“Dulwich provides us with a degree of freedom,” says Mark, a tenth-grader. “We aren’t forced into anything. Rather, the gates are open for us to enter the real world.”

This article appeared in the beijingkids November 2018 Beijing Makers issue
Photos: Courtesy of Dulwich College Beijing and Julian Fisher

“A Crisis in Education” is an eye-catching, if not alarming title, for a talk. Fortunately, Antonia Giovanazzi, from the National Mathematics and Science College in the UK, had a solution as well as a problem.

Speaking before a packed lecture hall at the Beijing International School Expo 2018, Giovanazzi identified a global shortage of STEM graduates as the crisis in the making. Giovanazzi talked about the importance of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) subjects in the 21st century: from aerospace engineering to nanotechnology, nuclear physics to biomechanics.

“They affect virtually every component of our everyday lives,” she said. “The entire economy revolves around maths; sustainable energy and nuclear power are also steeped in the sciences. There are jobs which are among the highest paid and with the greatest potential for growth. Yet currently globally only one percent of graduates go into STEM-related fields.”

“Science drives innovation drives the economy,” Giovanazzi said, talking about the importance of STEM to key areas such as climate change, energy efficiency, and resource sustainability. “Science is about people and we need to recruit the best.”

She added that it was important to focus especially on girls, where they are still under-represented in the field of research. Giovanazzi presented a slide of 20 UK universities at the cutting edge of STEM teaching and research.

“If you’re a serious student in science and maths,” she said, “you want to be going to one of these universities in the UK. But what are these universities really looking for?”

The answer, she said, was not just top grades and hard work. Universities were also looking for a “genuine passion for subject and intellectual curiosity to pursue it further; higher order thinking skills; ‘stickability’; the ability and confidence to question the accepted norm; and acceptance that there is not always a right answer!” They were looking for students to “apply and challenge knowledge rather than acquire it.”

Giovanazzi gave examples of genuine university interview questions, such as “are there too many people in the world?”

“No textbook is going to give you the answer,” she said. “The textbook can give you facts about world population, but this question requires you to think and have an informed opinion.”

She went on to talk about the National Mathematics and Science College, and how they are connected to this style of learning.

The College is located in Coventry, UK: home, as Giovanazzi described it, to “the jet engine, Jaguar Landrover, and world-class universities.” They have students from China, Russia, England and the UAE, all of whom are boarding, in a hall of residence or with a family.

Students not only receive teaching in STEM subjects from highly-qualified teachers who are still connected to research, but they also study drama in association with a professional theater company and take part in the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme, which develops skills in self-reliance, leadership, and teamwork.

Photo: coventrytelegraph.net

Though 2017 will bring a significant amount of attention to China’s One Belt, One Road, we’re excited to see the completion of these China-based tech projects coming down the pipeline.

Bionic Fish Drone
Step away from everything you know about drones and start thinking about taking this tech underwater. That’s exactly what the makers of BIKI, the first bionic robot fish, did. Pictured above, this tech was developed by Dr. Xiong Minglei of Peking Univiersty, and the campaign has raised way more than the original set goal. There are still early bird deals available to get this tech in your hands or in your classroom for solving water-pollution problems and answering marine-life questions.

Augmented Reality Lens
We’re counting down the days until we’re living at home with augmented reality and where there is Hololens-type tech situated on every face. Maybe those days are far into the future, but this affordable mixed reality tech is chipping at the problem in a more cost-efficient way than it’s big-business competitors. Admittedly, it’s aesthetically rudimentary compared to the more famous versions.

Teeny, Tiny Phone
We’re not going to make any spy jokes while on this side of the border, but maybe preventing travel theft is a better application anyway. We do see that this will make preventing cell phones in class particularly impossible for those dinosaur schools that still refuse to apply tech to teaching.

Cellphone Camera Microscope
Make a STEAM teacher happy and get this in their professional-development gift-bag this year. At an inexpensive CA $78, we can’t see why a classroom set wouldn’t make it to the shopping cart either. The maker of this tech is also developing apps to make the microscope tech more user-friendly than just acting as a magnifying glass.

Building Blocks for STEM Classrooms
If you’re concerned about helping young students understand circuits without soldering and coding coming into play, DFRobot has thought up a simple solution by providing a kit for the classroom. The kit works with lights, tiny movable parts, and even LEGO.

Entrepreneurial Game
Before you swamp through an entrepreneurial project-based learning experience, let your students brainstorm with this really cool innovators game. The card game sets the scenario for lifelike examples of users, features, challenges, and boosters.

Flexible-bulb Lamp
Stepping away from hardcore tech and the classroom into creative life designs, we found Art Lamp. This cool purposeful décor lets you reshape the light wire to come up with any shape you desire. It’s meant to fit in with any environment, but especially to promote daily creativity.

Never Sleep-Through Alarm
Unless someone can sleep through an earthquake, this alarm clock will surely help even the grouchiest of teenagers wake up.

These projects are still ongoing or have been fully funded and are waiting release. Check out Kickstarter for other innovative projects in China that have been funded throughout the years.

Photos: Kickstarter.com