GWSC wins 2025 ‘F1 AusGP’ STEM Challenge!!!!
Congratulations to our Glen Waverley Secondary College Year 9 Research Science ‘STEM’ Team of Vidya Jivanjee, Jason Liu, Moksha Patel and Thimath Siriwardana who won the ‘Junior’ Secondary Schools Final of the 2025 ‘Formula One Australian Grand Prix’ STEM Challenge!
Kudos also to their fellow GWSC ‘STEM’ Teams who also qualified for and competed in the Secondary Schools Final of this prestigious competition. Our ‘Senior’ GWSC STEM Team of Anton Di Battista, Adele Duong, Theary Huoch, Kael Reger and Beatrice Yip were runner’s up in their division of the competition, whilst our second ‘Junior’ GWSC STEM Team consisting of Jolie Huang, Alicia Leong, Christina Meyer, Seara Ng and Pakhi Singh took out third place to complete a terrific treble of podium finishes for our GWSC ‘STEM’ Teams this year!
We are extremely proud of our GWSC students within these three ‘STEM’ Teams who all represented themselves, their families and our college community so very well throughout the entire competition, which kicked off way back in Term 4 last year. They firstly had to qualify for the ‘F1’ finals by creating a video presentation which explained in great detail their design and subsequent development of a prototype sustainable 'Hydrogen-Powered Vehicle’. They also had to outline the STEM Principles utilised when designing and building their scale model vehicle. Our students also had to research and address how hydrogen can be produced effectively and sustainably for different vehicles, how do hydrogen-powered engines compare to traditional battery-electric engines, in addition to detailing what aerodynamic and sustainable features their team would utilise in their ‘Hydrogen-Powered Vehicle’. Their initial video presentations needed to also include a series of STEM-based considerations associated with form and function, scale and measurement, matter and energy, systems modelling, in addition to data collection and analysis, processing and communications technologies.
From over 400 entries nation-wide, three of our GWSC STEM Team’s hydrogen-powered vehicles were adjudged to each be one of the top three designs submitted by either ‘Junior’ Secondary School students (Years 7-9) or ‘Senior’ Secondary School students (Years 10-12) from right across Australia, which secured their spot in the Finals of the 2025 ‘F1 AusGP’ STEM Challenge. For the final, they were tasked with creating a slide presentation and associated 2 minute ‘pitch’ which firstly outlined all of the key STEM principles, in addition links to F1 vehicle engineering and technologies, that were incorporated into the design of their prototype ‘Hydrogen-Powered Vehicle’. Our students also explored what eco-friendly materials and systems they could utilise if they wanted to enhance the sustainability of their vehicle, whilst maintaining its speed, downforce and manoeuvrability out on the race track.
Our GWSC ‘STEM’ Teams presented their respective pitches up on the ‘Innovation Stage’ next to the ‘F1 AusGP’ Albert Park circuit, alongside teams from St Monica’s College, John Monash Science School and Scotch College. All of our competing students confidently delivered their presentations on stage in front of an expert judging panel consisting of representatives from the Royal Australian Navy, the Australian Grand Prix Corporation and also STEM Hub. Our GWSC ‘STEM’ Teams all delivered an informative and highly entertaining pitch in their competition finals, then engaged in a ‘Q&A’ session with the expert panel where they were posed with some very technical and tricky questions.
At the conclusion of the ‘Fuelling the Future’ Competition Finals, our ‘Cougar 196’ STEM Team consisting of Vidya, Jason, Moksha and Thimath were absolutely ecstatic when they were announced as Champions of the 2025 'Formula One Australian Grand Prix' STEM Challenge! The panel of expert judges were blown away by the detail and thought which our leading ‘Junior’ STEM team had put into their design and associated pitch, awarding them a unanimous victory. It was amazing to witness the support and round of rapturous applause that our victorious students received from their fellow GWSC classmates, alongside all of the F1 fans in the audience surrounding the ‘Innovation Stage’. Similar rounds of applause were also highly audible when our ‘Senior’ GWSC STEM team were announced as the runner up in their division and also after the MC confirmed that our second ‘Junior’ GWSC STEM team had taken out third place. All four members of our victorious ‘Cougar 196’ STEM Team were then taken on a special VIP Experience and Tour of the exclusive Pit Lane and Formula 1 Constructor’s Garages, where the roar of the cars was definitely deafening during their practice session out on the Albert Park track. It was indeed an incredible and potentially once in a lifetime experience for all members of our champion STEM team to be involved in!
Special thanks to Mr Mark Robinson for co-ordinating our college’s involvement in this STEM challenge, in addition to mentoring and supporting our forty-two GWSC ‘STEM’ teams throughout the entirety of this extended five month competition. Thank-you also to Mrs Ivy Lai for meeting with and mentoring a number of our STEM Teams who qualified for the F1 Finals, then also assisting to supervise them at the ‘F1 AusGP’. Kudos to Mr Peter Gray and Mr Shaun Tyquin for assisting with the supervision of our GWSC student support crew on the day of the STEM Challenge Finals at the 2025 ‘F1 AusGP’. Thanks also to the following GWSC Technology team members who kindly assisted our students to design, create, render and then print 3D models of their hydrogen-powered vehicles - Mrs Mardi De Kretser, Mr James McIntosh, Mr Frank Martinek, Mr Jarod Sole and Mr Bryan Lynch-Wells. We would also like to acknowledge and share our appreciation of the following GWSC Science staff who assisted our teams prepare, conduct safely and film various experiments in the laboratory as part of their STEM Challenge presentations - Mr John Healy, Mrs Cec Eldridge, Mrs Ellen Clarke, Mrs Lakshmi Krishnan and Mr Jason Griffiths.
Finally, we would like to thank the FiA, the Australian Grand Prix Corporation and STEM Hub for sponsoring, organising and running the 2025 ‘Formula One Australian Grand Prix’ STEM Challenge for our students. Thank-you also to the Motorsport Australia ‘Girls on Track’ and FiA ‘Driving Learning’ programs who have previously engaged our future STEM leaders in a range of unique motorsport and mentoring opportunities, which greatly assisted our STEM teams throughout this competition.
Congratulations again to Vidya, Jason, Moksha and Thimath on winning the ‘Junior’ Secondary Schools Division of the 2025 ‘F1 AusGP’ STEM Challenge, it is an incredible achievement and a well-deserved reward for your dedication, teamwork and tireless efforts. We look forward to following your careers in the F1 or a STEM related field in the future!
Kind Regards,
Mr Mark Robinson.
Glen Waverley Secondary College