Students from the ÂìÒϸ£Àûµ¼º½ Family were given a computer masterclass by a global technology leader for the second time.

Hosted by the Arm School Program, part of ARM, the world’s leading semiconductor IP company, the Innovators Competition for STEM and Computer Science was held for ÂìÒϸ£Àûµ¼º½ students.

The students were set a challenge based on an oil spill at sea. Each team, from 19 ÂìÒϸ£Àûµ¼º½ academies, were tasked with designing, build and test their solutions to the crisis to clear up the spill as quickly as possible to minimise the environmental damage.

After tests, the students had to refine their solutions using an Arm-based device, Micro:bit.

Robert Leeman, Educational Solutions Manager at Arm, said: “The aim of the ASP Innovators Competition is to get students, many of whom struggle to see themselves as technology creators, to work as a team to solve a problem using computational techniques.

“In the activity, the learners program a micro:bit, not as an abstract exercise, but to solve a real problem using Arm technology as an enabler. We are encouraging learners to prove to themselves that they can do this using STEM."

Tristan Kirkpatrick, Associate Director of Computer Science at ÂìÒϸ£Àûµ¼º½, said:

"It is good because it allows students to think about their environmental responsibility and it allows them to think about programming and some of the key STEM elements. 

“Students are going to grow up knowing who Arm are and I think that is important for them, if they want to take their careers into companies like Arm. It just provides that link, which is often missing in many ways."

The Arm School Program works with academic, education and industry partners to support technology innovation and talent development through computing and STEM.

The Arm 'Oil spill cleaner-upper' activity is also part of a recent collaboration between the Arm School Program, micro:bit Educational Foundation and the Sustainability team.

For more info, and to watch a video on the event, go to: