The Vice-Prime Minister (VPM), Minister of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, Mrs Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun, attended, on Saturday afternoon, the Global Curriculum Orbit (GCO) Student Competition Showcase, at the Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Tower in Ebène, in the presence of other personalities. The competition was held from 08 to 12 August 2022.
In her address, VPM Dookun-Luchoomun highlighted that the GCO programme enabled students to use technologies to address societal problems and come up with innovative solutions. All learners, she observed, should be engaging in such activities at an early age to eventually develop long-term solutions for our society.
The VPM underscored that the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s report points out that 80% of the jobs of tomorrow have not yet been created and as such, encouraged students, who are called upon to be leaders in the future, to prepare themselves for addressing this issue. Being innovative, thinking out of the box and in an entrepreneurial manner, she indicated, will contribute in enabling students to attain the objectives of the future.
Furthermore, VPM Dookun-Luchoomun underlined that the Sustainable Development Goals provided a window on society and were able, through the GCO programme, to bring Government, schools and companies together to create a better, safer and more equitable society.
She seized this opportunity to thank SD Worx and Ceridian for having enabled students to participate in the GCO programme on their premises. She also stressed on the importance of support from corporate bodies to ensure that her Ministry’s curriculum matches the market requirements.
Results of the competition for groups A and B are as follows:
Group A
- Winner: Sookdeo Bissoondoyal State College
- First runner-up: Dr Maurice Curé State College
- Second runner-up: Quatre Bornes State Secondary School
Group B
- Winner: Royal College of Curepipe
- First runner-up: Queen Elizabeth College
- Second runner-up: Quartier Militaire State Secondary School
Winners received Rs 15,000; first runners-up Rs 10,000; and second runners-up Rs 5,000.
GCO Student Competition and Showcase
The Ministry of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology provided full support to the innovative and immersive GCO programme, along with two global Mauritian companies, Ceridian and SD Worx. All stakeholders worked together with the GCO team so as to create an immersive place and space where students can grapple with problems and generate innovative, entrepreneurial and commercially-viable solutions that have global impact.
The competition included 12 teams of students who worked over a five-day period in one of two corporate environments (SD Worx and Ceridian), in Ebène, culminating in a Showcase on 12 August 2022. Each of the 12 teams presented their projects as well as their potential commercial solutions, and significant opportunities will be awarded to the first, second and third prize winners.
This pilot programme is expected to become a leading action-oriented example for integrating industry engagement, vocational aspiration, educational policy and practice, school leadership and student learning, in one initiative. The GCO programme will encourage students to explore the commercialisation of their ideas, which will help model economic success and lead to small business development while ensuring a positive future for generations to come.
