Young Women in Project Invent build Concussion Detector

In Project Invent, high school students are tasked to identify a problem in their community and invent a technology for social good. The Infosys Foundation USA’s Infy Maker Awards opened the door to hundreds of new young innovators to see technology and making as a way to impact their communities. Thanks to the Infy Maker Award, we were able to engage with new regions across the country and provide support to hundreds of students.

Through our partnership in Vermont, students throughout the Burlington region were invited to the local Generator VT makerspace to learn about making for social good. A group of ladies from Burlington High School, Winooski High School, and the Lund Foundation continued their engagement and worked at the Generator all year to invent a technology that could benefit their community. All of the students were young females, some of whom were young mothers. Female students are typically underrepresented in STEM and not seen as STEM leaders, but we were able to support these students to rise up to the challenge of invention. Project Invent supported these young women in exploring STEM innovation in a way that they would have never been exposed to before. Passionate about making a difference, these ladies built an on-field concussion detection kit for coaches to detect early signs of concussion in their players during football games.

In Project Invent, students choose to innovate for problems that they are passionate about, and design solutions that make a difference. Through this invention process, students learn the skills and mindsets to succeed individually and impact globally. For the Beta Band team, this invention experience made a huge impact. Their teacher, Rachel Hooper, shared: "None of the girls came into this project thinking that they were inventors or makers." Hooper also said: "All of them have been radically transformed by the idea that the world is invented and designed and that they can participate in making that world."

At Demo Day, these young ladies showed that anyone can be an inventor, presenting their Beta Band with a live demo and expertly addressing questions from a panel of top investors and tech executives in Silicon Valley.

For the Beta Band ladies, Project Invent changed everything. By empowering young ladies like the ones on the Beta Band team, we are redefining the face of STEM and empowering the next generation of leaders, through making.