Innovative Teens Seek Solutions to Ag Challenges
The winning team from the Ag + Innovate Youth Agbioscience Innovation Challenge (photo courtesy: KEDCo)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowKosciusko County high school students are getting a jump start on how to solve challenges in the agricultural and biological sciences sectors which may lead to careers.
Approximately 40 students from four high schools in the county competed last week in the inaugural Ag + Innovate Youth Agbioscience Challenge.
Sponsored by the Kosciusko Economic Development Corp., the event challenged the teenagers to find solutions to challenges that exist in the local agriculture industry.
Twenty-four hours before the event, students were given a list of proposed challenges. When the teams arrived, they chose their challenge and got to work.
After developing their concepts, teams had to present their solutions to a panel of judges. They were judged in five areas, including complexity of the business problem, innovation of their solution and quality of the presentation.
“I am so impressed with our team members who developed this event, our sponsors and school leaders who supported it, and the students who came up with some amazing innovations,” said KEDCo Chief Executive Officer Alan Tio, “Our team will continue to look for new ways to support and encourage the growth of our agribusiness sector in Koscuisko County.”
The challenges ranged from labor shortages to farm runoff into the numerous lakes in the county.
A team from Warsaw High School won the competition.