New Zealand’s place as an innovator of excellence on the global stage is being nurtured by CREST – a national awards scheme managed by The Royal Society of New Zealand that encourages and rewards excellence in science and technology among secondary school students.

Developed to support the curriculum for Year 7-13 students, CREST (Creativity in Science and Technology Awards) recognises individual work as well as team projects, with First, Bronze, Silver and Gold categories to reflect the knowledge and skill levels required. Projects can also help provide evidence for assessment against NCEA Achievement or Unit Standards and students can also showcase their work in activities such as regional science and technology fairs.

CREST ’s innovation lies in the way it provides students with access to expertise outside the school, helping to bridge the gap between academic learning and the problems and opportunities of the real world, and exposing students to role models from knowledge-based, wealth-creating industries.

Palmerston North Girls’ High School student Roseanne Coulter has nothing but praise for CREST, after completing a project in which she geologically mapped an area of Saddle Hill and used her results to determine the area’s geological history. She says the best thing was that CREST gave her the opportunity to learn outside the classroom – to undertake “real hands-on research”. 

Her expert assessor, Dr Julie Palmer of Massey University, commented that what impressed her about the whole CREST process was the opportunity that the students have to develop real skills that will be helpful throughout their lives – from designing and planning a project to managing their time and communicating their results.

Another example of CREST in action: Gold CREST student Haydn Luckman spent two years developing a heat exchange unit to extract waste heat from shower effluent. He says CREST “helped me to foster an enquiring mind and passion for knowledge” and without it he would never “have got hooked on science and technology – simple as that.”

Haydn’s project won him more than the CREST award – it also featured at the 2002 Genesis Energy National Science and Technology Fair, the Beijing Youth Science Creation Competition and the London International Youth Science Forum.

CREST is good news for students and for New Zealand: by harnessing the talent and enthusiasm of our young people it’s helping to shape the wealth-creating industries of tomorrow.

CREST (Creativity in Science and Technology Awards) www.crest.org.nz