Faith in world final two years straight
Faith Baptist Christian School has claimed back-to-back wins at the qualifying stage of the Horizon Hydrogen Grand Prix (H2GP) in Gladstone, earning themselves a spot in the World Final in the United States.
As winners of the Australian Horizon H2GP, the team – Faith & Furious – will be the official Australian representatives at the global event being run by Horizon Educational from 11 – 14 September 2023 in California, which will attract competitors from across the globe.
Twenty school teams from across Queensland travelled to Gladstone to take part in the region's second H2GP race this year (Thursday, 16 May).
The event, sponsored by CQUniversity along with 17 industry, state and local government and community organisation partners, is aimed at developing the next generation of hydrogen and clean energy leaders in a fast-growing industry.
CQUniversity's Project Manager for the CQ Hydrogen Community Hub Dr Cal Devney said the University had been a steadfast advocate of the Australian National and Central Queensland Horizon H2GP events since their inception in the Asia Pacific Region.
"This program empowers secondary students to hone their STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) skills through collaboration with industry mentors to solve real-world challenges," Dr Devney said.
"CQUniversity is proud to nurture young talent and bridge the gap between education and our future skilled workforce."
Director of APAC at Horizon Educational Ales Rakovsky congratulated all teams and schools who took part in the educational race.
"While healthy competition is a great driver of learning and motivation among students, the skills students learned throughout this program, not just in the final event, will set them up well for a variety of next-generation careers as Australia enters the era of clean energy.”
The program gives out awards for not only the team who completed the most laps in the four-hour time limit, but celebrates the range of STEM, creative and teamwork skills students learn in the program.
Awards are thus handed out for the best car design, the team that optimises hydrogen usage, and the team that implements the most modifications or innovative features.
There is also an award for ‘Pit Stop’, the team with the best time and collaboration during a fuel change, and the team that delivers the most compelling presentation to an expert jury.
This year's award winners were:
- Innovation – Faith & Furious – Faith Baptist Christian School
- Promo (Best Presentation) – BSL Tannum – Tannum Sands State High School
- Energy (Least Energy use) – Faith & Furious – Faith Baptist Christian School
- Team Spirit – Fortescue Toolooa – Toolooa State High School
- Pit Stop (most efficient pit stop) – RGS Rapids – Rockhampton Grammar School
- Design (best car design) – Faith & Furious – Faith Baptist Christian School
- Endurance (most laps): 3rd place – Heights Holy Rollers – Heights College, 2nd place – Kingsley CQU Zoomers – Kingsley College, 1st place – Faith & Furious – Faith Baptist Christian School
In March, CQUniversity Rockhampton hosted a ‘Ready to Race’ event for the schools new to the CQ H2GP. The CQ H2GP is notable for providing immersive hands-on learning for students from regional communities who are often underserved in STEM programs.
The CQ H2GP event was presented by Stanwell Corporation and with financial support from the Queensland Government Department of State Development and Infrastructure.
Other program sponsors include CQUniversity, Inglis Consultants Pty Ltd, Gladstone Ports Corporation Ltd, Fortescue, Asset Management Australia, Central Queensland Power, Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG), Alpha HPA, Rio Tinto, Boyne Smelters Limited, Calliope Rotary, Gladstone Area Water Board, High Risk Solutions, Gladstone Regional Council, Orica and Gladstone Engineering Alliance.
