Gladstone kids focus on energy for Future Cities Challenge

08 October 2024
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Toolooa State High School took out first place in the Gladstone Future Cities Challenge

By Priscilla Roberts

The Future of Energy was the focus for young minds at this year’s Gladstone Future Cities Challenge for 2024.

Forty-four students from Grades 5 to 8 from the Gladstone region took part in the eight-week challenge which comprised a full-day hack-a-thon and weekly zoom workshop sessions where students gained the skills to design the future city of Gladstone in 2050.

The Challenge culminated in an awards ceremony at CQUniversity Gladstone where winners ‘Mission Possible’ from Toolooa State High School took out first place, followed by ‘Clinton Creators’ from Clinton State School in second place and ‘APAME Energy’ from Toolooa State School in third place.

“This was the fourth year CQUniversity has been involved with the hugely successful Gladstone Future Cities Program,” said STEM Lead Associate Professor Linda Pfeiffer.


Maddie from BOP Industries Linda Pfeiffer from CQU and Luke from Powerlink at the Future Cities Innovation Challenge.jpg
Maddie Panther from BOP Industries, CQU's STEM Lead Associate Professor Linda Pfeiffer and Luke Harman from Powerlink at the Challenge showcase event in Gladstone

“The event brought together students from the middle years of schooling to innovate, create, research and design the future city of Gladstone in 2050 and think about transitions to renewable and clean energy sources,” she explained.

“The dedicated teachers devoted a full day for the hack-a-thon followed by afternoons for eight weeks to supervise the teams as they worked through the modules with the experienced and motivating team from BOP industries.”

The culminating showcase event and awards at CQUniversity Gladstone were a celebration of their creativity and hard work and included industry guests and expert judges from Monadelphous, Powerlink and Rio Tinto. 

The annual Innovation Challenge is coordinated by BOP industries and proudly funded by Australia Pacific LNG, operated downstream by ConocoPhillips.