Compugen’s latest classroom contest started a conversation with school boards to understand how innovation can be brought into classrooms and help educators in the education industry across the country.
The project was so successful that it reached 175,000 people through the company’s social media campaign and, from the contest, 31 opportunities totalling over $13.6-million was generated. The campaign has earned this year’s best Channel Marketing Initiative Award.
Compugen’s classroom contest “was designed to inspire K-12 students, and their teachers across Canada to dream about the possibilities technology can create and help them thrive in their careers of the future,” said Elise Coppola, marketing, communications and business development officer at Compugen.
The Toronto-based company has 2,000 customers and is one of the top three solution providers in Canada. Its line of business includes IT infrastructure products and services.
Coppola said those participating in the contest were asked: “How will technology in the classroom today prepare you for the careers of tomorrow?” and were asked to submit a 45-second video.
The four most creative and innovative videos won $10,000 worth of technology, and that included 15 HP Notebooks and HP Sprout.
“Students showed us how technology will improve the world we live in. The goal of our contest was to start a conversation with educators, gain more connections in schools and to highlight our work in education across Canada,” Coppola said.
Video entries highlighted how technology was important in the classroom and how it helped empower and engage students who are preparing for the future.
This year’s four winning videos were from St. Isidore Catholic School in Kanata, Ont., a suburb of Ottawa, which showed Ontario’s future of farming using drones; Holland Landing School in Toronto, which showed the future of healthcare and emergency medicine using medical data pills and driverless ambulances; Surrey City School in Surrey, B.C., which showed the future of firefighting using drone technology; and Simmonds Elementary in Langley, B.C., which showed the future of the entertainment industry.