11 September 2013
University of Waikato’s Science Learning Hub wins at World Summit Awards
The University of Waikato’s Science Learning Hub (SLH) is one of five winners in the e-learning and science category
competing at the World Summit Awards. It is one of only two of the original eight New Zealand entries to have made it
this far in the competition.
More than 40 winners have been selected from 461 submissions and now have a chance to win the overall World Summit Award
for 2013. The 40 WSA winners will be invited to present their projects at the WSA Global Congress 2013 in Sri Lanka in
October.
Products entered in the WSA were tested between 29-31 August in Estonia, and SLH was selected as one of the 40 best ICT
ventures by the WSA Grand Jury. The jury, 17 IT-professionals, was made up of e-content experts from all continents with
diverse backgrounds such as industry leaders, researchers, social entrepreneurs and journalists.
Each of the 461 ventures that made it to the Grand Jury had already won a national World Summit Award in its home
country in one of the eight categories of the WSA.
The jury commented that the SLH’s richness, high quality content, and smooth design were “behind the success of this
wonderful educative and learning portal”.
The jury evaluation went on to say that although the SLH is designed for New Zealanders, it is very useful for all
countries as a good scientific reference.
“The portal explains and showcases New Zealand’s cutting-edge science sector, providing teachers and their students with
a contemporary and engaging view of science research, supporting identified needs in science education. The portal
includes many featured collections such as classroom-ready resources, multimedia collections, teaching strategies and
starter ideas, plus shot-on-location videos, interactive content and subject matter-based timelines. The portal is also
showcasing New Zealand science and innovation to the world and demonstrating how this sector is contributing to local
and global science.”
Project Manager for the Science Learning Hub, Di Hartwell’s thrilled with the Hub’s success. “And while we’re
celebrating, we must also acknowledge all the scientists up and down the country who work with us to produce the
site-content. They give so generously of their time - a lot of our success is due to them.” Ms Hartwell hopes to be in
Sri Lanka for the Global Congress.
The WSA gala in Sri Lanka will serve as a global hub for the world’s best e-content with workshops, renowned speakers
and podium discussions.
The SLH promotes student interest and engagement in science by providing contemporary, contextualised resources for
school teachers from Years 2–10. SLH showcases science using multimedia and demonstrates the relevance of scientific
research to our everyday lives. The website provides a link between science research organisations and science teachers
fulfilling an identified need in science education. The Learning Hubs are a national project funded by the Ministry of
Business, Innovation and Employment and managed by the University of Waikato. For more information, visit: http://www.wsis-award.org/winners/e-learning-and-education
Click for big version.
The team from the Science Learning Hub (standing L-R) Paula Lourie, Colin Milne, Di Hartwell, Jane Barnett, Ariana
Donaghy (sitting L-R) Jenny Mangan, Angela Schipper, Rosanna Luoni, Cath Battersby.
ENDS