Celebrating Youth Month 2020: Grade 11 learner wins STEM scholarship

Makgothoma Milton's participation in the Nka'Thuto EduPropeller programme, which exposes learners from disadvantaged schools to a variety of skills, helped him to win an international BP STEM Academies scholarship.

 

This will see the grade 11 learner from Bokamoso Senior Secondary School in Polokwane attend a four-week programme in one of four countries (Brazil, Egypt, India or the United States of America) in June 2021.  A virtual academy commences in July 2020.

 

Milton's school subjects include Mathematics, Physical Sciences and Life Sciences.  He has been in the Nka'Thuto EduPropeller programme since his grade 9 year, learning research methodology, how to apply science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) principles, how to do presentations, and how to be an innovator.

 

The BP Global STEM Academies are full scholarship programmes that offer young people a chance to enrich their STEM knowledge and skills, while growing competencies in language and problem-solving, and learning to collaborate and build bridges across cultures.

 

The Academies is a partnership between AFS, a non-profit organisation that provides intercultural learning opportunities, and global energy company BP.  The collaboration aims to help talented young people from all backgrounds to develop knowledge, critical STEM skills and intercultural understanding, and chooses participants to reflect the diversity of populations around the world.

 

The interactive programme culminates with team projects and presentations that offer potential solutions to real-world challenges, with an emphasis on climate change and the energy transition.

 

Milton is one of 110 young people selected for the scholarship from over 9 000 applications and 91 countries around the world.

 

For Milton, who has always wanted to study abroad, the programme is an opportunity to gain a perspective on other cultures that will help him adapt to a changing world.

 

With a strong interest in STEM, studying abroad and interacting with peers from different backgrounds, Milton is a perfect fit for the BP Global STEM Academies.  He had to write four essays as part of the application process, and after shortlisting underwent a virtual interview. His experience in the Nka'Thuto EduPropeller programme helped him to tackle each of the questions comfortably.

 

Milton began his journey at Nka'Thuto EduPropeller in 2018, winning third place in the organisation's national Final Innovation Expo that year with an alarm system for mounted flatscreen television sets.  This win got him onto the six-day Nka'Thuto EduPropeller TechnoPreneurship bootcamp, which equips learners with the tools to make business cases for their scientific or engineering solutions.

 

Milton describes STEM as "mind blowing", and is enthusiastic about the impact STEM can make in solving global problems like climate change.