Up to $77.5K in scholarships for students, STEM education grants for schools at stake in 11th annual competition
Organizers of the A.H. Nickless Innovation Award have announced that 23 teams representing eight local high schools will spend the next several months conducting research and developing detailed plans to address the problem they identified during Phase One of the competition.
Aimed at inspiring passion for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) subjects and challenging students to work in teams to think innovatively and develop solutions to problems affecting the world, the award is an annual competition for high school students ages 13 to 18 in Bay, Midland, Saginaw and Tuscola counties. Topics typically include – but are not limited to – issues related to alternative energy, healthcare, science, technology or life sciences.
For Phase One of the competition, each registered team was required to identify a problem and submit a two-page description of its proposed project. Each team now moving on to Phase Two of the competition receives a $1,000 grant with which to conduct its research and develop a viable solution. The teams’ project reports are due March 29, 2024.
The competition – which is presented by the Nickless Family Charitable Foundation – will culminate in a daylong public event on Saturday, April 20, 2024, at Saginaw Valley State University, where the Phase Two teams will present their respective projects. Three winning teams will be announced at the conclusion of the event, with each taking home a share of up to $77,500 in scholarships for students and STEM education grants for schools.
The eight schools with teams advancing to Phase Two of the competition are:
• Bullock Creek High School in Midland (Bullock Creek School District), 4 teams
• Herbert Henry Dow High School in Midland (Midland Public Schools), 4 teams
• Frankenmuth High School (Frankenmuth School District), 1 team
• Freeland High School (Freeland Community School District), 1 team
• John Glenn High School in Bay City (Bangor Township Schools), 1 team
• Midland High School (Midland Public Schools), 2 teams
• Nouvel Catholic Central High School in Saginaw (Catholic Diocese of Saginaw), 6 teams
• Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy (Saginaw Public School District), 4 teams
First place will receive up to five $5,000 scholarships for student team members and a $20,000 STEM education grant for the school; second place will receive up to five $2,500 scholarships for student team members and a $10,000 STEM education grant for the school; and third place will receive up to five $1,000 scholarships for student team members and a $5,000 STEM education grant for the school.
Fostering student innovation for more than a decade
The 2023-24 competition marks the 11th year of the A.H. Nickless Innovation Award. Since the first competition in 2013-14, more than $640,000 has been awarded to participants and their schools, including $329,000 in student scholarships and $315,000 in STEM education grants, respectively. In all, nearly 500 students developed and presented a total of more than 150 team projects in Phase Two of the competition during the competition’s first 10 years. While there was not a competition in 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Nickless Family Charitable Foundation distributed $16,500 in scholarships to 11 past participants who were unable to compete during their senior year due to the cancellation.