The Hakki innovation competition continues
The innovation competition Hakkið recently began in Hafnarfjörður, and Lækjarskóli was the first school to take part. Hakkið is a new event tailored for Year 8 pupils, and the spirit of innovation will continue over the coming weeks in Hafnarfjörður. This week, Hakkið will be held at Hvaleyrarskóli.
The best solution, the best team and the best presentation
The Hakkið innovation competition recently got underway in Hafnarfjörður, and Lækjarskóli was the first school to take part. Hakkið is a new event tailored for Year 8 pupils, and all participants receive a certificate of recognition. In addition, prizes are awarded in three categories: best solution, best team and best presentation. Hakkið continues over the coming weeks in Hafnarfjörður, and this week it will be held at Hvaleyrarskóli.
Schools choose their own challenge or project.
The Hack's project at Lækjarskóli was ”The Teenager's Dream Neighbourhood in Hafnarfjörður„. Students gave a 2-3 minute presentation and put forward many fun solutions. “Pavements“ was chosen as the best solution, the best team was ”Starbucks in Iceland“ and the best presentation was ”heated bench". The students were rewarded with prizes including free vouchers for Subway and Omnom chocolate. Other interesting solutions included an alcohol-free nightclub, Chunky Monkey ice cream, a dream neighbourhood and a 'dringlan', a cream beard, Klussa's Ice Cream Parlour and a water park. The hackathon takes two to three days, and the schools themselves choose a challenge or project, which is set for the students at the start. The students then listen to lectures and are introduced to tools and resources for solving the project. The students work in groups and are given a fair amount of freedom in their implementation. Each school receives a visit from one guest speaker, and at Lækjarskóli, a representative from the company Héðni came and spoke about their projects and how important innovation is to their operations. Héðni provides a full range of services in the metal and engineering industries.
Fun, relaxed and creative approach
The concept of the Hack is fun, informal and creative, and the aim is for the children to see themselves as thinkers and designers. A great emphasis is placed on independent working methods and on the solution process and final outcome being the product and property of the students. The Hack is run by the project managers, Margrét Lena and Sólveig Rán at Hafnarfjörður Innovation Centre. They have designed learning materials that link directly to the competency-based standards of the national curriculum, thus fitting into traditional teaching, but in a slightly different way. The Hack continues over the coming weeks, and this week it is Hvaleyrarskóli that is hosting it.