Last month, Bhavishyaa Vignesh, a Grade 6 student at Post’s Corners Public School, won a challenge put forward by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The
Space Brain Hack challenge was open to students in Grades 6-8 and 9-12, inviting them to imagine solutions to help astronauts maintain their mental health and well-being on long-duration journeys, potentially deeper into space.
Submissions were evaluated on the basis of four criteria: communication; innovation; validity; and critical thinking/critical analysis. A panel of CSA experts then did a blind review and ranked the top submissions.
Bhavishyaa proposed a virtual reality (VR) headset that includes stereo sound, detection gloves and preprogrammed places on Earth that the astronaut is fond of. The VR headset would also "use brain wave analysis to monitor the astronaut's emotions and automatically change the setting to relax their mind if required,” says Bhavishyaa.
Bhavishyaa’s mother and grandparents were present as Minister of Education, Stephen Lecce, visited the school to congratulate her on this remarkable accomplishment and present her with a certificate to commemorate her achievements. Alongside a group of her peers, she chatted with the Minister about her goals for the future and her dream to work for the CSA.
"This young girl is an example to a lot of young people that if you work hard, you can literally reach the stars. And that’s her ambition and I want to be there supporting her every step of the way,” said Minister Lecce.
At the Halton District School Board (HDSB), Bhavishyaa is well-known for her accomplishments in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. In the 2020-2021 school year, Skills Ontario hosted 16 virtual competitions as part of its #SkillsAtHome challenge series. Bhavishyaa took part in five of them, finishing 1st place in two of them, 2nd place in two of them and 3rd place in one.
“Bhavishyaa is a remarkable student and on behalf of the Board of Trustees, we are so proud of her achievements. Her knowledge and curiosity about all aspects of the STEM field are incredibly inspiring,” says Margo Shuttleworth, Chair of the Halton District School Board.
Bhavishyaa’s success speaks to the importance of the ‘Learning and Achievement’ area of focus of the
HDSB’s Multi-Year Strategic Plan. At the HDSB, we strive to elevate student achievement and celebrate student success every day.
In 2021, Bhavishyaa said in a
Spotlight on Schools story that she has aspirations to code for the CSA. This achievement had brought her one step closer to making her dreams a reality.
Learn more about the winners of the Space Brain Hack:
https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/blog/2023/05/18/congratulations-to-the-winners-of-our-first-space-brain-hack.asp 