Wayne-Westland STEM class wins state Samsung contest
Students from Franklin Middle School in the Wayne Westland schools have been awarded a $12,000 prize and will now move on to the national finals in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow contest.
The science and engineering students modified toys and games for preschool students as their entry are among only 50 winners chosen for the state finals. The contest challenged students to boldly solve pressing community issues using STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). This is the 15th annual Samsung Solve for Tomorrow national STEM competition. Each of the state winning schools has been awarded a $12,000 Samsung technology prize package, including a Samsung Video Kit to showcase their proposed STEM solution.
“Congratulations to all the incredible State Winners in the 2024-2025 Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition,” said Allison Stransky, chief marketing officer, Samsung Electronics America. “Solve for Tomorrow was born from Samsung’s deep belief in the power of STEM to improve lives and transform communities. “It’s truly inspiring to see these bright Gen Z and Gen Alpha innovators harnessing emerging technologies, with nearly half of their STEM solutions incorporating AI, to address critical societal issues with creativity, determination, and purpose.”
Samsung Solve for Tomorrow engages middle and high school students to drive meaningful societal progress. Through hands-on, real-world experiences, the competition inspires young minds to see STEM as a pathway to becoming changemakers and pursuing fulfilling, impactful careers, Stransky explained. The State Winner honor marks a key milestone toward the ultimate prize—being named one of three national winners, each unlocking $100,000 for their school. Overall, Samsung will award more than $2 million in prizes to participating schools.
The competition also provides a glimpse into the priorities of American Gen Alpha and Gen Z. As a group, the state winners are most concerned with environmental sustainability and climate disasters (28 percent), public health (26 percent), and accessibility (20 percent), followed by public safety and mental health.
The competing entries embraced cutting-edge technologies like AI (42 percent), 3D printing (34 percent), and robotics (14 percent) to bring their ideas to life.
For the next phase of the competition, state winners including the Wayne-Westland students, will receive a Samsung Video consisting of a Galaxy Book and a Galaxy Z Flip to help create a three-minute STEM solution pitch video. The video must demonstrate how STEM is being applied to address the community issue outlined in the student teams’ Activity Plans. Judges will review the submissions to select 10 National Finalists, who will be announced in mid-March and are invited to participate in a live pitch event in April 2025.
Samsung employees will once again serve as one-on-one mentors to the state winners, guiding student teams through project development and prototype building. Using their professional expertise, mentors will also help teams create video pitches for their STEM solutions to advance to the national finalist phase.
“Congratulations to all the incredible State Winners in the 2024-2025 Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition,” said Allison Stransky, chief marketing officer, Samsung Electronics America. “Solve for Tomorrow was born from Samsung’s deep belief in the power of STEM to improve lives and transform communities. “It’s truly inspiring to see these bright Gen Z and Gen Alpha innovators harnessing emerging technologies, with nearly half of their STEM solutions incorporating AI, to address critical societal issues with creativity, determination, and purpose.”
Samsung Solve for Tomorrow engages middle and high school students to drive meaningful societal progress. Through hands-on, real-world experiences, the competition inspires young minds to see STEM as a pathway to becoming changemakers and pursuing fulfilling, impactful careers, Stransky explained. The State Winner honor marks a key milestone toward the ultimate prize—being named one of three national winners, each unlocking $100,000 for their school. Overall, Samsung will award more than $2 million in prizes to participating schools.
The competition also provides a glimpse into the priorities of American Gen Alpha and Gen Z. As a group, the state winners are most concerned with environmental sustainability and climate disasters (28 percent), public health (26 percent), and accessibility (20 percent), followed by public safety and mental health.
The competing entries embraced cutting-edge technologies like AI (42 percent), 3D printing (34 percent), and robotics (14 percent) to bring their ideas to life.
For the next phase of the competition, state winners including the Wayne-Westland students, will receive a Samsung Video consisting of a Galaxy Book and a Galaxy Z Flip to help create a three-minute STEM solution pitch video. The video must demonstrate how STEM is being applied to address the community issue outlined in the student teams’ Activity Plans. Judges will review the submissions to select 10 National Finalists, who will be announced in mid-March and are invited to participate in a live pitch event in April 2025.
Samsung employees will once again serve as one-on-one mentors to the state winners, guiding student teams through project development and prototype building. Using their professional expertise, mentors will also help teams create video pitches for their STEM solutions to advance to the national finalist phase.
