The curriculum extends way beyond life at BSB. We aim to empower our students and provide them with the skills to question and explore their own understanding of themselves and the world around them. Balancing flexibility to explore with quality of content is not always easy. The real innovation behind Project Zephyr is the flexibility it allows when working with students.

Project Zephyr is an electric car scratch build kit that has been designed in house to combine scratch building and just enough structure to allow all students to access the programme. I initially developed the idea during my own time at University as I found there was a profound lack of guidance on the process of career discovery. It combines lots of key life skills that can’t be measured by exams and a real context that builds success through autonomous goal setting. As the project developed, more and more students got involved and we tweaked the original kit designs through frequent student feedback sessions. Success builds success. The students quickly find frustration, when overcome, leads to confidence and interdependence on group work. Project Zephyr encourages failure, and teaches students to do it quickly as it’s the best way forward towards success. This process ultimately opens the door to allow students to organically introspect with a little guidance.

Project Zephyr is a seed that can grow into any direction the school nurtures it into.

The British School of Bucharest did just this. The purpose built Innovation Hub was created through Project Zephyr and now identifies as the schools R&D lab for new projects in STEAM. Nothing is too complex, the method needs only be adapted to the age group. From metal casting to resin infusion, the Innovation hub brings high-tech processes into the school classroom. It was created as a free thinking zone where out of the box creativity was welcomed. Ultimately we discovered it can also be used as a tool to build bespoke solutions for the school such as covid ventilation for the lunch hall or science labs massively saving costs. Student numbers have increased dramatically over the years and as a result this year we have added Project Hermes to allow more students to be exposed to this ethos. Starting in Year 4 students can come to the Innovation Hub and start working on designs for carriages that link with those of other students and can carry items and students around the campus.

Building on the growing momentum behind Project Zephyr we aim to broaden the learning spectrum and invite other schools to work collaboratively on the global project, ultimately taking the student created electric cars to a one of a kind, mind blowing student race and educational event - on ice - . This will allow an out of bubble application of the student’s work but it will also develop an international community of like minded innovators in a sustainable context. Through this event, we want to showcase the challenge of climate change in a hopeful light. By hosting the event in a unique venue, it inspires our students to understand how innovation can be used solve some of our planet’s greatest challenges.

The goal of the event is to create an environment that, physically or digitally, can be used as a well of knowledge to educate on innovative sustainable technologies. We believe in carbon negativity through innovation not sacrifice and students aware of their potential and direction are the first in line to create such technologies. Through this event together with Project Zephyr, we want to help as many students as possible begin the journey of actualising themselves.

The event will be officially revealed at BETT 2022 in London – Come see us at stand SF23.

Tudor Atanasiu is Head of Innovation and Technology at British School of Bucharest.