SERC Student Success at NI Intercollege PBL Competition

All 6 colleges throughout NI competed in the competition, each entering a total of four outstanding PBL projects across 4 categories: Innovation, Entrepreneurial, Green, and Social Impact.  To compete, students had to create a 3-minute video showcasing the solution they had developed to their PBL challenge. The videos were watched and scored by representatives from the 6 colleges, who noted the high standard of work across the board.   

Massive congratulations to the 4 SERC finalists whose hard work was evident in their video submissions and who all scored highly. Congratulations to the category winners:  

• Hallowed Grounds (Entrepreneurial) 
• Eat Green Eat Local (Green) 
• Project Space (joint winners for Innovation) 
• Hallowed Grounds (Overall Winner)

Speaking about her success in the competition, Helen McFarlane of Hallowed Grounds said “I am surprised and delighted to have won both awards. I am so thankful for the support from the Enterprise team at SERC, for helping me to develop Hallowed Grounds into a business beyond the PBL experience. I am really looking forward to seeing where the Hallowed Grounds journey takes me next.” 

Dr Michael Malone, Director of Curriculum and Information Services at SERC, said, “the SERC students have performed exceptionally well at the NI FE college PBL Competition winning 4 of 5 categories including the overall winner.  Congratulations to all the students who entered the competition and especially those who received the awards. Thanks also to all SERC staff involved in getting them this far.  

The success of our students is a testament to several key elements in the college’s strategic plan, implemented over several years, coming to fruition. The College sector leading PBL pedagogy, alongside the investment in staff training, and recruitment of dedicated innovation advisors, has created an ecosystem that grows and supports students who have superb transversal skills and identifies budding entrepreneurs.   

We wish the students well and look forward to their future success.”  

On behalf of the Enterprise, Entrepreneurship and Environment team, Senior Innovation Advisor Natasha Lloyd added, “it was wonderful to see the fantastic standard of PBL across the sector and to see the students’ hard work celebrated! Congratulations to everyone involved, especially those receiving awards!”  

Check out the teams’ video entries below to find out more about their hard work and excellent projects:  

• Project Space
• Hallowed Grounds
• Eat Green, Eat Local
• Green Heat

Visit www.serc.ac.uk to unlock your future #BetterOffAtSERC.