In the Information Science Technology Challenge (ISTC) competition schools competed from all over Otago and Southland. Our team, 'Team Nautilus' consisted of Vanessa Sinclair, Olivia Eustace and Alysha-Jo Nolan. The girls were asked to use computer technology to solve a real life issue.

They took on their challenge using a range of computer technology and research approaches. These included 'data science' which uses data to inform understanding, decision making and predictions, 'user experience' - understanding how users use computing and how to build better systems for them, 'mobile computing' such as mobile phones and tablets and a method called 'crowd sourcing' which uses collaborative decision making. Our team came up with the real life problem of leaky/cold homes and used as many of the above approaches/technologies as they needed to solve this problem. The girls did an excellent job, were best overall winners, and according to the judges they performed impressively. Their final pitch addressing the challenge of leaky/cold homes was outstanding. Well done girls.