Three editions. Two venues. One growing belief — children learn best when they are given the opportunity to think, explore and experience.
When we started the Engineering Design Challenge Competition (EDCC) at The STEM Makers, the intention was never to create just another competition where students compete for prizes. We wanted to create something different. A space where children could encounter problems without being given a predefined method to solve them. A space where they could observe, question, research, experiment, build, fail, rethink and try again. Most importantly, we wanted children to experience a form of learning that is different from simply learning something because it will appear in an examination.
That idea has now grown into the third edition of EDCC, taking place at two venues:
- Aravinda High School, Kunchanapalli — 18 September 2026
- Kadapa Public School, Kadapa — 26 September 2026
For us, expanding to two venues is an exciting milestone. But the real growth of EDCC is not measured by the number of venues or participants. It is measured by the kind of learning experiences we are able to create for children.
Why Do We Need a Different Kind of Learning?
School education plays an important role in giving children knowledge and foundational skills. But education cannot stop at remembering information and reproducing the expected answer.
Children also need opportunities to develop the ability to:
Question. Observe. Connect. Analyse. Imagine. Experiment. Decide. Create. Reflect.
These abilities develop when children encounter situations where there is no obvious answer and where they have to figure out what to do next.
This is where experiential learning becomes powerful.
Instead of first teaching a concept and then asking a child to apply it, experiential learning starts with an experience or a challenge.
The child encounters a problem.
The problem creates a need to learn.
The child searches for information, makes a hypothesis, tries something, observes what happens, and changes their approach based on what they discover.
The experience becomes the classroom.
Experiential Learning: When the Problem Becomes the Teacher
Imagine a child trying to build a structure that keeps collapsing.
Nobody has to begin by saying, “Today we are going to learn about structural stability.”
The child simply asks:
“Why is it falling?”
They change the shape.
They add support.
They try different materials.
They test again.
Slowly, through experience, the child begins to understand concepts related to balance, forces, strength and structure.
Similarly, a student designing a robot may encounter questions about motors, gears, friction, speed, sensors and programming.
A student researching a community problem may discover that opinions alone are not enough. They need data.
A student analysing that data may discover patterns that lead to a completely different understanding of the problem.
This is learning that happens because the child has a reason to learn.
Learning Without Realising That They Are Learning
One of the most beautiful aspects of experiential learning is that children often don’t realise how much they are learning.
A child working on an EDCC challenge isn’t thinking:
“Today I am going to develop my critical-thinking skills.”
They are thinking:
“Why isn’t this working?”
“What if we try this?”
“Can we make it stronger?”
“What information do we need?”
“Why did our first idea fail?”
“Is there another way?”
Those questions are the learning.
Through a single challenge, children may simultaneously use:
- Mathematics to measure, estimate and calculate
- Science to understand phenomena
- Engineering to design and build
- Technology to create and test
- Communication to explain their ideas
- Collaboration to work as a team
- Critical thinking to evaluate alternatives
- Creativity to imagine possibilities
- Persistence to continue after failure
- Decision-making to choose between different approaches
This is multidimensional thinking.
The child is no longer learning mathematics, science, technology or communication as isolated subjects.
They are using different kinds of knowledge together to understand and respond to a real situation.
From Rote Learning to Thinking
There is an important distinction here.
We are not suggesting that knowledge and memorisation have no place in education. Children need knowledge. They need foundational concepts. They need to develop fluency in reading, mathematics, science and many other areas.
But knowledge becomes much more powerful when children understand when, why and how to use it.
The shift we want to encourage is:
From “What is the answer?”
to
“How can I find the answer?”
And eventually to:
“What questions should I be asking?”
That is a very different kind of learning.
EDCC 2026: From Solving Problems to Discovering Problems
This year, EDCC is taking another important step forward.
We are introducing the Young Researcher Challenge.
Traditionally, students are often given a problem statement and asked to develop a solution.
But real-world innovation rarely begins that way.
It begins with observation and curiosity.
Something doesn’t seem right.
Someone is struggling.
A pattern is noticed.
A question emerges.
Data needs to be collected.
Evidence needs to be examined.
Only then does a meaningful problem begin to take shape.
The Young Researcher Challenge gives students an opportunity to experience this process:
Observe → Question → Research → Collect Data → Analyse → Find Patterns → Generate Insights → Define the Problem
Only after understanding the problem deeply should we ask:
What can we do about it?
This is why we see the Young Researcher Challenge not simply as a new competition category, but as an extension of the EDCC learning philosophy.
The Role of Engineering College Students as Mentors
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