Last week, 4 Year 11 students took part in the international Global Issues Problem Solving competition (GIPS). This is a competitive activity where up to four students are given a future scenario, a scene which could be imagined in the future, regarding one of three main topics: business and economics, science and technology, or social and political areas. Through a six-step process where competitors must evaluate the scenario and come up with various problems, solutions and an action plan for an underlying problem, all of which could potentially be implemented within 2 hours without any external help.
Every year, there is a different topic for the competition. This year, the topic for the local English finals was ‘Natural disasters’. Before actually sitting the competition, our team of 4 did some research into the topic to look at potential problems generally and groups, like the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which could play a part in carrying out potential solutions.
This competition promoted teamwork as we shared and collaborated ideas which maximised the problems and solutions we were able to come up with. We also had to analyse the future scenario carefully to find potential problems as well as think outside of the box to come up with a range of solutions. We also had to be able to express ourselves clearly in writing so that the problems, solutions and final action plan were clear and easily understandable.
Overall, although GIPS can be a fun, team-building competition, it helps develop other skills which can benefit people in school and in later life. We thoroughly enjoyed our experience. We look forward to seeing the results and carrying on such work through school groups such as Debating Club or MUN.
Zoe Fujiwara (Year 11)
