International Christian STEM Competition

ACSI Student Leadership & Learning partners with Grand Canyon University to provide an International Christian STEM Competition (ICSC) for grades 7-12 students. This program is designed to showcase the incredible potential of students from Christian schools in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). With a unique blend of academic rigor and faith-based values, this competition aims to foster creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration while reinforcing the integration of faith and scientific exploration. This in-person competition is available to ACSI member and non-member schools, including global national, international, and U.S. Schools.

International Christian STEM Competition Challenges

The STEM challenges for the 2024-2025 school year will include:

1. Innovation in Service: Social Engineering Challenge
   Imagine creating a powerful cybersecurity campaign that equips your school community—students, families, and staff—with essential skills to manage their digital footprints and protect their privacy from online threats. In this challenge, you will design, test, and launch an engaging initiative that makes everyone more aware, informed, and secure in today’s digital world.
2. Onsite Design Challenge
   Want to gear up for a challenge you can’t predict? Your team’s problem-solving skills will take center stage as you use the engineering design process to unlock a mystery challenge. Team building and communication are key to this challenge as your team designs, builds, and tests a given object/device within a specific time frame. Ready to tackle the unknown and see how your team rises to the challenge? 
3. Ethical Artificial Intelligence ChatBot
   Here’s your chance to design, plan, build, and test a ChatBot for teens utilizing Artificial Intelligence based on scripture and research-based digital well-being.
4. Aerospace Design
   Ready to take on the ultimate aircraft engineering showdown? You and your team will design, build, and release a freefall aircraft using a remote trigger from ~ 6ft high, that will stay aloft as long as possible and land on a target. Prepare to defy gravity and test your engineering genius in the high-flyer challenge! 
5. Robot Search and Rescue
   Think you can build and program a robot that aids rescuers in clearing debris, securing safe passageways, and saving lives after a disaster? Well, this is the challenge for you! Using a purchased kit, you will be designing, building, coding, and driving a robot to complete various outlined tasks within an obstacle course. This is your chance to design a real-life robot superhero! Please note, that this challenge requires the purchase of a robot from Roboquest - see estimated costs below.
   
   Within this challenge, there will be two levels of competition to choose from:
   

• Beginner- RQ100 (estimated robot cost $250)
• Intermediate to Advanced- RQ300 (estimated robot cost $450)
  

Participation & Selection Process

Student Leadership & Learning and GCU believe every student has the potential to excel in the areas of STEM. We also know we must provide opportunities for students to try, succeed, sometimes fail, collaborate, and try again. This critical thinking and collaboration process is essential to student success. Therefore, an established set of challenge criteria and checkpoints will be in place to ensure students are ready to advance to this level of competition.

Qualification Process

1. Register your school for the competition.
2. Look through each STEM challenge and decide which one(s) you'd like to implement in your classroom.
3. Provide opportunities for experimentation, collaboration, and implementation.
4. Create teams for each challenge in which your school desires to compete. Depending on the challenge, teams typically include 2-5 students. 
5. Ensure teams progress through the ideation, development, and refinement phases and meet your established deadlines.
6. Decide which teams are ready to compete in the International Christian STEM Competition. Then, use the link in your registration confirmation email to register additional students by February 18.
7. Meet our team at GCU and get ready to compete!

Schools Participating Virtually

To be eligible to participate virtually, your school must be designated as an international or global national school, or be located in Canada, Hawaii, or Alaska. More information regarding participating virtually can be found on the registration page.