Panasonic Energy Sponsored Quest Cup 2024 Nationwide Competition Held
The Quest Cup 2024 Nationwide Competition of the Quest Education inquiry-based learning program for secondary school students which Panasonic Energy sponsors was held on Saturday, February 24, and Sunday, February 25 at Meiji University.
The company Educa & Quest has provided Quest Education since 2005 as a largest nationwide-level program for inquiry-based learning, which has gained attention under the new guidelines for teaching.*
* The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology publicly announced a revision of the guidelines on March 31, 2017; they have been in use in junior high schools in Japan since the 2021 school year and in high schools since 2022.
PEC endorses the program's concept of fostering the power to live in tandem with the everyday world and creating a future together with companies and has since 2022 sponsored the Corporate Access corporate inquiry category and supported the learning of students through employees. In the program students choose one of the many sponsoring companies to work on a year-long mission decided by that company. As virtual interns they think of plans to solve social problems through experiencing fieldwork and group discussions with that company's employees. The Quest Cup Nationwide Competition is held in February as the culmination of the year's work, for the students to present the plans they have thought out.
On FebruarCompetition, ten plans that had passed the document review by the PEC judging panel were presented. The venue was highly lively with not only the students and school staff but also parents present.
The mission given by PEC was to propose a project to uncover deeply-rooted power in humanity to initiate an Earth that people will want to live on even more.
The students livened up the venue by using gestures, objects, skits and many other presentation methods to powerfully get across the ideas and key points incorporated into their plans and their ideas of an Earth that people will want to live on even more. All the plans were well thought out through trial and error, containing fresh and stimulating ideas. The Love Pursuers team of Junshin Junior and Senior High School won the corporate award, and Platypus Energy of Kyoei Gakuen won the runner-up award.
On February 25, the second day, the teams which won the corporate awards of the sponsoring companies split into two groups to give presentations. Junshin Junior and Senior High School, which won PEC's corporate award, unfortunately failed to win the top award, but thanks to its enthusiastic presentation it won the Wow! award that is decided by the students themselves voting.
Each year PEC calls for members to act as partners for students' learning. Twelve such people participated in FY2023. Through the activities the employees support the learning and growth of secondary school students who will bear the burden of being the next generation. This is an excellent opportunity for them to rethink what it means to be an adult through being inspired by the recognition of issues and ideas of the students. PEC intends to continue supporting this program as an opportunity for growth together with the students.
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