YIS 2025 Workshops
How to Stand Out: Presenting Your Ideas Like a Pro
Explaining your project doesn’t have to be boring. This workshop is all about learning how to tell your story in a way that excites judges, teachers, and anyone else listening.
Pranav Menon is an Adjunct Professor at UBC Engineering and the Director of The Knowledge Society (TKS), where he trains high school innovators to build frontier projects in AI, biotech, robotics, and more. Previously, Pranav was a startup coach and has helped hundreds of scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs pitch their idea and bring their inventions to life.
In this 60-minute session, Pranav will break down the “secret sauce” of great presentations: how to grab attention, make your points stick, and leave people wanting more. You’ll walk away with tools to make your project stand out.
View the recording below!
Five-Part Workshop Series
Introducing our brand new 5-part workshop series tailored to supporting your Youth Innovation Showcase (YIS) goals!
With topics ranging from ethics and project development to pitching the finished concept, this interactive series of virtual workshops will be held on Zoom throughout the summer. Our experienced workshop facilitators will help you hone the skills to plan, prepare, & make the most of your YIS project application.
If you are interested in participating but cannot attend the sessions, we have got you covered! All workshops will be recorded & hosted for later viewing.
Workshop 1
Why are ethics & safety important? Do I need approval for my STEM project? In this workshop you will learn all about ethics & safety requirements for STEM projects, including innovations. It is important to consider ethics & safety BEFORE you start a STEM project that involves humans, animals, microbes or hazardous substances.
Adhering to ethics & safety standards ensures that your project is designed to uphold the dignity, rights & welfare of research subjects, & minimize harm. You will learn about concepts such as informed consent, privacy & confidentiality, & risk.
This is the first workshop in our series that will help get you ready for your STEM project in 2025-2026. It is designed specifically for students in British Columbia and the Yukon who will be participating in a science fair, or the Youth Innovation Showcase this upcoming season.
Workshop 2
Have you ever wondered how to take a project you have done for a STEM Expo or science fair & turn it into an innovation for the Youth Innovation Showcase? Or maybe how to start with that STEM idea & use it for the Youth Innovation Showcase? In this workshop, Pranav will address how to translate your STEM experiences into the real world. Pranav is a startup coach that has trained over 200+ scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs to help bring their innovations to life. Join us for a fantastic conversation with Pranav Menon who will help you work through exercises & activities to think about those big-picture ideas for your innovation submission for the 2025 Youth Innovation Showcase.
This is the second workshop in our series that will help get you ready for your STEM project in 2025-2026. It is designed specifically for students in British Columbia and the Yukon who will be participating in a science fair, or the Youth Innovation Showcase this upcoming season.
Workshop 3
Join us for a casual conversation with the Youth Innovation Showcase (YIS) Young Innovator of the Year from 2024 in the 16-19 age category – Inbal Tzafrir. Rooted in personal experience, Inbal will share her journey from start to finish as she worked through prototyping her idea of an app that supported individuals who suffered from misophonia. Come to this workshop & be inspired as you work on your own innovation for YIS 2025!
This is the third workshop in our series that will help get you ready for your STEM project in 2025-2026. It is designed specifically for students in British Columbia and the Yukon who will be participating in a science fair, or the Youth Innovation Showcase this upcoming season.
View the recording below & download the slide deck!
Workshop 4
Workshop 5
As we end our Youth Innovation Showcase (YIS) workshop series for 2025, join us for this town hall session where we will provide a general overview about YIS, key reminders, & highlight some pretty big changes to the 2025 YIS timeline. If you have questions in advance about the 2025 YIS, feel free to send them to info@youthinnovation.ca. Thanks for joining!
This is the fifth & final workshop in our series that will help get you ready for your STEM project in 2025-2026. It is designed specifically for students in British Columbia and the Yukon who will be participating in a science fair, or the Youth Innovation Showcase this upcoming season.