Project ‘DiscoverSTEM’ began in 2016 with an interesting series of events and observations. Our founder Mirza Faizan, a globally recognized aerospace scientist and a serial inventor, was invited to evaluate students’ innovations at a global innovation competition conducted at NASA Kennedy Space Centre and International Science & Engineering Fair. During those two years, he interacted and evaluated students’ ideas from around 85 countries and made two interesting observations.
“Children are ‘natural out-of-the-box thinkers’ and they get some very bright and promising ideas.”
“Since children lack a structured thought process that innovation requires, they don’t know how to convert an idea into a robust innovation. They just drop their concept & idea, and it goes to waste.
Mr. Faizan decided to capitalize on this untapped, bright, and promising resource of ideas and mentor young kids to convert their ideas into innovation. To do this, he, along with his brother Dr. Mirza Rizwan, who has a doctorate in ‘Innovation and Corporate Sustainability,’ decided to develop a course module to mentor young kids to identify a real-world problem and innovate novel & patentable STEM solutions to these problems.
A unique DiscoverSTEM course module was developed within a year, which includes two innovative and proprietary tools – ‘STAR’ (Structured Thinking, Analyzing and Reasoning) and ‘Problem-to-Innovation Process (PIP).’ It is a step-by-step process that starts with identifying problem statements and ends with a novel and often patentable STEM solution to those problems.
In 2019, Faizan left his job as the Director and Head of the Aerospace, Defence & Space Engineering at a multi-billion dollar MNC and devoted his life towards the mission to mentor young innovators and entrepreneurs of the future.
Ever since then, DiscoverSTEM students have been on an innovation streak! Creating innovative solutions to many of the real-world’s problems, taking those solutions to win various innovation competitions at NASA and other global innovation competitions. So far, we have filed patents for over 320+ kids aged between 10-18, won 57+ titles at global innovation competitions, and even launching some of these bright ideas as a product!
To be identified as the ‘cradle of innovations’ where practical, purposeful, and powerful ideas emerge to get transformed into implementable solutions, impacting billions and solving the world’s biggest problems.
