Mt Roskill Grammar School student Abhilash Kamineni (17) was one of the lucky few who were selected to attend the week long prestigious Genesis Energy Realise the Dream event held in Wellington last week.

The Genesis Energy Realise the Dream event held from 6-11 December celebrated the work of 29 school students from around New Zealand who have carried out excellent science or technological research. Students were chosen through nomination from regional science and technology fairs and the Bright Sparks Competition.

During his week in Wellington he presented his work to a panel of judges at the Royal Society of New Zealand. He also visited science institutions around Wellington including GNS Science, Industrial Research Ltd, Island Bay Marine Centre and Karori Wildlife Sanctuary as well as a full day workshop hosted by Massey University.

Abhilash won a prize at Bright Sparks – being awarded third equal in the 17+ years category. He created the “NSR Transfer”, a pocket sized device which allows him to transfer data between USB drives without the need for a computer. It features a 3.5” touch screen colour LCD display which allows him to select individual files to send to the other USB drive.

The work these students produce is really innovative, says Royal Society of New Zealand organiser Debbie Woodhall. “To be selected is a real achievement as all the entries are of a very high standard, with students completing some outstanding projects.”

At the end of the week Abhilash commented “It was a very full-on week packed with amazing experiences. The skills we learnt here will remain with us for life and the contacts we make will be invaluable as we continue our work in the future and on top of all that I made an amazing bunch of new friends.”

All the students will be returning to Wellington on 10 March for the awards dinner where cash prizes of up to $7000 and a trip to the Europe will also be presented. The Genesis Energy Realise the Dream Event was also sponsored by Dairy NZ, UNESCO as well as many other organisations who support individual awards.

For more information please visit: http://www.realisethedream.org.nz/