Concordia students received extraordinary results in this year’s Oliphant Science Awards, with a number of prizes and high commendations awarded at the presentation ceremony on Friday 21 October. Students in various year levels from Years 2 to 12 submitted entries in categories such as Models and Inventions; Multimedia; Programming, Apps and Robotics; Photography; Games; and Scientific Writing. From a magnetic transport system model created by one of our Year 2 students, through to Year 12 entries exploring applications of CRISPR in the medical and agricultural industries, the projects submitted by Concordia’s entrants were wide ranging and impressive in their scope and depth.

The highlight of the awards evening is the presentation of the Oliphant Trophy, which is awarded to the student with the most outstanding science content of all the entries in South Australia. From a total of over 2,200 entries this year, Concordia Year 12 student Isaiah was selected as the recipient of the Oliphant Trophy for 2022 – a truly outstanding achievement. In addition, Isaiah’s project ‘Chimeric antigen receptor T-lymphocytes (CAR T-lymphocytes): The application of immuno-engineering in the treatment of haematological malignancies’ earned him first prize for Scientific Writing and the Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology prize for most outstanding entry with a biochemistry or molecular biology theme.

All students who participated in this year’s competition are commended for their efforts and we congratulate each of our prize winners on their significant achievements.