High school students from Puteaux winners of the Otis "Made to Move Communities" challenge

The students, supported by volunteer mentors from Otis, imagined innovative solutions combining science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM or STEM) to meet the mobility challenges of everyday life. Students from 20 high schools in 14 countries and territories took part in the programme, the aim of which this year was to reduce the barriers to mobility faced by people aged 60 and over - a rapidly growing population for which mobility issues are a priority today.

For Bernardo Calleja, President of Otis EMEA: “Older people make up more than 20% of the population in many European countries. Ensuring they have safe, reliable, affordable and convenient ways to get around is essential. At Otis, we believe the solution lies in technology and that is why encouraging STEM education is so important. »

High school students came up with concepts ranging from connected wheelchairs to smart escalators, to a connected emergency call device that also made it easier to manage health-related administrative tasks – like prescriptions – and facilitate the use of public transport.

The project presented by the students of Lycée Agora in Puteaux won second place in this competition (first place went to the GEMS Wellington Academy – Silicon Oasis in Dubai). The 9 Puteaux high school students and their teachers were supported by a dozen Otis mentors from different business lines.

France with the Agora high school team in Puteaux (92) ranks 2nd in the EMEA region

All of the high school students involved in the challenge, accompanied by their teachers, spent eight weeks working alongside Otis mentors. The goal was clear: to use STEM to make it easier, safer and more efficient for older populations to move around their environment. Each team pitched their ideas virtually to a panel of regional Otis executives who carefully evaluated the pitches.

It was with their proposal for a motorized trolley that the students of the Agora high school seduced the jury.

This would feature a platform lift, anti-tilt assistance and an indicator light to avoid some of the strain and prevent risks faced by older populations shopping in dense urban environments.

For Laurent Cado, Director of strategic customer projects at Otis France and mentor on the challenge: “Sharing my expertise and helping younger generations enter the world of work is an important part of my job. The commitment of the students throughout the challenge made me particularly proud, and they were able to be proud in turn by presenting their work. »

For Freedan, a student in Terminale specializing in Engineering Sciences (IS) at the Agora high school in Puteaux: “The opportunity that Otis gave me with this project allowed me to understand how a project takes place within a company, in particular the distribution of tasks and the stages of creation of a product. For me, this experience was like a first step in business. This motivated me a lot for my orientation in higher education. »

Otis' Made to Move Communities program continues to grow. For this second edition, Otis doubled the number of students and employees engaged and increased the number of countries and territories, from nine last year to 14 in 2022. The announcement of the regional winners of the Made program to Move Communities is part of Otis' annual celebration of Lift Our Communities month. Throughout April, Otis is focusing on its ongoing commitment to supporting local people where we operate.

Later this year, Otis will launch the third edition of the Made to Move Communities Challenge, which will again pair students and Otis volunteer mentors to imagine solutions to mobility challenges.