Metro Minds Champions

The competition brought together more than 600 students from Years 7–10 to design innovative solutions to real-world transport challenges. Our girls rose to the top with creativity, rigour, and confidence. Judges described the quality of the finalists’ submissions as “university level” , making Team Luminex’s victory all the more extraordinary.

The journey began with talks from Metro Ambassadors Melvyn Bolus and Claire Moore, followed by a behind-the-scenes excursion to Sydney Metro with the support of Carolyn Hatchwell and her team, alongside numerous dedicated Loreto Kirribilli staff. This was followed up, back at school, by the entire Year 8 cohort took part in an engineering incursion, taking the time to deep dive into an immersive design day focusing on problem-solving and design thinking.

The panel of judges – Claire Moore, Pamela Hendersen and Gaston Pena – praised the students for their innovative ideas and professionalism, noting that selecting a winner was no easy task.

"The winning team’s idea called ‘Luminex’ is to introduce kinetic energy floor tiles in Sydney Metro stations. Strategically placed in high-traffic areas—near Opal gates, outside restrooms, and by platform screen doors—these tiles could harness commuter footfall to generate clean energy, allowing station amenities to be powered sustainably.  The tiles could also be programmable, enabling dynamic visual displays that can celebrate key moments throughout the year, such as Pride, breast cancer awareness and New Year’s Eve, as well as local Indigenous art, showcased respectfully and with permission.

"Their presentation pitch included detailed design prototyping, costs, and thoughtful consideration of implementation challenges."

Through their creativity, humility, and determination, the five members of Team Luminex brought the Loreto values to life. Showing freedom of thought, sincerity, and verity in action, a commitment to justice, and the joy of shared success. Their achievement is a powerful statement that girls are not only participants in STEM but also leaders and innovators ready to take on the world’s challenges.

As I reflected on their performance, what stood out most was their partnership . Much like a race where training, trust, and teamwork carry you across the finish line, the girls combined creativity, logic, communication, and courage to achieve something greater than the sum of their parts.

Competitions such as Metro Minds are vital in strengthening the STEM pipeline for the future. By giving young women authentic opportunities to partner with each other and with industry experts, we not only develop technical skills but also nurture resilience, confidence, and vision.

Team Luminex has shown us what it means to be a Loreto girl in STEM courageous, and ready to shape the future.

Rick Dufourq

STEM Coordinator / Duke of Edinburgh Convenor