Winners Selected for Destination Imagination’s Global Finals

• By Sri Ravipati
• 05/30/17

The 17th annual Global Finals hosted by Destination Imagination (DI) ended Saturday in Knoxville, TN (May 24-27). Thousands of K–20 students from 17 countries participated in the international competition, according to information from DI.

Participants worked on academic challenges in six categories: technical, scientific, engineering, fine arts, improvisational and service learning. In each category are several divisions based on experience and knowledge; a “university level” exists in every category for college students worldwide.  

At the elementary level in the tech category, teams from China clinched first and third place, while a team from Montana placed second. In the same category at the middle level, China came in first; teams from Washington and California placed second and third. Lastly for K–12 in tech, at the secondary level the United States led the pack — clinching not just the top three but the first seven spots with teams from Indiana, Minnesota, California (two), New Hampshire, Illinois, and Ohio and Wisconsin (tied). Meanwhile, for the university level, a team from the University of Texas at Dallas placed first.

Image: Destination Imagination.

Notably, students from China seemed to sweep the competition overall this year: Twenty total teams placed in the top three spots of their respective categories, according to DI. Of those 20 teams from China, nine placed first. However, no international teams placed at the university level in any category, with the exception of the University of Toronto placing second in the tech category.

For the Special Awards category, a team from Caruso Middle School in Deerfield, Illinois was given a Renaissance award in the tech category for its “technically astounding presentation,” the DI site states. The students gave a presentation on an erupting Aztec volcano, while using repurposed home objects, like a re-engineered RC car and mixer, “to create well-designed scenery and props that seamlessly integrated important plot points.”

One other Renaissance award in the fine arts category went to Mt. Pleasant Middle School in Mount Pleasant, TN. They won for their compelling storytelling project, “which portrayed the impact of living with autism and showed a realistic portrayal of the different responses from the community ranging from bullying to sensitive communication,” the DI site states.

Destination Imagination is an education nonprofit organization that develops and hosts academic challenges focused on STEAM and other topics. Thousands of students each year showcase their innovative solutions in a tournament format that culminates in the Global Finals.

A complete list of winners is available here. Learn more about Global FInals on the competition site.