A crowd of over 1,000 Jewish teenagers gathered last week to present projects they have been working on all year as part of a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) curriculum. The Center for Initiatives in Jewish Education (CIJE) coordinated this yearlong endeavor and the event that culminated in an amazing display of what Jewish education has to offer in 2025.

Created in 2001, CIJE coordinates educational programs in more than 200 Jewish schools across the country. Those programs impact the learning of more than 50,000 students each year and focus on both the ever-relevant (collaborating in teams, developing critical thinking skills and finding solutions) and the futuristic (the STEAM component). According to the organization, the goal is to prepare the next generation for innovation by funding programs with advanced technology, developing engaging curricula, and providing ongoing teacher training, mentorship and school visits by engineers.

“The enthusiasm, purpose and motivation students show in developing and presenting their own ideas is something not found in the classroom, said CIJE Director of Curriculum Development Adam Jerozolim. “It’s inspiring to see what our students are capable of and to see them gaining the tools they need to get there.”

CIJE held its annual Innovation Day at The Rink @ The Arena, a hockey rink inside American Dream in East Rutherford, on Wednesday, May 22. The set-up featured many breakout rooms for the multitude of presentations, along with a large central area for the awards ceremony at the end of the day.

The goal of the event was to celebrate the innovative endeavors of high school students around the country towards the goal of presenting their engineering projects for review by their peers and a judging panel. The event was attended by 364 teams from 41 schools across nine states.

“Innovation Day has brought the community together, with the true impact and community building becoming evident when student groups flew in from Texas, Seattle and Florida, while our graduates—now in engineering graduate programs and early careers—returned as judges and moderators,” said Orly Nadler, the director of innovation for CIJE. “This full circle demonstrates how we’re elevating every member from student to young professional, creating a community united by our shared passion for STEM and drive to create change through technology.”

The students were invited to demonstrate their inventions in a “Shark Tank”-style competition where they were graded on different aspects from their presentation to how well their product fit a need in society. During the year, CIJE provides mentors, specialized equipment and materials for the students. The idea of this process is to yield greater results in students by making education a hands-on experience by utilizing project-based learning.

The day was split into morning and afternoon sessions as students presented their projects in breakout rooms equipped with audio and visual set-ups. This allowed the students to focus on having to bring only their projects with them. Competitors were given a few minutes to present their product, address the different areas of the scoring rubric, and take questions from the rest of the teams in attendance. Every student was armed with a clipboard in order to grade their peers’ presentations.

“I saw some incredible projects today,” said Adam Fox, the associate director of government programs for Teach Coalition and a judge at Innovation Day. “The level of knowledge… I can’t fathom having that at their age. They are trying to solve real world problems by bringing different types of tech together and some projects were surprisingly close to final products.”

CIJE also allowed students to present their projects directly to judges in what you might think of as more of a “science fair” type of set-up. This allowed students to speak directly to a judge about their project without having to make a formal presentation to a room full of people. Accepting both types of projects equally is CIJE’s way of accommodating the different ways that students learn and are able to express their learning to others.

“I love seeing all the cool projects everybody made,” said Emanuela Milman of Paramus (Frisch ‘27). “Some of them really make me wish I thought of them myself.”

Hosting the event at American Dream provided plenty of activities for the students to do during the session in which they were not presenting. CIJE provided each person with free admission to their choice of a handful of American Dream attractions including Nickelodeon Universe Theme Park. This allowed the students to see what engineering can accomplish while also providing them with some fun to relieve the possible stress of presenting their projects. They also were given discounts at several kosher food establishments throughout the mall.

According to the organization, CIJE’s goal is to prepare the next generation for innovation by funding programs with advanced technology, developing engaging curricula, and providing ongoing teacher training, mentorship and school visits by engineers.

“We can’t predict the future, but we can prepare for it,” CIJE said about its purpose. “Graduates of day schools, academies and yeshivot must be prepared to succeed in an ever-changing global society in order to reach their potential in careers and in life.”

At the end of the day, all the students gathered for the award ceremony that was streamed live online. Awards for Best Pitch, Best Engineering Design Process, Best Industrial Product Design and Best Mechanical Engineering were awarded in each of the following categories: Assistive Technology, Engineering for Children, Engineering for Entertainment and the Arts, Engineering for Healthcare, Engineering for Household Solutions, Engineering for Jewish Life, Engineering for Mobility, Engineering for Older Adults, Engineering for Personal Care, Engineering for Pets, Engineering for School, Engineering for Transportation, Engineering for Workplace Solutions and Environmental Engineering. There were also awards for Best Website Design, Best Promotional Video and Best AI & Machine Learning.

With categories ranging far and wide, the hundreds of projects were extremely diverse in nature. From a garden protection system that detects pests (including deer) using an AI-powered camera and deters them with a high-pitched speaker to a refrigerator that knows what food is expiring and generates recipes for you to use your ingredients before throwing them out, the display of inventive ideas was truly staggering.

Another component that has been gaining ground is the apparel involved. Many schools arrived sporting some version of a school STEM uniform. But the event surely had the students as excited as they might be at a sporting event, so team apparel would seem to follow. Even so, there was certainly an academic feel in the presentation rooms for students who were trying to show their products’ worth.

“It’s so great that schools of all types are able to attend this event,” said Menucha Gluck of Edison (Bruriah ‘27). “It just shows that you can get any job someday no matter what type of background you have.”

For many students, the development of their project meant a daily elective period on their schedule. That’s a lot of time devoted to one thing, yet most participants felt good about doing their best and weren’t that disappointed about heading home without hardware. With a competition that big, winning any sort of prize is a huge accomplishment.

“Sometimes students latch onto a project idea early on, and sometimes it takes a lot longer. What I’ve found over the years is that this isn’t what makes the difference,” said TABC Director of STEM and Educational Technology Aryeh Tiefenbrunn. “Groups whose ideas only gel later in the process can achieve great results too. The key factor for success is a combination of grit, effort and ambition.”

All in all, the day was a great experience for everyone involved. The hard work paid off and the students were treated to the type of amazing day that wouldn’t have been imaginable even 10 years ago.

Who knows? The next great invention might just have been presented that day.

Nati Burnside is a freelance writer living in Fair Lawn and a man of many interests. He can be reached at natiburnside@gmail.com.