A Community of the Future, Built by Youth
On April 10, 2025, École Secondaire Népisiguit in Bathurst became the centre of creativity, curiosity, and bold thinking as the Brilliant Labs' New Brunswick Innovation Fair welcomed its largest group of participants to date. With more than 3,800 students and teachers taking part, this year’s fair marked a milestone moment for innovation education in the province and a powerful reminder of what is possible when young people are invited to imagine the future.
The 2025 Innovation Fair was built around a timely and thoughtful theme: Community of the Future. Students were encouraged to ask a deceptively simple question: What IF we could use the lessons of the past to build more sustainable and inclusive communities? This guiding idea shaped projects across grade levels and disciplines, inviting learners to connect history, technology, environmental responsibility, and social innovation.
This theme was intentionally anchored in a uniquely New Brunswick story. In 2025, the province marks the 50th anniversary of the Bricklin car, a bold automotive innovation launched in 1975. Designed with safety at its core through features such as reinforced fibreglass panels, energy-absorbing bumpers, and a protective roll cage, the Bricklin did not succeed commercially. Yet its legacy is an important one. It reminds us that innovation is rarely linear and that even ideas that do not “win” in the marketplace can push thinking forward and influence future design.
Students were invited to treat the Bricklin not as a failure, but as a learning moment. What can we build when we learn equally from success and from struggle? How do yesterday’s ideas inform tomorrow’s solutions? These questions resonated deeply across the exhibition floor.
Projects reflected a strong sense of place and purpose. Many students drew inspiration from Atlantic Canadian innovations and systems, reimagining them through a future-focused lens. The Acadian Forest became a model for sustainable resource management. New Brunswick’s early leadership in telemedicine inspired concepts for more accessible and equitable healthcare delivery. Clean energy initiatives sparked ideas for greener, community-powered solutions. Historic infrastructure, from electric streetcars to major bridge projects, was re-envisioned as part of low-carbon, people-centred transportation networks.
Equally powerful were projects that explored social innovation. New Brunswick’s bilingualism policy inspired student thinking around inclusive digital government services. Former industrial sites were reconceived as green technology hubs. Across the fair, students demonstrated not only technical creativity, but empathy, systems thinking, and a strong sense of responsibility to their communities.
The scale of the event would not have been possible without extraordinary collaboration. Brilliant Labs extends sincere thanks to École Secondaire Népisiguit, whose leadership, staff, and students welcomed exhibitors with professionalism and pride.
The Innovation Fair is more than an event. It is an invitation. An invitation for students to see themselves as problem-solvers. For educators to embrace project-based, interdisciplinary learning. And for communities to recognise that the ideas shaping our future are already taking form in classrooms across New Brunswick.
As the largest Innovation Fair yet, the 2025 event was a celebration of youth potential, but it was also a statement of intent. The future will be built by those willing to ask “What IF?” and brave enough to explore the answers.
We are grateful to the District scolaire francophone Nord-Est for its leadership and ongoing support, and to the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (EECD) for its continued commitment to experiential learning and innovation in schools.
We also proudly acknowledge CanCode 4.0, whose support helps make innovation experiences like this possible by empowering students to build essential digital skills, think creatively, and design solutions for the communities of the future.