Technological University of the Shannon (TUS ) this week played host to over 750 students who attended SciFest 2023, Ireland’s largest second-level STEM fair programme.
Welcoming students from across the Midlands, TUS Athlone campus crowned regional winners, who will now go on to compete in the SciFest national final in November.
An all-island STEM initiative, SciFest fosters active, collaborative and inquiry-based learning among second-level students. The programme operates throughout the school year and, being locally based and free-to-enter, is highly inclusive and accessible.
Fatima Karimi from Tullamore College was crowned the winner of TUS Athlone SciFest where 161 projects were on display, with over 400 students in attendance, the largest in the country. Under the guidance of teacher Elaine Howlin, Fatima’s project titled ‘Growing the Future! Investigating the growth of mycelium packaging using button mushrooms’ analysed if mushrooms are a feasible eco-friendly alternative to plastic packaging.
Commenting on the high standard of this year’s entries, Dr Noreen Morris, co-ordinator of SciFest at the TUS Athlone campus, noted that the projects entered by the students were impressive, engaging and thought-provoking.
“Students from across the region demonstrated their passion for STEM, which was evident from the high standard of research that went into this year’s entries. SciFest is a competition that aims to encourage students to develop an interest in STEM while prioritising inclusivity and inquiry-based learning, and it is a competition we are very proud to support,” Dr Morris enthused.
Winners from the national final will go on to compete at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF ) in America and in the Hong Kong Global Youth Science and Technology Bowl (GYSTB ) and attend the Long Night of Science in Berlin. The SciFest programme is funded primarily by Intel Ireland, Boston Scientific and EirGrid.
“SciFest is a competition that aims to encourage second-level students to develop an interest in STEM, while prioritising inclusivity and inquiry-based learning. The programme has been running for 17 years and 2023 marks the 18th year of the competition. More than 90,000 students have participated in SciFest since it was first launched in 2006. Participation in SciFest gives students an excellent opportunity to develop their interest in STEM and inquiry-based approaches to learning, while developing their creative and problem-solving skills and learning to work in a team,” commenting on the SciFest@TUS regional STEM fairs, Sheila Porter, SciFest Founder and CEO, stated.
