Students in Westmeath have entered 52 projects for next January’s BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition, which is shaping up to be the biggest competition yet.
BT Ireland announced this week that it has broken all previous records for entries to the exhibition. The 50th competition, taking place in January 2014, is set to be the biggest ever with 2,000 ideas submitted by 4,418 students from 379 schools across the country.
Westmeath was well represented at the most recent exhibition in January 2013, with 12 projects from the county’s secondary schools on display, including six from Our Lady’s Bower, Athlone, three from Moate Community School, and three from Marist College, Athlone.
A total of 846 Westmeath students have exhibited 437 projects in the RDS over the past 49 years as part of the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition.
The most popular category for 2014 is Social & Behavioural Sciences with 701 entries, followed by Biological & Ecological Sciences with 574, Technology with 375, and Chemical, Physical & Mathematical Sciences with 350 entries.
BT estimates that, over the past 50 years, almost 70,000 students have submitted more than 33,000 projects to the exhibition.
Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn said: “In its 50th year, the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition is breaking new records with figures up for participating students and schools, as well as an increase in entries in key categories such as chemical, physical, and mathematical sciences. The importance of investment in research and innovation to our economy cannot be underestimated, and I commend everyone involved in the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition for providing a platform for young people to showcase their creative ideas on both national and international stages.”
The 50th BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition will take place in the RDS, Dublin from January 8-11, 2014. For more information on the exhibition, log onto www.btyoungscientist.com
