The Naughton Foundation Scholarship which is worth €20,000, was awarded to two Galway students, Rachel Harris and Alex Haugh.
Awarded to only 37 Irish students a year, Harris and Haugh are part of an “exceptional” group of students who were awarded third level scholarships towards their studies in the areas of engineering, science, technology and maths.
The scholarships were awarded at a ceremony in Trinity Business School, in Dublin on Saturday, October 15 and presented by the founding patrons of the Naughton Foundation, Dr Martin Naughton and his wife, Carmel. The presenters were joined by Mr Simon Harris, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, who awarded the winning students with their accolades and cheques.
As part of their win, both Harris and Haugh’s secondary schools received a prize of €1000 each towards their school’s science facilities, for their support of the students.
Rachel Harris, a former student of Coláiste na Coiribe, Knocknacarra, has accepted a place at University of Galway studying Biomedical Engineering, and Alex Haugh, formerly of Presentation College, Athenry, has accepted a place studying Science at University College Dublin.
Since its establishment in 2008, scholarships worth over €6 million have been awarded to over 350 students. The scheme started in three counties and has continued to expand annually to become a nationwide scheme in 2016. There is one guaranteed scholarship (€20,000 ) for each participating county, with some counties awarded more than one scholarship and each scholarship is worth €5,000 per anum for each year of a student’s three or four-year undergraduate degree.
Speaking about the growth and development of the programme over the past 14 years, Dr. Martin Naughton has said, “We started supporting students in their science and engineering studies in Louth, Meath, and Monaghan in 2008 to give back to our local area. We never imagined what a wonderful community of connected young people the Naughton Scholarship programme would become.
“Our Alumni is an incredible group working in the best universities, research institutes and businesses across the world. Each year we hear back from them on the value of this network to them and the connections it has given them across disciplines and Ireland. They are a wonderful group of young people that are all giving back to society in their own way that we are very proud to be connected with.”
