The Minister for Education and Skills, Richard Bruton, was on hand last week to help BT Ireland announce a record number of entries for the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition, which takes place from January 11 to 14 next year. Some 2,090 project ideas were submitted by secondary students from 375 schools across the island, an increase of two per cent from the 2016 exhibition. Of the 550 projects shortlisted to compete at the exhibition, eight come from Mayo secondary schools, with a total of 18 students from four local schools heading to the RDS in January.
The eight Mayo entries that were accepted include three each from St Muredach's College in Ballina and Jesus and Mary Secondary School, Gortnor Abbey in Crossmolina, along with one each from St Joseph's Secondary School, Castlebar, and Our Lady's Secondary School in Belmullet. Of the projects accepted from Mayo one of the Jesus and Mary Secondary School, Gortnor Abbey, entries in the technology section in the intermediate age grade is looking at a road sign that changes speed according to the temperature of the given time, which the students aim to use to reduce casulties on Irish roads. One of the St Muredach's entries looks at investigating the relations between concussion in young life and Parkinson's disease in later life.
