Since its establishment in 2008 Naughton Foundation Scholarships worth over €4million have been presented to 175 remarkable young people in the fields of science, engineering and technology in publicly funded third level institutions in Ireland, north and south.
On Saturday, September 23, 36 new Scholars joined this illustrious and celebrated list as the Naughton Foundation honoured a further 36 exceptional Irish students by awarding them third level scholarships towards their studies in the areas of engineering, science and technology.
Mayo had two lucky winners, Aaron Hannon from St. Muredach’s College in Ballina who has accepted a place at Trinity College Dublin studying Engineering and Michael Mitchell from St Gerald’s College in Castlebar who has accepted a place at Trinity College Dublin studying Nanoscience, Physics and Chemistry of Advanced materials.
Supporting academic and innovative excellence in Irish students, this Scholarship Award is an investment in the future of Ireland's reputation as a country with outstanding graduates. In 2008 the scheme started in three counties and has continued to expand annually to become the nationwide program it is today. The ceremony took place in the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin.
Speaking about the growth of the foundation over the past ten years, Mrs Carmel Naughtoncommented: “Ten years ago we envisaged a small scholarship program to help support local students studying the STEM subjects. We never imagined this group of over 200 students and alumni nationwide who are connected across the universities and STEM disciplines and we couldn’t be more proud of the unique community they are developing”
While Mr Martin Naughton said, “Our reason for starting this program was to help young students in what were then seen as difficult and unattractive subject areas. When we meet these young researchers, engineers and mathematicians I am very happy knowing that we have invested in Ireland’s wealth creators of the future.”
There is one guaranteed Scholarship (€20,000 ) for each participating county, with the exception of Cork, Galway where there are two scholarships awarded and Dublin where there are four scholarships awarded. Five additional Scholarships are also to be awarded. Each Scholarship is worth €5,000 per annum for each year of a student’s three or four year undergraduate degree.
Both Aaron and Michael’s former secondary schools , St Muredach’s College and St Gerald’s College were also presented with a prize of €1,000 towards their school’s science facilities, for their support of these students. More than 140 schools have benefited from this prize to date with some schools receiving it on more than one occasion.
