Northern Ireland’s Budding Science Boffins


Northern Ireland’s Budding Science Boffins Get Ready for the 50th BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition BT has announced that 59 students from across Northern Ireland have been selected to compete at the 50th BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition. This year, 31 projects from the North have qualified for the competition which takes place at the RDS in Dublin from 8 – 11 January 2014. A total of 17 schools from across all six counties will represent Northern Ireland at the exhibition, which enables young people from across the island of Ireland to come together to showcase their innovative ideas and entrepreneurial flair on an international platform. In 49 years of the exhibition, there have been seven winners from Northern Ireland and two of the 17 schools who have qualified this year are previous overall winners. The exhibition, organised by BT for the past 14 years, provides unique opportunities for young people and teachers and inspires students to consider careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Newly qualified schools such as Portora Royal School and Dean Brian Maguire College alongside seasoned entrants such as St Mary’s College, Derry~Londonderry will go head to head in an attempt to win one of the prestigious awards at the ceremony. Projects such as ‘Investigating the possible antibiotic effects of air fresheners’ and ‘Fridge Food Friend’ will be exhibited at the event in January. Peter Morris, Director of Corporate Services, BT said, “Once again this year, the quality of the projects and the level of engagement by Northern Ireland’s secondary school students is fantastic. The number of qualified projects from Northern Ireland is testament to the sheer hard work, creativity, optimism and passion of the students and teachers involved in this year’s exhibition. “The aim of the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition is to help cultivate and nurture the talent of local young scientists, and I’d encourage Northern Ireland’s schools, families and business leaders to visit in January and experience first-hand the extraordinary ideas, innovation and excitement about STEM amongst our young people.” Over 120 awards will be presented at this year’s event, including the overall BT Young Scientist & Technologist of the Year. In addition, BT will offer over 30 participating students the opportunity to take part in the BT Young Scientist Business Bootcamp, an intensive commercialisation skills programme. The BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition is organised by BT, and is supported by a number of valued partners including the Department of Education Northern Ireland, University of Ulster and MATRIX. Over the course of the week, more than 250 BT employees will volunteer their time to help deliver the 2014 exhibition. For more information on the exhibition, log onto www.btyoungscientist.com ENDs For media enquiries, please contact: Louise Carson or Katrina Frazer, Aiken PR, 028 9066 3000 Gina Kelly, PR Sponsorship & Events Manager, BT Ireland 00353 1 432 5110 or 00353 86 7805451 About BT BT is one of the world’s leading providers of communications services and solutions, serving customers in more than 170 countries. Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to its customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband and internet products and services and converged fixed/mobile products and services. BT consists principally of four lines of business: BT Global Services, BT Retail, BT Wholesale and Openreach. For the year ended 31 March 2013, BT Group’s reported revenue was £18,103m with reported profit before taxation of £2,315m. British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York. For more information, visit www.btplc.com This entry was Articleed in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.