Northern Ireland school students seize the opportunity to shine at the 2015 BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition

Belfast, Wednesday 22 October 2014: BT today announced that 128 students from 24 schools in Northern Ireland have entered 59 projects into the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2015.  And letters are winging their way to students this week to inform them if they have qualified to compete in this extraordinary event which has become one of the longest running and largest school science and technology exhibitions in the world.

Today’s announcement follows a Summer of highlights for the exhibition. The 2014 winner Paul Clarke (Dublin) secured second place in mathematics at the EU Contest for Young Scientists, and Ciara Judge, Sophie Healy-Thow and Emer Hickey (Cork) won first place at the global Google Science Fair and were listed in TIME magazine’s 25 Most Influential Teens, because of their science project. 

Colm O’Neill, CEO BT, commented, “2014 has been a great year for the exhibition. We reached the 50th milestone, and saw both our 2013 and 2014 winners continue our run of international success with prizes in European and international competitions.”

“This exhibition taps into the talent of our young people.  We’ve tracked the alumni of the exhibition over its 50 year history and their achievements are immense.  We’re delighted that Northern Ireland students realise the potential this exhibition brings, and we look forward to putting their ideas on show for the tens of thousands who will visit the event in January.”

Education Minister, John O’Dowd said: “The BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition is one of the largest and longest running of its kind in Europe.  In recent years there has been an upturn in pupils choosing to study STEM subjects.  This is significant in today’s environment as STEM students have a key role to play in improving our society and economy. Schools which afford science and technology its rightful place on their curriculum and in their extra-curricular activities will help create the workforce to meet the expected demand in STEM jobs in the coming years.” 

Over the past number of years, BT has invested in the expansion of the exhibition and this year developments include an increase in the financial bursary to assist participating schools, as well as the first ever Northern Ireland business bootcamp supported by Queen’s University Belfast.

The 2015 BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition will take place in the RDS, Dublin from 7th -10th January 2015.  There are over 120 awards to be won including the prestigious BT Young Scientist & Technologist of the Year.  In the 2014 exhibition, Wellington College in Belfast picked up five awards, including the Best Northern Ireland School Award.

The BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition is organised by BT, Northern Ireland’s leading communications and IT service providers, and is supported by a number of valued partners including the Department of Education Northern Ireland and MATRIX.  For more information on the exhibition and for details on how to enter, log onto www.btyoungscientist.com or follow the exhibition on Twitter @BTYSTE.

ENDS

For media enquiries, please contact:Louise Carson, Aiken PR, 028 90 663000 or louise@aikenpr.comPriscilla O’Regan, Head of Communications, BT Ireland, +35314325162 or +353866335398

Notes to Editor*CEAhttp://www.rewardinglearning.org.uk/newsroom/press/2014/press_210814.asp

**According to the Department of Employment and Learning: (http://www.northernireland.gov.uk/news-del-260613-farry-opens-stem )About BTBT 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, TV and internet products and services; and converged fixed/mobile products and services. BT consists principally of five lines of business: BT Global Services, BT Business, BT Consumer, BT Wholesale and Openreach.

For the year ended 31 March 2014, BT Group’s reported revenue was £18,287m with reported profit before taxation of £2,312m. 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.