Over 100 Further Education students were in Foyle Arena last Thursday to show off their STEM related projects at the 2016 Best Awards.

The BEST Awards (Business and Education through Skills and Training) is a competition run annually by Colleges NI. Now in its 6th year, the BEST Awards were created to recognise the excellence and diversity of STEM project based learning in Northern Ireland further education (FE) colleges and to provide an annual showcase and competition for students to present their project work.

The Best Awards provide opportunities for younger and more mature students alike and they are intended to be part of the development process for students preparing for their careers and in this respect, the opportunities to further develop their skills in planning, problem solving, innovative thinking, communication and presentation are key outcomes of the experience.

The standard was as high as ever, with entries from all six Northern Ireland regional colleges.

The winners this year were as follows:

Creative Industries (sponsored by the Department for Communities): Mobile Aircraft Rescue Copter (MARC) – Southern Regional College

Life Sciences (sponsored by Norbrook): Antibacterial effects of honey – South Eastern Regional College

Engineering 16-18 year old (sponsored by the Royal Academy of Engineering): Automatic portable cattle feeder – North West Regional College

Engineering 19+ year old (sponsored by the Royal Academy of Engineering): Multi-purpose tractor loader – North West Regional College

Innovation (sponsored by the Department for the Economy): Adbusters – Southern Regional College

Visual Design: Orchard Pig – Southern Regional College

Communication (sponsored by City & Guilds): “Into the Unknown” – Southern Regional College

Entrepreneurial (sponsored by the Department for the Economy): Perform Analysis of Rugby Academy – Belfast Metropolitan College

Built Environment (sponsored by RPS Group): Energy Advice to Households – North West Regional College

Software (sponsored by m-hance software): Belfast CAB website – Belfast Metropolitan College

Most Supportive Lecturer (sponsored by GTCNI): Dr Danny Laverty – North West Regional College


Overall 16-18 year old winner (sponsored by the Department for the Economy): Lambing Station – Southern Regional College

Runner up 16-18 year old (sponsored by OCNNI): Antibiotics lifespan in veterinary industry – Southern Regional College

Overall 19+ winner (sponsored by PKF-FPM): Happy Nappy – Southern Regional College

 

Runner up 19+ (sponsored by the NI Engineering Training Council): Effluxus – North West Regional College