At W5 on 29 January, a number of schools who participated in the 2013 BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition displayed their science and technology based projects and explained to other schools – pupils and teachers, and industry leaders their experiences of entering the national competition.
Organised by MATRIX, the Northern Ireland Science Industry Panel, along with BT and W5 STEMNET, the ‘Show and Tell’ event illustrated how the competition can benefit schools and their students. Its purpose was to highlight the innovative approach around STEM based learning, as well as encourage more schools to engage in science based activities.
Attending the event, Chair of the MATRIX panel, Dr Bryan Keating said,
“Northern Ireland has a rich heritage of innovators in science, having led the world with their innovation, engineering and entrepreneurial excellence. Whilst it is important to recognise these past achievements, it is equally important to recognise that we are still inventing and innovating.
“Science provides exciting and often financially rewarding career paths and increases the prospects for young people to make a real difference at home and globally. Many of the world’s leading science companies are based in Northern Ireland and great strides are being made by young and growing technology companies, so there are increased opportunities for our young people to work in these industries.”
Clare Passmore from the STEM business panel added,
“The uptake and ongoing interest in STEM subjects is of huge importance to our economic success and it is critical that more young people stay engaged with STEM subjects and choose careers in the STEM related industries”.
Five schools displayed their projects, which ranged from an investigation into why our palm trees died to developing methods to harvest seeds from crops for replanting by farmers in developing countries.