STUDENT INTEREST in science and research is buoyant, given the record numbers applying to participate in next January’s BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition.
Almost 4,000 students submitted 1,735 projects for the event, with entries coming from all 32 counties.
Details of the enthusiastic student engagement with the Young Scientist exhibition were released yesterday by main sponsor, telecommunications company BT. This will be the 47th annual exhibition, with BT serving as main sponsor for the past 11 years.
Minister for Education Mary Coughlan was at the RDS launch yesterday. The event “gives smart students with smart ideas a platform to shine”, she said.
The 3,943 students from 346 different schools who submitted projects set a new record. As has been the case for years, the number of female applicants shades male applicants by 56 per cent to 44 per cent.
Most of the entries, 1,392 or 80 per cent, are group entries involving two or three students. The remainder are individual projects, with group and individual projects in three age categories.
Projects are submitted under four categories, chemical, physical and mathematical sciences (280 projects), biological and ecological sciences (493 projects), social and behavioural sciences (641 projects) and technology (321 projects). Only 520 projects can be shown.
The BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition 2011 takes place at the RDS in Dublin from January 12th-15th.
Visit the official website: www.btyoungscientist.com
