This year’s SciFest@WIT, will take place in the Atrium at SETU, on Wednesday 1st May, where promising young scientists from secondary schools across the Southeast will gather to present their work to their fellow students, judges and visitors. This year’s SciFest promises to be as bold and exciting as last year’s, with over 100 students making presentations.
Projects this year are as diverse as they are innovative. In the Life Sciences category, there are projects investigating cheaper ways of making your garden green; if computer screens distort the mind; and an investigation into whether horses can sense human emotions. For those with a passion for Physical Sciences , projects investigate the science of bubbles; the aerodynamics of hurleys; and much more. In the technology cateogory, there are projects which focus on vital real world issues such as ‘can braking systems in bikes be improved?’.
SciFest is an all-inclusive, all-island science competition, where second-level students showcase their science, technology and maths projects at a series of one day science fairs held in the 14 regional Institutes of Technology and the University of Ulster, Magee Campus, Derry. The winners from each science fair will go on to compete at the national final in November. The SciFest programme is primarily sponsored by Science Foundation Ireland’s ’Discover Science & Engineering Programme’ and Intel Ireland.
Projects are judged by a team drawn from local hi-tech , pharma and healthcare industries across the southeast, and lecturers from the schools of Science and Engineering at SETU.
SciFest aims to engender a love of science through an investigative and realistic approach to learning and research. It also allows students to engage with real scientists and learn about science careers. The competition is broken into several categories: Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Technology. It is also broken up into various age groups, recognising the difference in ability between junior and senior cycle students. This allows all students real opportunities to achieve recognition for their work. We are delighted that this year local pharma companies Glaxo Smithkline, Merck and Teva are working with us to sponsor some local awards. Other awards will include the SFI/Discover Science and Engineering Best Project Award, the Newstalk Best Communicator Award, the Discover Space Award, as well as prizes for best projects in category and by age group.
WIT SciFest Co-ordinator Dr Sheila Donegan said “It is hugely encouraging to see such high quality entries for this year’s SciFest@WIT. The high quality of students’ projects during SciFest is incredibly promising for the continuing and future prosperity of Waterford and the Southeast as a region for research, industry and technology.”
Sheila Porter, SciFest CEO, said “SciFest is a fun and exciting way to encourage an interest in science at school level, providing not only an occasion to celebrate achievement and a job well done, but also an opportunity to encourage active and collaborative learning. The rapid increase in participation in the competition is a clear indication of the interest and enthusiasm among students and teachers in the investigative approach to teaching and learning science.”
Scifest is organised by Calmast, the award winning STEM outreach centre at SETU. The Centre organises several festivals throughout the year including: Engineers Week, Robert Boyle Summer School, Bealtaine Festival of Outdoor Science, Maths Week Ireland and The Robert Boyle Science Week. These events attract over 12,000 visitors to the Southeast each year and offer engaging and interesting maths, science and technology events to the general public and schools. The directors of CALMAST are Dr Sheila Donegan and Mr Eoin Gill, the only Irish laureates of the Descartes Prize for Science Communication.