Benefits of participating
The benefits for students participating in BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition include:
- Self-directed learning : Students identify the subject matter to be investigated; self-directed learning promotes confidence and strong student ownership of their projects and results.
- Relevance: Students are motivated by the opportunity to select local or global topics of relevance/interest to them, and develop their own scientific investigations and models engaging locally or globally.
- Skills development : Students learn through hands-on, experimental and problem-based approaches to learning. Skills development includes research methodologies, design of experiment, data collection, evaluation and analysis, critical thinking, problem solving, communications, innovation and entrepreneurship.
- Collaboration : Students often work in groups, learning to be both tutors and learners while building social and collaborative skills.
- Cross-curricular and integrated approach : Projects tend to support a cross curricular, as well as an integrated, approach to STEM learning.
- Solving global grand challenges : Project based learning is a great way to connect learning in the classroom to the external world and the global grand challenges of food, water and energy security, better health services and better infrastructure
- Pride: Students are able to represent their school and town at the Exhibition in the RDS is a real honour for those involved.
- Future: Looking to the future it is a brilliant extra-curricular activity for students to add to their personal statement/CV/ application form for College /University. It shows a real passion for science and an ability to think for oneself.
- Prizes: Although a love for science and technology lies at the heart of all the entries, we are sure everyone has an eye on the prizes. There are over 200 prizes to be won, with a prize fund of almost €35,000 with the overall BT Young Scientist(s) & Technologist(s) of the Year being awarded €7500.
