- Day 1 @ BTYSTE Announcement – Opening Ceremony with Address by President Michael D. Higgins
- Round Up - Day 1 @ The BTYSTE
- Picture of the Day
- What’s On - Day 2 @ The BTYSTE
Round Up - Day 1 @ BTYSTE:
The 57th BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition went live today as over 1,000 students from over 200 schools took to the first ever virtual platform to set up their projects and begin to prepare for the exciting days ahead. Fans of the Exhibition and members of the global STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) community were able to access this year’s event, for free, from all over the world via the portal.
The first day of the BTYSTE portal was a hive of activity with audiences logging on to witness electrifying lightshows, insightful talks and chats with special guests including the first young scientist winner, John Monahan, and the debut telescopic show of the BTYSTE Irish Scientists Have Talent winner, Danielle Wilcox.
The virtual exhibition was officially opened by President Michael D. Higgins, who said in his Opening Address, “The BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition has become an annual highlight in the school calendar over the decades. This year, in light of the restrictions relating to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a spectacular virtual event has been arranged to help maintain and foster the climate of curiosity, creativity and innovation that the exhibition showcases on an annual basis and which I find so inspiring and uplifting.
What a great and inviting time it is to become ever more involved in science and its application in society. The COVID-19 pandemic has reaffirmed the critical importance of science as a vital tool for humanity, both to combat the transmission of Coronavirus, and to reduce the suffering and tragedy to which it gives rise. The value and necessity of using scientific insights to address the great challenges facing humanity is not solely confined to public health pandemics such as COVID-19.
Science will play such a significant role in almost all of the great challenges we face as a global community of citizens, from the climate change crisis – the greatest threat we face, a threat to humankind’s very existence – to the related issues of environmental degradation and biodiversity loss, global poverty, hunger, malnutrition and inequality, to name just a few.
Young people can be the powerful catalysts for social change when given the opportunity and support. They are the designers and makers of the future, and we need them now to help shape the future that they will inhabit. The BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition provides them with an opportunity, a platform to do just that.”
BT Ireland Managing Director, Shay Walsh congratulated all students on their participation in BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition, in what is now one of the longest-running science fair of its kind, not just in Ireland but the world. This is the 21st consecutive year for BT, to organise and sponsor the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition.
Speaking today, Shay Walsh said “When we looked at the vision of the founders in the 1960s, which was to instil a passion for science in young people and put science on the national agenda, we knew that vision was as important now as it was back then. We knew it was not the year to cancel the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition.
We are truly delighted that over 2,500 students took the time to enter. It’s a remarkable effort, given the lives of young people, their teachers and parents, have been impacted by Covid-19.
I hope the students taking part really enjoy the experience after the hard work they put in. They should be immensely proud that visitors from across Ireland and abroad can click on to the portal and see their projects.”
Further good luck messages were shared on the virtual platform from Dr Tony Holohan, Anna Geary and Stevie II, Ireland’s first socially assistive robot with advanced artificial intelligence!
Full opening ceremony video: https://youtu.be/tQ3of1ntOUs
What’s On- Day 2 @ BTYSTE
Thursday 7th January 2021
9:45: What is Mark the Science Guy up to now - Step into Mark’s universe as he takes you
behind the scenes to explore and investigate some of his favourite creations and inventions at Explorium!
14:00: Nextipedia, BT’s business innovation symposium, will feature Aron Ralston, whose harrowing experience trapped in a southeast Utah canyon was made into the 2010 movie ‘127 Hours’, a true-life story of innovating during a crisis.
16:00: Why Crystals will save the World - A material developed by Prof. Michael Zarowotko’s
team at the University of Limerick “could help solve the global water crisis” by producing water from air, even in the most hostile of locations. Join Mike and former BTYSTE winner Émer Hickey to hear about how Mike’s research is working to solve global environmental problems.
For more information on this fantastic family event, visit our portal at https://portal.btyoungscientist.com/ or follow @BTYSTE on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube or Snapchat (username: BTYSTE).
