Limerick schools shine bright in BD STEM Star Awards

Pupils from four Limerick schools have demonstrated their futures are bright when it comes to identifying and solving health issues in Ireland today as they receive an award at the second BD STEM Stars competition. The top prize of €10,000 funding for STEM projects was awarded to Desmond College, Newcastle West, Limerick with €5,000 to Salesian Secondary College, Pallaskenry Limerick. Scoil Pól, Kilfinane and Gaelcholáiste Uí Chonbá, Newcastle West received special commendation and €1,000 each for their projects.

Pupils from each of the schools beat off competition in showing step-by-step how they firstly identified an issue and then, through research, testing and learning, how they could solve it using what they learn in STEM subjects. 

The winners were announced at a virtual presentation hosted by BD Research Centre Ireland with the support of Limerick & Clare Education and Training Board. Professor Norelee Kennedy, Vice President of Research, University of Limerick presented the awards.

The winners and recipients of €10,000 were Desmond College, Newcastle West. Their project Exercise is the Key was submitted by transition year students Aoife Lee and Emma Brennan. They looked at the issue of teenage obesity and the connection between lack of exercise and the rapid increase in the amount of screen time among Irish teenagers and developed a device that positively rewarded exercise with screen time using a modified power adaptor.

A runner up prize of €5,000 went to Salesian Secondary College, Pallaskenry, where Niamh O’Connor looked at the topic of “Dealing with the daily challenges posed by living with cerebral palsy”. Niamh developed a prototype concept called EazyFlex, creating a glove with an inbuilt ball that would allow the wearer to exercise their hand muscles by inflating and deflating the ball through bluetooth and a mobile app. 

Special Commendation prizes of €1,000 each were presented to teams at Gaelcholáiste Uí Chonbá, Newcastle West and Scoil Pól, Kilfinane for their projects. Scoil Pól, Kilfinane looked at Seasonal Affective Disorder and effective use of a lamp to combat this. Gaelcholáiste Uí Chonbá’s entry showcased the development of an electronically adapted fork to simulate the taste of salt thus reducing the need for salt in diets to improve health. 

Padraig Fitzgerald, BD RCI’s Site Director chaired the judging panel. “All of the students were able to clearly show how the STEM subjects they study in school have given them skills to solve real-life health problems. This is exactly why Ireland has such a strong reputation in research and innovation, attracting companies like BD to set up R&D centres in the country. Despite the restrictions around the pandemic in the last year, we saw a huge degree of curiosity, teamwork, innovation and resourcefulness in the entries. BD is delighted to be in a position to recognise talent in the area and award prize money to be put towards STEM resources at Desmond College, Salesian Secondary School, Scoil Pól and Gaelcholáiste Uí Chonbá in recognition of their projects."

Presenting the awards, Professor Norelee Kennedy, Vice President for Research at the University of Limerick said “I would like to congratulate BD on this innovative and impactful initiative. STEM skills are crucial to the future well-being and development of our island and this region, and it is vital that STEM education in the school system continues to develop to support these skills needs. This has been a long-standing topic of research and education at the University of Limerick, which hosts the National Centre for STEM Education. The BD STEM Stars focus on health this year is very welcome given the pandemic and the importance of students developing skills and knowledge to support their own well-being.”

To find out more about the winning entries and the BD STEM Stars winners from this year and previous years, click here.