Pride of the county – Westmeath schools have 38 entries in BTYSTE

The students of Westmeath will be hoping for significant success this week at the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition (BTYSTE) 2025 which opens on Thursday, January 9.

The county has had 38 projects selected for inclusion, which makes it one of the star performers, coming third after just Dublin and Cork in terms of qualifying projects.

That phenomenal performance has seen it even surpass 2024, when it had 29 entries included, putting it fourth on the list of most prolific entrant counties.

In total, eight schools from around the county will be travelling to the RDS for the event – Loreto College, St Finian’s and Coláiste Mhuire in Mullingar; Wilson’s Hospital in Multyfarnham; Meán Scoil an Chlochair in Kilbeggan, Moate Community College, and from Athlone Community College and Our Lady’s Bower, Athlone.

According to the organisers, 4,000 students from 352 schools across the island submitted 2,069 projects, of which 550 – including the 38 from Westmeath – have been shortlisted to take part in the exhibition at the RDS in February.

Mars, pests and diabetes

‘Plastic not so fantastic’ which examines sustainability in diabetes management, and ‘Air-Lert’, which examines how healthy the air we breathe is, are the entries submitted by St Finian’s College.

Meán Scoil an Chlochair in Kilbeggan has entered a project entitled ‘Forever Farming’, which looks at sustainable pest control, and ‘Step up your day, endorphins are on the way’, while the Loreto College entry, an individual submission, has examined how to develop the most sustainable planetary rover for Mars.

A group entry submitted by a team from Marist College in Athlone examines whether temperature affects magnetic forces.

Bias, investment and VR

‘GAA Grind: stress under the surface’ is one of the group entries from Coláiste Mhuire in Mullingar, while the titles of two others are ‘Skip the wait, don’t be late’, and ‘Seas Apart, Tides Alike’.

One student has carried out a statistical analysis of the perpetuation of educational disadvantage in early school leavers and implicit bias among Irish employers, while a group entry, ‘Comprehensive Financial Literacy’, examines fraud awareness and investment strategies.

‘DiaCare: Revolutionising Diabetes Management’ is a further Coláiste Mhuire entry, while a three-strong group set about examining whether the deposit return scheme is delivering in their project ‘Recycling Revolution’.

Radon awareness through a smartphone app is another entry from that school; ‘Saoirse na Feirme’ is the title of another project, while a further Coláiste Mhuire group entry, ‘Virtual Reality Glove”’ examines the efficacy of a cheap alternative to immersion in VR.

Future farming

One of the eight entries from Moate Community School involved the invention of ‘Electrobloom’, an electroculture growth chamber to increase the germination and yield of protected crops.

The possibility of generating power by harnessing swells close to the seashore is another Moate entry, while a third, entitled ‘Methane Busters’ involves harnessing tannins and feed additives to clean up slurry tank emissions.

The question of whether high performance in sport is out of reach for short people was the focus of a further Moate Community School entry; ‘Fungi Civil War’ saw another Moate team use birch polypore to develop a treatment spray for bovine ringworm; another team developed ‘Nutri-Flo’, a natural tree nut water filter for cattle.

‘Crouch-bind-set… Protect!’ is the name of a further Moate entry, in the technology category, while the final entry from that school is ‘Botanical Barriers’, which looks at ways to harness plant compounds for ultraviolet protection during nail treatments.

Chips, chlorine and stars

From Our Lady’s Bower comes the entry ‘Maths 4 All’; while another interesting one from that school investigates whether there is a need to allow extra examination time for students with additional learning needs.

‘The Mould Busters’; ‘Cleaning the air’, ‘Starry Nights or Missed delights’ are further entries from Our Lady’s Bower, together with an investigation into chlorine alternatives, and also examination of the effects of acid rain on plant growth and the implications for bogland sustainability. A further entry from that school is ‘Crunch time: unveiling the perfect potato for chips’.

Oil spills, storage and psychoacoustics

The use of hydrophobic magnetic nanoparticles for an eco-friendly oil spill clean-up solution is examined as a possibility by students from Athlone Community college, while ‘Breaking the Silence’ sees a group unravel menstrual stigmas and mood mysteries. Illuminating the future using LIFI is the theme of a third project while another group set themselves the task of testing and developing low-cost heat storage materials.

‘Resonance and response: psychoacoustics in behavioural conditioning’ is the focus of an individual entry from the college, while a further individual project is ‘Lost, Found and Optimised’, a novel, revised outlook on Bellman’s Lost-In-A-Forest problem.

The upcoming BTYSTE, taking place at the RDS on January 8-11, received entries from schools in 31 counties and from almost half (49%) of all secondary schools in the Republic of Ireland.

Professor Pat Guiry, chair of Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition Board and Exhibition judge, said: “This year we were heartened by the exceptional quality of entries to the BTYSTE. In fact, every year we are amazed by the calibre of submissions across the country. The shortlisting of 2,069 entries to 550 qualified projects was a tough challenge again this year.

“The scientific rigour and depth of research evident in the entries demonstrate the talent and creativity of Irish students, and their commitment to finding solutions to some of the greatest challenges of their times and gaining a greater understanding of the world around them.”

There are more than 200 prizes and a prize fund of some €50,000 for the 2025 competition.

The prizes are awarded across all five categories and age groups, including the overall BT Young Scientist and Technologist(s) of the Year Award, worth €7,500, the winners of which go on to represent Ireland at the European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS), in Latvia. Ireland has a strong record of taking home the prize for first place at the EUCYS, with 17 wins over the last 35 years.