Published on: Tuesday, 01 April 2014

Please visit www.scifest.ie for further information.
More details on Yuri’s Night at CIT Blackrock Castle Observatory

⇒ CIT Scifest Participating School Listing

⇒ CIT Scifest Schedule of Events

Congratulations to students from Pobalscoil an Tríonóide, Youghal on winning the SFI Discover Best Project Award at SciFest on Friday 4th April, 2014.  Winning team: Oisín Keniry, Edmond O’Halloran and Bobby McCarthy with their project titled AgriScan.

The students designed and programmed an App for recording details of animals in a herd, tag numbers, breeding, and milk products. It works by scanning the QR Code from the Animals Ear Tag.  The aim of the projects was for the students from an agricultural background to solve the problems farmers and veterinary surgeons have with excessive paperwork and make access to information easier with the touch of a button.

The SFI Discover Best Project Award winners from Cork will be invited to exhibit at Intel (Dublin) later in the year from which one project will be selected to win an all-expense trip to represent Ireland at the International Science and Engineering Fair 2015 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.

Winning  students with teachers and Principal from Pobalscoil an Tríonóide, Youghal; Stephanie O’Neill, Science Foundation Ireland; Sheila Porter CEO, SciFest; and Dr Eamonn Cashell, Dean, School of Graduate Studies, CIT.

Scifest 2014 @ CIT

An investigation into the awareness amongst the Irish public of fallot tetralogy - blue baby syndrome; obtaining freshwater from seawater for use in third world countries and “How Many Doors Did Donal Open”, a look at the work of anti-suicide campaigner’s Donal Walsh’s work, are just some project ideas being presented at SciFest 2014, which will take place at CIT on Friday, 4th April 2014.
 
This year’s event showcases 150 projects from 360 second-level school students, ranging from 1st Year to 5th Year and from 24 schools across Cork City and County. Seán Sherlock TD, Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation and Department of Education and Skills with responsibility for Research and Innovation, will open SciFest 2014.
 
Dr Hugh McGlynn, Head of School of Science & Informatics at CIT said: “SciFest encourages students of all abilities to participate in a science fair and experience what it is like to be a professional research scientist and to develop an interest in science through inquiry and activities that link to their everyday lives. Students are given an opportunity to develop 21st century skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, presentation and collaboration.”
 
The winners from each regional SCifest 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. It is also supported by a number of other companies and organisations.
 
Commenting on SciFest at CIT, Sheila Porter, CEO SciFest Ltd, says, “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. This helps stimulate students’ interest in science and enables then to apply scientific concepts to real-life scenarios. SciFest continues to go from strength to strength with a record number of entries this year.

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.
 
I would like to thank all of our partners including Science Foundation Ireland, Discover Science & Engineering, Intel, Newstalk, PharmaChemical Ireland, Abbott Ireland, SEAI, NCE-MSTL, ESERO Ireland, ISTA, RSC and the Institutes of Technology. Without their support, none of this would be possible.”
 
At SciFest CIT, the following awards will be presented by the Dean of Graduate Studies, Dr Eamonn Cashell:

• SFI/Discover Science and Engineering Best Project Award, Intel Award
• Abbott Runner-up Best Project Award
• Newstalk Best Communicator Award
• PharmaChemical Ireland Chemistry Award
• NCE-MSTL Maths in Science Award; Sustainable Energy (SEAI) Award
• Discover Space Award (ESERO Ireland) 
• RSC School Chemistry Award
• Irish Science Teachers’ Association Award

Additional prizes will also be presented by Eli-Lilly, Janssen Pharmaceutical, Bank of Ireland, Munster Rugby, and CIT.
 
The SciFest@CIT award winners will be invited to present their winning projects at CIT Blackrock Castle Observatory at the launch of Yuri’s Night, Saturday, 12th April, 2014, where they will be on display from 12th - 18th April. Yuri’s Night is a global celebration of humanity’s past, present, and future in space. Yuri’s Night parties and events are held around the world every April in commemoration of 12th April, 1961, the day of cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin’s first manned spaceflight and 12th April, 1981, the inaugural launch of NASA’s Space Shuttle.
 
The SFI Discover Best Project Award winners from Cork will be invited to exhibit at Intel (Dublin) later in the year from which one project will be selected to win an all-expense trip to represent Ireland at the International Science and Engineering Fair 2015 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.