44 Meath entries in Young Scientists

Students in Meath have entered 44 projects for next year’s BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition
 BT Ireland has announced that it has broken all previous records for entries to the exhibition.
The 50th competition, taking place in January 2014, is set to be the biggest ever with 2,000 ideas submitted by 4,418 students from across 32 counties.
Some 50 per cent of secondary schools in the Republic of Ireland have entered a project for the milestone year.
BT, which has organised the exhibition for 14 years, has significantly evolved the exhibition every year to engage as many young people as possible in the key areas of science, technology, engineering, maths, innovation and commercialisation.  Major progress has been made over the past fourteen years including: a tripling of project entries; a new commercialisation boot camp; a financial bursary to assist participating schools; and a growing array of science and technology exhibits, events and special acts that attract thousands of visitors.
Some 2,000 entries received, spanning 32 counties, involving 4,418 students and 379 schools.
There are 574 entries in the Biological and Ecological Sciences, 350 in Chemical, Physical and Mathematical Sciences, 701 in Social and Behavioural Sciences and 375 in the Technology category.
 The Minister for Education, Ruairí Quinn said: “In its 50th year, the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition is breaking new records with figures up for participating students and schools, as well as an increase in entries in key categories such as chemical, physical and mathematical sciences.
“The importance of investment in research and innovation to our economy cannot be underestimated, and I commend everyone involved in the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition for providing a platform for young people to showcase their creative ideas on both national and international stages.”