For the first time in its 57 year history, the Exhibition will be going virtual in 2021

BT Ireland is calling on students to channel their creativity by entering the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2021 (BTYSTE), before the deadline of midnight Tuesday September 22.

For the first time in its 57 year history, the Exhibition will be going virtual in 2021 and will be broadcast across the world from January 6 - 8 January.

As students prepare to embark on the new academic year, Minister for EU Affairs Thomas Byrne is encouraging aspiring science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) scholars to harness their inner Einstein by entering the competition.

Minister Byrne said “Ireland has consistently punched above its weight in terms of scientific discoveries over the last few centuries. County Meath in particular has made important contributions to progressing technological invention and furthering our understanding of scientific principles. Spanning as far back as Francis Beaufort (1784-1857), a Meath native who devised a method for estimating wind velocity, the Beaufort scale, which is still used today.

Minister Byrne pointed out that more recently ten projects from schools across Meath, four of which from Meath East, successfully reached the BTYSE 2020 finals. He added:

“The young students from across the country who take part in this exhibition are a testament to humankind’s perpetual search for meaning. They represent a bright future for our country.

“Now, more than ever, we need creative and innovative minds to develop science and technology which can resolve national and global challenges from climate change to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This years free BT project admission is a great ‘catalyst’ for our aspiring young scientists and by their entering students are engaging in the vital skills of teamwork, research, critical thinking and exploration - experience which will stand to them for a lifetime.

“During these uncertain times its essential that we call on students and teachers alike to be part of an unprecedented year of STEM dependence and, who knows, it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for an Irish invention to change the world for the better,” Minister Byrne concluded.