Dundalk IT hosts SciFest 2026 as Louth students scoop top honours
SciFest is a national event which aims to encourage a love of science
Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) recently welcomed students from across the North Leinster and South Ulster region to take part in the SciFest@DkIT 2026 competition which took place on the DkIT campus. The competition, which was designed to inspire, empower and provide equal access to STEM opportunities for secondary school students, is this year celebrating 20 years of SciFest. A special anniversary award was included in this year’s line-up.
De La Salle College students Breffni Tuomey Lynch, Conor Douglas and Conn Sheridan were named overall winners at this year’s competition. The Dundalk students were presented with the SciFest Best Project Award for their project Under the Shell: The Hidden Effects of Sewage on Coastal Life.
The SciFest Runner-up Best Project Award was presented to Shourya Singh from St Joseph’s CBS, Drogheda for his project Comparing the Efficiency Among Varied Aerofoils in Energy Production.
The SciFest Social Science Award was also presented to Ross Keenan, Finn Norton and Clara McQuillan from St Mary’s College, Dundalk for their project Does Agricultural Education Improve Consumer Awareness of Sustainable Irish Beef Production Among First-Year Students?
Read Next: PHOTOS: Dundalk crowds rally behind marathon brothers as €1m dementia fundraising milestone nears
Over 273 students from 21 schools across North Leinster and South Ulster presented their innovative projects to the judging panel to determine who would become the prize winners across a variety of categories.
132 innovative projects were on display throughout the competition, competing for 23 awards.
Among the prizes were; The SciFest Communications Award, Irish Science Teachers’ Association Award (ISTA Student Award), Regeneron Life Sciences Award, ESERO Discover Space Student Award and Teacher Awards, Keenova STEM Excellence Award, EirGrid Cleaner Climate Award, Intel Technology Award and the Boston Scientific Medical Devices Award.
Two DkIT awards were also presented in each of the Senior, Intermediate and Junior categories.
SciFest is a national event which aims to encourage a love of science and provide an opportunity for students to display their scientific discoveries. The event includes an exhibition and competition of projects produced by second-level students.
DkIT has hosted the North Leinster/South Ulster regional finals for the past eleven years with the high calibre of entries growing continuously each year. Students competing in the event can complete projects from a broad span of areas including physical sciences, computer science, social sciences, technology/engineering and health sciences.
SciFest@DkIT co-ordinator Dr Edel Healy, Head of School of Health & Science, DkIT said:
We always look forward to welcoming a group of forward-thinking students to DkIT each year for SciFest. The interest in the competition and the breadth of ideas continues to grow and our competitors never cease to amaze us with their creativity. Well done to all of the wonderful students who took part in this year’s competition and to their teachers and mentors who provide invaluable support in getting them to this stage. A big thank you also to our wonderful sponsors and volunteers without whom this event wouldn’t be possible.”
Selected winning projects from the Regional Fair will advance to the National Final to compete for the SciFest STEM Champion 2026 Award. This award includes an all-expenses-paid trip to represent Ireland at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in the Los Angeles, USA in May 2027.