Limerick schools shine at BD STEM Stars competition
THE FUTURE of STEM in Limerick looks bright after Desmond College in Newcastle West won the Top Demo award at the BD STEM Stars competition.
The competition, run by BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), was held at BD Research Centre Ireland facility in Castletroy.
Desmond College, last year’s champions, took home the Best Live Demo award for their SmartOtoscope project.
The judges selected Desmond College for the Best Live Demo and Limerick schools Coláiste Chiarain and Coláiste Nano Nagle also got a lot of interest on the day.
“Lots of eyes were on the west Limerick school after last year’s success and they were in good company, with impressive innovation from schools across Munster, including fellow Limerick schools, Coláiste Chiarain and Coláiste Nano Nagle,” competition organizer and BD Enterprise Project Manager, Fionnagh Tsang said.
“This is now a Munster wide competition, and we were delighted to see entries coming in from all over the province yet again, with Limerick schools featured very prominently.”
The BD 2024 STEM Stars Award, which is supported by the Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board (LCETB), is the biggest such awards programme in Munster.
The competition was launched five years ago by BD, one of the world’s largest med-tech companies, to promote and encourage participation in STEM subjects for second level students.
The brief given to students was to devise solutions that positively impact on and advance the world of healthcare.
In addition to the competition element itself, the students also received a tour of the BD high-tech RCI facility before the presentation to the winners by Site Lead for the BD RCI, Seán Wall.
Mr Wall said, “This is a special day for all of us at BD and one we look forward to it with great excitement as we get to see the incredible pool of STEM talent that’s coming through in second level schools.
"We set out with this project five years ago to encourage awareness of the potential of STEM to improve the world of healthcare and to see where we have arrived at, with so many schools and incredible talent taking part, makes it a journey worthwhile.”