St Columba’s CS Glenties student part of BT Young Scientist Business Bootcamp

Klara Piechocka - a student at St Columba’s Comprehensive School - is taking part in the BT Young Scientist Business Bootcamp.

This year’s Bootcamp begins today, Monday, and runs until Thursday at Nova UCD. Now in its 16th year, the Bootcamp was set up by BT Ireland, under its custodianship of the Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition (YSTE) in 2010, to support BTYSTE finalists with developing their project ideas into commercial enterprises under the guidance of BTYSTE alumni, BT Ireland mentors and expert judges.

This year, BT Ireland celebrated 25 years as organiser of the YSTE and first introduced the bootcamp as part of its ongoing efforts to enhance and evolve the exhibition under its custodianship. In the last sixteen years, the Bootcamp has provided almost 500 students with skills to turn their project ideas into commercial enterprises.

This year, 30 students representing 12 counties from across the island of Ireland are participating in the Bootcamp. The students will take part in a four-day programme that will include workshops on business development, marketing and commercialisation, as well as meet BTYSTE alumni who themselves have launched successful enterprises. On the final day, the students will pitch their project to an expert panel of judges.

Judges this year include Shay Walsh, Managing Director of BT Ireland, Dr Tony Scott, co-founder of the BTYSTE, Anne-Marie Turley, Head of Fintech, Finance & Cybersecurity at Enterprise Ireland, and Brian O’Donovan, Work and Technology Correspondent at RTÉ.

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Shay Walsh, Managing Director of BT Ireland, said: “We are delighted to welcome the particpating students to the 2025 BT Young Scientist Business Bootcamp at Nova UCD, our event partner, this week. The Bootcamp has been a highlight in BT Ireland’s calendar for years, and it is incredible to be able to witness thirty of the country’s brightest young minds showcase and evolve their incredible ideas with experts in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) sectors.

“While a very exciting occasion for us all at BT Ireland, today also marks the start of the last bootcamp we will ever deliver. It has been a privilege to have given 500 inspirational young people a platform to develop their business acumen, with many previous participants going on to make a big impact in STEM and business. I’d like to thank all my colleagues, and the team at Nova UCD for their support in making the Bootcamp what it has become over the years and hope all the participants have an unforgettable week.”