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CALMAST delighted with enthusiasm at BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition
Posted: Mon, January 12, 2009 |
WIT's centre for science, engineering and maths outreach, CALMAST, said it is very encouraged by the interest in Maths, Science, Engineering and Technology exhibited by students, teachers and members of the public who visited its stand at the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition at Dublin’s RDS.
CALMAST staff worked with industry representatives from healthcare companies Bausch & Lomb, Teva, Genzyme and others throughout the exhibition to show the role of science in our everyday life and its critical importance to the Irish economy and to the southeast in particular.
There was a huge number of visitors to the stand, among them the Minister for Education & Science, Batt O’Keeffe TD; Minister for the Environment, Heritage & Local Government, John Gormley TD and Minister of State for Science & Innovation, Jimmy Devins TD.
“We are very encouraged by the increase in visitor numbers to our stand and would be confident that the surge in interest in science, engineering, technology and maths will translate into more students selecting science and technology-related programmes at Waterford Institute of Technology and other colleges as well as at second-level. There was considerable interest on courses in WIT and, with the CAO deadline looming, we would be confident that this will spur an even greater uptake in science and technology-related programmes at the Institute this year. It was great to see a mix of key industry figures, government Ministers, the general public, students and teachers visit our stand,” Dr Donegan added.
The Waterford stand was manned by staff from the schools of Science and Engineering and student volunteers from Waterford IT, in addition to staff from local industry. Waterford was very well represented among the 500 finalist entries, with 14 projects from Blackwater Community School, Waterpark College, Newtown School and Meanscoil San Nioclas making it through to the finals.
“It was very encouraging to see the standard of and the number of entries from schools from Waterford and the southeast growing,” added Eoin Gill of CALMAST. The BT Young Scientist & Technology exhibition is key in encouraging young people to explore science, engineering and mathematics for themselves. It allows them to showcase their innovation and to develop the skills they will need to be the innovators of tomorrow,” he said.
All areas of science, engineering, maths and technology were showcased on the CALMAST stand and those who visited it and chatted to the staff revelled in maths puzzles and games, displays and a wealth of information about the relevance of science in our daily lives. The stand also illustrated how many technology-related companies are operating in the southeast region and how the institute works with them, helping them to foster and grow. Waterford Institute of Technology’s forestry staff were also kept on their toes as they worked with Coillte to give away 5,000 broad leaved trees to exhibition-goers to help combat climate change.
It was an exceptionally busy year for CALMAST, Dr Donegan added. “In the last 12 months, we have hosted over 10,000 young people at events organised by the Institute. We consider it also important to assist nationally important initiatives and were delighted to be able to support the BT Young Scientist Exhibition for the sixth successive year.”
