Cork Chamber Ignites Students’ Curiosity

18th November 2013

CEO of Cork Chamber, Conor Healy, congratulated participants of the Cork Chamber 2nd Year School Science Awards that took place in Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) today. The competition, which is in its sixth year, has been sponsored annually by Boston Scientific and this year’s projects were entered under the theme “Science: Ignite your Curiosity”.

A team from St. Patrick’s College on Gardiner’s Hill won first prize in the competition with their project entitled “Our Solar System”, while second and third prizes went to St. Brogan’s College in Bandon (“The Big Colourful Bang Theory”) and Coláiste Mhuire in Buttevant (“Slurry Safety”) respectively. The presentations were judged by representatives of Boston Scientific, Phillips 66 and CIT.

Commenting on the Awards, Dave Austin of Phillips 66 said, “This science awards scheme was launched in 2008 in response to the widely-recognised problem of the declining numbers of science and engineering graduates in Ireland. The aim of the competition, which is open to applications from a number of schools in the Cork region, is to generate an interest in science among pre-Junior Certificate students.

CIT has a strong commitment to education and social inclusion and through its ‘Access Service Programmes’, it works in partnership with all key stakeholders to deliver a range of support programmes for the various education groups. CIT’s Science for Life Officer, Dr Sharon Lawton, stated that “The Awards are key to generating an interest in science among young people; allowing them to explore and enjoy future career options in the field of Science”.

Speaking at the event Miriam O’Sullivan, HR Director of Boston Scientific, said, “Boston Scientific is proud to sponsor the Cork Chamber School Science Award. Every year we see an improvement in the creativity and the quality of the projects that are entered. In many cases the students are actively applying the knowledge gained in class and using it as the basis for demonstrating solutions to everyday problems. Cork has a strong cluster of world-class, science-based industries operating locally and we hope that initiatives such as this awards scheme will encourage students to continue studying science at higher level and ultimately pursue careers in science.”

Cork Chamber’s Conor Healy continued by saying that “the sciences offer challenging and fulfilling career opportunities and Cork Chamber are committed to supporting the teaching and study of science in Cork”.

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