- President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins will officially open the 2025 BTYSTE at a special ceremony tomorrow, Wednesday January 08
- For the first time ever, the recipient of the BT Young Scientist & Technologist (s) of the Year Award, along with four other category winners, will be awarded a trip to the World Expo in Osaka, Japan in July, while also representing Ireland at the European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS) in September
- The 2025 BTYSTE is open to the public from Thursday, January 09 until Saturday, January 11, and a limited number of tickets are still available at https://ticketing.btyoungscientist.com
January 07, 2025: Thousands of school students will descend upon the RDS Dublin this week to participate in the 2025 BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition (BTYSTE) and Primary Science Fair. The BTYSTE, which is one of the leading school science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) exhibitions in the world, annually showcases incredible STEM focused ideas in project entries from secondary school students aged 12-19 years.
President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins will officially open the 2025 exhibition tomorrow at a special ceremony for students, teachers, and partners. The ceremony will be streamed live on the BTYSTE website and on Facebook Live from 2pm.
Speaking ahead of the exhibition, President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins said: “I am delighted to have had the opportunity of opening the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition every year during my Presidency, and I am deeply encouraged that it goes from strength to strength, with 2,069 projects submitted to compete in this year’s competition, from which 550 projects were selected to go through to compete in the RDS.
May I offer my very best wishes to all of the students participating in this year’s BTYSTE, and may I pay a special tribute to all those teachers and parents who have been such an essential source of encouragement and, of course, to all those who have played a role in organising this year’s event.
The future of humanity requires a science without borders built on co-operation in the interest of humanity, accepted as a shared responsibility. I have faith in the ability of our young Irish scientists to locate their gifts, their brilliance, in a moral and ethical context. I know from meetings with them that they are more than willing to work for the benefit of all humanity beyond any well-earned personal reward and I very much look forward to meeting with many of them at this year’s event.”
The 61st exhibition is a particularly significant milestone for BT Ireland, as the organisation celebrates 25 years as custodian and organiser of the Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition (YSTE). Since Dr. Tony Scott and Fr. Tom Burke created the YSTE in the 1960s, the exhibition has inspired many generations to look to STEM to improve the world around them, and past winners have gone on to launch commercial enterprises, as well as being recognised among the world’s most influential young adults, among many other achievements*. BTYSTE alumni have also won first prize at the EU Contest for Young Scientists a record seventeen times in the last thirty-five years.
Over the past 25 years, BT Ireland has endeavoured to enhance and evolve the exhibition through the introduction of several initiatives including:
- Introducing the Primary Science Fair, the first science exhibition of its kind for 3rd to 6th class primary school students.
- Launching the first BT Young Scientist Business Bootcamp in 2010, which provides 30 young scientists with commercialisation and entrepreneurship skills for their future careers
- Launching a travel and accommodation grant to help students who would need to travel considerable distances to compete at the BTYSTE, distributing €1.5million to schools since 2006
- Supporting DEIS schools to participate by giving those that need to travel considerable distances to compete, 20% more grant funding under the Accommodation Grant Scheme**. In 2025, over 19% of qualified projects (95 projects from 42 schools) are from students in DEIS schools, an almost 100% increase from 2024 (48 schools).
The first ever winner of the exhibition under BT Ireland’s custodianship in 2001, Peter Taylor, joined co-founder of the YSTE, Dr Tony Scott together with Managing Director of BT Ireland, Shay Walsh, at today’s exhibition launch.
Shay Walsh, Managing Director, BT Ireland said: ‘’We are delighted to welcome students, teachers, partners, and the public to the 61st exhibition at the RDS this week, which is a particularly special occasion for all of us at BT Ireland as we celebrate 25 years as custodian of this wonderful event. Since its foundation by Dr Tony Scott and the late Fr Tom Burke, the exhibition has become a launchpad for some of the brightest minds on this island, with past participants going on afterwards to become successful scientists, researchers, academics, and entrepreneurs to name just a few!
Many participants of the BTYSTE have gone on to make the world a better place, and in the last 25 years, we are proud to have further evolved the exhibition, igniting a passion for STEM in thousands of young people that has stayed with them all their lives. I wish all the students taking part this year the best of luck, and hope they have an incredible experience.”
From tomorrow, 550 projects from 225 schools will be on display, spanning the five exhibition categories of Technology, Biological, and Ecological Sciences, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Chemical, Physical and Mathematical Sciences and Health and Wellbeing. A judging panel of 85 experts from the world of STEM and business will have the challenging task of choosing over 200 prize winners, including the overall BT Young Scientist & Technologist (s) of the Year, awarded €7,500.
Showcasing Irish ingenuity on an international stage
This year, for the first time ever, the overall BT Young Scientist & Technologist (s) of the Year winner, along with one senior project from each of the four remaining categories, will be awarded a trip to the World Expo, in Osaka, Japan. Held every five years, World Expo brings the world together explore the future of industry, technology, and progress. Inspired by Ireland’s theme ‘Creativity Connects People,’ the winners will have the opportunity to create meaningful intercultural connections, experience cutting-edge science, and highlight their research on a global stage. The overall winner of BTYSTE 2025 will also represent Ireland at the European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS) in Riga, Latvia this September.
The 2025 Primary Science Fair, an integral aspect of the BTYSTE for seventeen years, will also take place alongside the exhibition on January 09 and 10, giving 53 primary schools the opportunity to demonstrate that the future for Ireland’s STEM sector is bright to judges and visitors. The BTYSTE opens to the public from Thursday, January 09 to Saturday January 11, with a full programme of fantastic events and something for everyone to enjoy, as well as all the student projects on display throughout. Additionally, 50 brilliant stands from the exhibition’s partners, including the Department of Education, Analog Devices, Amgen, Permanent TSB, Stripe, Re-turn, and RTÉ will be on display throughout the RDS.
Tickets to the BTYSTE can be purchased at https://ticketing.btyoungscientist.com/ or at the venue. Visitors can plan their visit to the RDS in advance by downloading the free BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition app, available on Android and Apple devices. Full of helpful information, the app includes an exhibition map, a search tool for student projects and exhibitors, a schedule of events, as well as links to the BTYSTE social networks for live updates throughout the event.
For more information on the exhibition, please visit the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition website or follow @BTYSTE on Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), YouTube or Snapchat.
ENDS
*Refers to overall BTYSTE 2013 winners, Ciara Judge, Emer Hickey and Sophie Healy-Thow who were named as three of TIME Magazine’s ‘25 Most Influential Teens’, as well as winning the EUCYS and the global Google Science Fair that year.
* *Under the BTYSTE Accommodation Grant Scheme, an individual project finalist from a DEIS school located a considerable distance from the RDS Dublin (70kms or more), receives €180 and a group of finalists €360 towards their accommodation costs for attending the BTYSTE in Dublin.
For any finalist (s) from a DEIS school that is / are not eligible for the accommodation grant, they will receive separate funding of €50 for each shortlisted project, to a maximum grant of €500 per school.
Notes to editor:
For more information, please contact:
Amy Kennerk / Erica Brown
Teneo
btyste@teneo.com
085 835 5264 / 083 395 9458
A full selection of pictures from today’s launch, featuring the first ever winner of the Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition (YSTE) under BT Ireland’s custodianship, Dr Peter Taylor, will be shared with the photo desk and are also available on the exhibition’s portal
Video highlights are available to watch on the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/BTYoungScientists
About BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition
The BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition is designed to raise schools’ engagement in the critical subjects of science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM). The Exhibition calls upon students aged 12-19 years from all over the island of Ireland to showcase innovative science and technology projects. In 2022, the Exhibition reached almost 8 million visitors around the world through its virtual portal. The BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition is supported by valued partners including the Department of Education, Analog Devices, Amgen, Stripe, and RTÉ. Learn more at www.btyoungscientist.com.
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