BT Ireland celebrates its 25th year as custodian and organiser of the Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition (BYSTE)
- Judging of 1,062 student finalists commenced earlier today, with participants presenting their project entries to 85 expert judges from Ireland’s science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) sectors
- In the last twenty-five years, under BT Ireland’s custodianship, the Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition (YSTE) has evolved into one of the leading school STEM exhibitions in the world
- The 2025 BTYSTE is open to the public from tomorrow, January 09 until Saturday, January 11, with a limited number of tickets still available at https://www.ticketing.btyoungscientist.com
Dublin: Wednesday, January 08, 2025: President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins made one of the first official engagements in his last year of office today, visiting the RDS Dublin to open the 2025 BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition (BTYSTE), and celebrate BT Ireland’s silver anniversary as custodian.
Today, 1,062 secondary school student finalists presented their STEM-focused ideas on how to change the world for the better to a panel of 85 expert judges, as the first round of judging began. After officially opening the event and addressing students and their teachers, President Michael D. Higgins and wife Sabina toured the exhibition, hearing directly from the finalists about their inspiring and innovative projects.
Speaking to students and teachers at today’s opening ceremony, President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, said: “It is both an exciting and a morally challenging time to be a young scientist. Young scientists and technologists have a great responsibility and opportunities to be conscientious and conscious as to where their work will be applied.
What encourages me to hope is that I see gathered here not only brilliant young scientists, technologists, full of innovative ideas and creativity, but also enthusiastic global citizens, all of which bodes well for their giving support and leadership in the achieving of a sustainable and cohesive future on our island and a harmonious existence on this, our vulnerable planet.
May I encourage you all to help each other with patience and kindness in your work, and to co-operate in advancing the truly emancipatory potential of science for society and for all of life. May your participation in the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition further drive your interest and determination to continue to play a role in science, its application, and its delivery for the betterment of all across the world.”
The 2025 BT Ireland Executive Leaders Forum
The BT Ireland Executive Leaders Forum was also held at the exhibition today, in conjunction with Business in the Community Ireland (BITC) and the American Chamber (AmCham). This year’s Forum raised awareness of the importance of collaboration across industry, business, and education to expanding Ireland’s STEM pipeline. The event called on business leaders to explore how together, their organisations can strengthen Ireland’s position as a global hub for STEM innovation and talent.
Seeing silver
In the last twenty-five years, under BT Ireland’s stewardship, the organisation has launched several initiatives that have evolved the Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition (YSTE) into one of the world’s leading school STEM exhibitions, including:
- Launching two brand-new categories, Technology in 2001, and Health and Wellbeing in 2024, broadening opportunities for secondary school students to enter
- Introducing 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).
- Securing university bursaries for senior BTYSTE category winners with seven universities in the Republic of Ireland, giving fifty students an opportunity to continue learning STEM at third level
- Partnering with GAISCE – The President’s Award to become a GAISCE Challenge Partner in the Republic of Ireland, as well as launching an equivalent partnership with The Duke of Edinburgh Awards in NI
Managing Director of BT Ireland, Shay Walsh, reflected on BT Ireland’s 25 years as custodian of the YSTE while speaking at today’s opening ceremony: “I am delighted to join President Michael D. Higgins, a champion of education and learning, and of the BTYSTE for many years, at the opening of this year’s exhibition. This year is a particular cause of celebration for all of us at BT Ireland as we mark 25 years as custodian of the exhibition today. It is an honour to support this incredible platform for young adults in Ireland, as each year, it offers them an incredible opportunity to learn more about STEM as well as develop critical skills such as teamwork, and entrepreneurship.
Ireland has generated some of the world’s most exceptional STEM talent in the last 60 decades, with many exhibition alumni going on to change the world for the better. We are immensely proud to have played a role in this during in the last twenty-five years and look forward to seeing many of this year’s finalists continue to blaze a trail in the sector in years to come.”
Tomorrow, the 2025 exhibition officially opens to the public, judging will continue, and the Primary Science Fair, which runs alongside the BTYSTE, will officially open with more than 50 primary schools showcasing their projects. As well as this, 60 stands from the BTYSTE’s amazing partners will be set up around the RDS Dublin, including the Department of Education, Analog Devices, Amgen, Stripe, Permanent TSB, Re-turn, and RTÉ.
Tickets to the BTYSTE can be purchased at https://ticketing.btyoungscientist.com or at the venue. Tickets are sold out for tomorrow morning, Thursday January 09, but are still available for the afternoon, with tickets still also available on Friday January 10 and Saturday January 11.
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
* 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
085 835 5264 / 083 395 9458
- A full selection of pictures from today will be shared with photo desks by Fennell Photography 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.
About BT Group
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