BD Research Centre Ireland (RCI) in Castletroy is running a competition for secondary school students in Limerick and Clare to promote the use of STEM subjects.
BD RCI is passionate about STEM subjects and their ability to have a positive impact on our health.
The competition, BD STEM Stars, asks students to identify a key health problem and explain how they would go about solving or improving it using STEM subjects. The prize is a whopping €10,000 with two runner-up prizes of €5000 each in STEM funding for the school. Last year saw Thomond Community College beat off competition from across Limerick and Clare, thanks to their project, which explored the use of blue light to manage stress and anxiety.
Bernie O Driscoll, STEM Co-Ordinator at Thomond Community College said “Winning the BD STEM stars competition was such a huge boost to every student. It really lifted the profile of Technology and Science subjects and we are thrilled to be able to use the prize money to expand on our STEM electronics equipment. The competition allowed teamwork and collaboration between students and staff departments to flourish within our school”.
Alex Kelly a student involved in the project said “It was a great achievement for all of us to win the BD STEM Stars competition as we’d worked so hard. Stress and Anxiety is a big issue for teenagers these days and something of huge interest to us. It was great to find a solution that we feel, helped reduce it.”
Padraig Fitzgerald, BD RCI’s Site Director said “We were blown away last year by the level of creativity and knowledge showcased in the competition. We’re looking forward to seeing how future engineers and scientists demonstrate their STEM skills this year and what areas of health they will tackle!”
Closing date to register your school is Nov 30th, 2020.
About BD
BD is a leading global medical technology company with over 70,000 employees worldwide. BD established Research Centre Ireland (RCI) Limerick in February 2017 as a global research & development hub.