BT's annual Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition went virtual this year, showcasing some impressive projects from Ireland's young student inventors
The annual BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition (BTYSTE) still took place this year despite the COVID lockdown, with the exhibition moving online for the first time. Students from across the island of Ireland showcased a wide range of research projects and inventions, with a particular focus this year on COVID-19.
Many projects focused on environmental sustainability as usual, but a surprising 25% of all projects featured COVID-19 in some way. They included projects looking at how lockdowns affected social media platform TikTok to a detailed investigation of how young people's attitudes to the virus may affect vaccine uptake.
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Silicon Republic has written up a breakdown of some of the most interesting projects it found, including on named "TikTok AfterShock" from three students from Jesus & Mary Secondary School in Co Galway. The project looked at whether the social media platform has negatively impacted teenage body image issues during lockdown.
Several projects also addressed gender disparities in society, with one from St Mary’s Secondary School in Cork investigating attitudes towards menstrual health in Ireland across age gaps and another from Scoil Mhuire gan Smál in Co Roscommon examining the division in emotional labour in the home between men and women.
Head over to the BTYSE website for more information.
Source: Silicon Republic