Minister Burke ‘blown away’ by Westmeath representation at Young Scientist Competition

Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Peter Burke, TD, said he was “blown away” by the 40 Westmeath projects on display at this year’s Stripe Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition in the RDS. With 40 projects, Westmeath ranked just behind Dublin and Cork in terms of overall participation.

The minister spent two hours touring local projects at the exhibition yesterday, meeting students from eight Westmeath secondary schools, including St Joseph’s, Rochfortbridge, Mercy Secondary School, Kilbeggan, Loreto College Mullingar, Coláiste Mhuire Mullingar, Moate Community School Marist College, Our Lady’s Bower, and Athlone Community College,.

Minister Burke said he was particularly proud to discover that his former school, Coláiste Mhuire Mullingar, had 18 projects on display – more than any other school in the country. Moate Community School is showcasing 10 projects.

“I was delighted to attend the Stripe Young Scientist Exhibition yesterday and was blown away by the standard of projects on display,” said Minister Burke.

“Westmeath continues to punch above its weight in this competition, with 40 local projects, accounting for almost 7% of all projects.

“It was incredible to see my old school, Coláiste Mhuire, with 18 projects. This is a credit to the leadership of Eva Acton over the last 10 years and the school’s strong focus on STEM subjects.

“These students have worked extremely hard on their projects over the last few months, and they presented them with great skill and enthusiasm. I want to thank all the local students for taking the time to meet me yesterday and talk me through their individual projects.

“I also want to thank the teachers involved for guiding and supporting students through what is a very exciting and formative experience.”