Students from more than 35 Cork schools compete for Young Scientist title

More than 40,000 people are expected to descend on the RDS in Dublin this week for the 62nd Stripe Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition (SYSTE).

This year, there are 110 submissions from more than 35 Cork schools among the 550 projects being judged — including 11 projects from St Mary’s Secondary School in Macroom, nine from Coláiste Choilm in Ballincollig, and seven from Kinsale Community School.

This year’s exhibition marks the first time that Stripe is acting as the main sponsor of the event. It takes over from BT Ireland, which was the organiser for 25 years.

The opening ceremony at the exhibition, which will culminate with an awards presentation tomorrow, was held by President Catherine Connolly.

Participating student Rohan Gupta, of St Francis College in Rochestown, who designed an instrument that can analyse the state of a chess game through a camera, says his system, which took six months to design, will benefit people who prefer the feel of a physical chess board.

“This improves accessibility for people, tournaments, and school clubs who cannot afford to spend thousands of euro,” said Rohan.

“Like every great experiment celebrated at the Young Scientist Exhibition, it demands curiosity, care, and sustained effort if it is to succeed.”

Speaking to The Echo, Shaun Holly, who is the SYSTE project co-ordinator at Kinsale Community School — which has won the overall competition three times previously — said students are looking forward to taking part in this year’s exhibition.

“Students were busy over Christmas preparing their report books, posters, and finishing off analysing their data, so they’re all excited now getting set up,” said Mr Holly.

“They all have great support from the school and their families. Kinsale Community School is famous for the SYSTE competition. We always want to put on a good show.”

Fergal McCarthy, principal of Kinsale Community School, said he is pleased to see the “tradition of the school’s involvement in the competition continued”.