Biella Pulido, Caoimhe Ashton and Chloe O’Loughlin. Photograph: Arthur Ellis
STUDENTS from St Patrick’s Comprehensive School in Shannon emerged as the winners of the seventh annual BD STEM Stars competition for a cognitive support app to help people with early to mid-stage dementia.
Three students, Chloe O’Loughlin, Caoimhe Ashton and Biella Pulida, came together to create the app, having been motivated for personal reasons. The trio worked for a year on the app and walked away from the competition with the best video presentation award.
“We are developing a cognitive support app to help people living with dementia and as each of us have family members with dementia,” explained Biella. “We wanted to keep their independence and their daily routines so that’s why we came up with the app”.
Sixteen schools made it to the finals, with the overall award going to Mercy Secondary School, Mounthawk, Tralee but the Comp students, the only Clare team to make the final said the experience was as enjoyable as the win.
Chloe outlined, “It’s been great to see all the different projects and all the different ideas come together and how they’ve gone about solving different challenges”.
Teammate Caoimhe added, “It’s great inspiration too, looking around and seeing people’s postcards and seeing their ideas. It’s amazing to see what other people can come up with”.
Held at the BD RCI site at the National Technology Park, Limerick, the seventh annual BD STEM Stars awards were presented by Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless (FF) TD.
Approximately 60 students and teachers were involved in 16 shortlisted projects from counties Cork, Clare, Kerry, Limerick and Tipperary attended the event.
Launched in 2019 and supported by Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board (LCETB), BD STEM Stars challenges students to devise solutions that positively impact delivery of healthcare —reflecting BD’s global purpose of advancing the world of health. The programme aligns closely with Ireland’s national STEM Education Policy, which was introduced in 2017 and has been strengthened over the past decade to encourage greater participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects.
Addressing students and teachers from schools that made the finals, Minister Lawless said, “The BD STEM Stars competition is an outstanding example of how industry and education can work together to inspire the next generation of innovators. Over the past decade, Government has prioritised the promotion of STEM subjects to ensure Ireland continues to build the skills base required for a modern, innovation-driven economy.
“Initiatives like this bring STEM to life for students, showing them how their ideas can have real-world impact, particularly in areas such as healthcare. They also ultimately help underpin the huge STEM related industry in Ireland through indigenous and FDI companies. I commend BD Research Centre Ireland for its leadership and continued investment in nurturing future talent. It is a best-case example of industry’s commitment to promoting the sector here”.
BD Research Centre Ireland Site Lead Owen O’Neill said, “We never ceased to be amazed by the desire, the commitment and the application of the students who enter this competition to have an impact on the world of STEM. Our mission in BD is all about advancing the world of health and we apply ourselves to that daily here in our Research Centre in Limerick, so to have students coming in here with that intent and with the quality of projects that they have built is hugely encouraging for the future”.
Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board Director of Schools and Youth, Donncha O’Treasaigh said, “Limerick and Clare ETB is proud to support BD STEM Stars, which has become a cornerstone of the STEM landscape in Munster. The continued growth of the competition demonstrates the value of strong partnerships between education and industry. Together, we are helping students to see clear pathways from the classroom to exciting, impactful careers in STEM”.
