Hello everyone. I’m the new chief executive of BT on the island of Ireland, and I’m personally excited to be telling you about our plans for the 2011 exhibition, which is now just over four months away.
For those of you have been involved in the past, I hope you’ll agree it is a great experience and we intend to make it even bigger and better for you in 2011. For those of you who are new to the amazing world of the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition, I’d like to fill you in on why I think it is so special.
Entering the exhibition, now in its 47th year, will make a positive difference to you and to your school. The competition is one of the largest and longest running in the world, and by simply converting a creative idea into a project, you give yourself the chance to win one of 100 awards at the event, including the overall prize which will see you representing the island of Ireland at the EU Young Scientist Competition. It is an opportunity for you, your school, and your county to shine, and past winners such as Sarah Flannery (1999) and Patrick Collison (2005) are just two brilliant examples of past winners who have progressed to great things.
BT is a company with an incredible research, development and technological heritage, and innovation is at the core of everything we do. That is why we have also expanded the exhibition to include the Business of Science & Technology Programme, an initiative that will give over 30 of you the opportunity to learn the business skills and know-how you will need to turn your innovative project into a commercial success. The participants will be chosen from the exhibition in January and you can read more details about this business programme here (Add hyperlink).
I am also delighted that we can give you a helping hand with getting to the exhibition as BT’s €50,000/£45,000 Accommodation Grant will be available again this year for schools located more than 70km / 44 miles outside Dublin and this could be worth as much as €1000/£900 for your school.
I hope I have convinced you to put your thinking cap on and consider becoming part of the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition family. The closing date for entries is Monday 4th October so get started on your entry and hopefully I’ll see you in the RDS in January.
Best of luck,
Graham
Graham Sutherland, Chief Executive Officer at BT
BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition blog 