Louth students among prize winners at SciFest@DkIT

Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) recently welcomed students from across the North Leinster and South Ulster region to take part in the SciFest@DkIT 2025 which took place on campus. Over 300 students from 26 schools across North Leinster and South Ulster were put through their paces by the judging panel to determine who would become the prize winners. Categories included the Dawn Meats Agricultural Science Award, SciFest Maths in Science Award and Business Excellence Institute Award. 145 innovative projects were on display throughout the competition. 

SciFest is a national event which aims to encourage a love of science and provide an opportunity for students to display their scientific discoveries. The event includes an exhibition and competition of projects produced by second-level students. DkIT has been delighted to host the North Leinster/South Ulster regional finals for the past ten years with the high calibre of entries growing continuously each year. Students competing in the event can complete projects from a broad span of areas including physical sciences, computer science, social sciences, technology/engineering and health sciences.

Atish Anandan Srinivasan from St Oliver’s Community College, Drogheda was announced as the winner of the SciFest Best Project Award for his project entitled EEG based BCI. Athish was also winner of the Boston Scientific Medical Devices Award.  His project explored whether it’s possible to create a more affordable EEG (electroencephalogram) kit that can still be used effectively for brain-computer interface (BCI) applications and hardware control and investigated how the performance of his kit compared to scientific and professional EEG devices.

As the winner of this award, Atish will participate in the SciFest National Final Competition in November in Dublin to compete for the SciFest STEM Champion 2025 Award. The winner of the STEM Champion Award will also receive an all-expenses-paid trip to represent Ireland at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in America in May 2026.

Second Prize for the Runner-up Best Project Award was presented to Krysztof Kazimierczak from Colaiste Dun an Rí, Co. Cavan for his project Hydrelesis. Krystof was also awarded the SciFest Physics Award. His project addressed the critical lack of clean and safe drinking water in sub-Saharan and tropical regions, aiming to develop a solution that targets the root of the problem and delivers clean, drinkable water to millions in need.

The Business Excellence Institute Award was presented to students Alex Albrecht, Dylan Loughran and Ronan Kenny from St Mary’s College, Dundalk for their project Are natural cleaning products effective at removing stains compared to branded products?

Two Dundalk schools were also winners in the DkIT Awards category. The Runner-up Intermediate Life Sciences Project Award was presented to Dundalk Grammar School students Eoin Larkin & Jack Wang for the Project Green Means Go! - A front of package traffic light labelling system designed to help consumers make sustainable choices. St Vincent’s Secondary School student Dearbhla Leavy was presented with the Runner-up Junior Physical Sciences or Technology Project for her entry An Investigation into the effect of Arm Strength and Core Strength on the ability to perform a Handstand successfully.

SciFest@DkIT co-ordinator Dr Moira Maguire, Head of School of Health & Science, DkIT said:

“SciFest is always one of our calendar highlights at DkIT and the scope of student innovation each year never ceases to amaze us. It is fantastic to see the numbers growing year on year and the increasing interest our second level students have across all areas of the sciences. A huge congratulations to all who took part, and to the teachers and mentors for all of their support and encouragement throughout the competition process. “

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The event was made possible by sponsors and supporters from industry and academia including; Intel, Boston Scientific, EirGrid, Mallinckrodt, The Department of Education, Dawn Meats, Regeneron Life Sciences, Irish Science Teachers Association (ISTA), ESERO Ireland and the Business Excellence Institute.

Presenters of the SciFest awards included; George Porter, CFO of SciFest; Ciara O’Shea, member of DkIT’s Executive Board; Darragh O’Connor, Dawn Meats; Ronan Keane, Regeneron; Grainne Duffy, EirGrid and Yann Ni Yee, Boston Scientific. 

To find out more about SciFest visit: SciFest