Ireland keeps on winning at European science contest
Posted on October 11th, 2011 in General + Irish Science
When 16-year-old Alexander Amini won a first prize at the 2011 EU Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS) he was the latest in a long line of Irish winners. Irish contestants of the BT Young Scientist (BTYS) Exhibition have a remarkable record of going on to win in Europe.
What is the EUCYS?
The competition was first held in 1989 and young scientists between the ages of 14 and 21 are eligible to participate provided their projects are nominated by a national jury. In Ireland’s case this is done through the BTYS Exhibition. Projects are entered by individual students or groups of up to three students.
There are nine core prizes – three each for first, second, and third – as well as honorary awards and special donated prizes. The core winners share a cash prize of €51,500 – and a first-place project is worth a cool €7,000 of that.
Irish successes
First prize winners Povilas Kavaliauskas, Alexander Amini and Pius Markus Theiler
Irish students have a remarkable record at the competition, having landed first place prizes 13 times. In fact, Irish students claimed top spot for the first seven years of the contest.
In all, students representing Ireland have won 29 prizes at the EUCYS – that puts us on par with France. It’s a great return considering Ireland’s size and population. Between international guest countries (such as the US) and all of the EU entrants, close to 40 countries participate in the competition. This means that in any given year 100 projects or more can be put to scrutiny by a jury of 15 people.
German students top the leader board with a total of 74 prizes. The UK has 37, Poland 36 and Austria 31. Along with Switzerland, Hungary, and France, Ireland has won 29 prizes.
Whatever about recent OECD figures which ranked Ireland 20th out of 65 countries for science and 32nd out of 65 for mathematics, at this competition, Irish students are clearly punching above their weight.
Why do we do so well?
Passion is part of it, says Dr Tony Scott, emeritus lecturer at the UCD School of Physics who co-founded the Young Scientists’ Exhibition in 1963 after seeing science fairs in the US. (In 1999 he was awarded the Kelvin Medal by the Institute of Physics for his role in championing physics and furthering public understanding of science.)
Dr Scott believes that what fuels Ireland’s success at the EUCYS is both the students’ passion and the commitment of those who support them. “The projects themselves have been excellent, which mirrors the interest and enthusiasm of the young students together with the support of their teachers and parents.”
“The Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition is a good platform and opportunity for interested young students to display and explain their projects to the judges. The overall winner (Young Scientist) will have undergone a thorough examination by the judges and this ensures that the very best projects go on to Europe.”
Dr Scott highlights the importance of experiments and practical work. “Science of its very nature requires detailed experimental work which has to be designed, carried out, and have the results analysed and understood. The new school programmes in science now require practical work which is to be welcomed, and this aspect should be developed further in the coming years. It is vital that young students are exposed to the use of the latest equipment that is available.”
Boys vs girls
One striking aspect of the competition’s statistics relates to gender. In the majority of countries, the number of males winning prizes far exceeds the number of females winning prizes.
In Germany, for example, 85 males have won prizes at the competition since 1989, compared to just 15 females. In France it’s 42 males compared to 18 females.
In this area Ireland bucks the trend: 25 males have won prizes at EUCYS since 1989, compared to 24 females – the best balance of any nation.
