Holly’s horticulture award win at SciFest

A BRAY student won one of the top awards at last week’s SciFest@ITB (Institute of Technology Blanchardstown).

Wesley College student Holly Leech (14) from Bray won the ITB Horticulture Award for her project ‘Can we get on TOP of our degrading soil?’

Adam Kelly from Skerries Community College won the top prize for his project ‘An Open Source Solution to GPU Accelerated Quantum Computer Simulation’.

As one of the 16 regional venues hosting a SciFest STEM fair, the tenth SciFest@ITB saw more than 180 students from schools all over the region exhibit almost 80 projects.

SciFest@ITB co-ordinator Aideen Hodgins said it was a ‘wonderful opportunity for students’ which ‘encourages them to develop an interest in STEM’.

‘ The joy of seeing students showcasing their work and communicating their ideas to others is immensely encouraging and motivational for everyone involved,’ she said.

SciFest is an all-inclusive, all-island science initiative which fosters active, collaborative and inquiry-based learning among second-level students.