Time is running out to enter the 2015 BT Young Scientist & Technology exhibition
- Students reminded to submit their entry before 1st October
- BT study reveals that 59% of Irish students now depend on social media and the internet at school
Dublin, 4th September, 2014: Students were today reminded to submit their entry to the 51st BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition as the closing date of 1st October approaches.
BT made the call out to students and teachers to submit their entry as it released details of the social media habits of Irish secondary school students. Over 1,000 individuals between the ages of 13 and 18 participated in the BT survey, which found that 59 per cent (pc) of respondents say they now depend on social media and the internet to help with schoolwork, while 71pc of students said they feel that social media has helped them to identify and connect with friends with similar interests.
In further results, 79pc of respondents say they are now checking social media at school with 44pc of students accessing it between one and five times in every school day. When asked about the duration of the average single visit to social media sites, 26pc claim to spend between two and five minutes on social media per visit; one third of respondents admitted staying online between six and ten minutes per visit with 38pc spending more than ten minutes on social media sites per individual visit.
Mari Cahalane, head of the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition commented, “Over the past number of years there has been a significant increase in increase in social media related projects at the exhibition. Students from across Ireland have submitted projects on a wide range of related topics such as mobile application development, psychometric testing through social media and even ways to determine if you’re being lied to on Facebook.
“This is what the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition is all about – helping students to engage in the spheres of science, technology, engineering and maths through channels that really interest them and are relevant to their lives. Almost any interest could be a potential project, so I would encourage students to get thinking and submit their one page entry before 1st October.”
The 2015 BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition will take place in the RDS, Dublin from 7th -10th January 2015. There are over 120 awards to be won including the prestigious BT Young Scientist & Technologist of the Year which was won by Paul Clarke of St. Paul’s College, Raheny in January this year.
The BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition is organised by BT Ireland, one of the country’s leading communications and networked IT service providers, and is supported by a number of valued partners including the Department of Education & Skills, Analog Devices, Intel, Perrigo and RTE. For more information on the exhibition and for details on how to enter, log onto www.btyoungscientist.com or follow the exhibition on Twitter @BTYSTE.
ENDS
About the research
This research was commissioned by BT and driven online through the BTYSTE’s social media channels; Facebook and Twitter. The research reflects a nationally representative sample of 1,049 respondents aged from under 13 – 18 years and encompassing 26 counties in the Republic of Ireland. Fieldwork was conducted from 16th July – 8th August 2014.
About BT
