At a packed ceremony in Dublin’s RDS, the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition doles out piles of prizes to its clever competitors. Here are just a few of the award-winning projects.

The top prize for the 2017 BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition (BTYSTE) went to teen coder Shane Curran, but that’s not to say there weren’t many winners in the collection of 550 projects on show.

Fifth-year student Stephen Cushen was twice awarded for his Li-Pi project in which he developed a new form of wireless communication using light (dubbed Li-Fi), built with a Raspberry Pi computer board. Cushen took home a joint first-place prize in his category along with a special award from Nokia Bell Labs.

Jack Nagle from Killorglin Community College was given the Farm Safety Award from ABP Food Group for his automated Tractor Safe Lock, which automatically engages the handbrake of a tractor when it senses that the operator has left the seat.

Sutton Park School students Xiangyu Carbon Mallol and Méabh Scahill took third place in their category, and were also highly commended by the event judges, for their project to develop a filtration system to provide safe and sanitised water in developing countries.

And it’s not just the kids who win BTYSTE awards. Teacher Niamh McNally from Loreto Secondary School Balbriggan was given the Perrigo Biological and Ecological Educator of Excellence award. We spoke to some of her students about their project investigating the short-term effects of the HPV vaccination.

Words by Elaine Burke