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THE BT YOUNG SCIENTIST and Technology Exhibition, in its various forms, has been a fixture on school calendars around Ireland for the last 56 years – but since 2011 students in Tanzania have also been noting the date of their local competition in their diaries.
Editha Barde and Nasra Mpochi recently took home last year’s top prize at the 8th Young Scientists Tanzania (YST) competition for their project based on cultivating beehives and encouraging bee colonies in arid regions of the east African country using plants native to the island of Unguja, in Zanzibar.
Students in Tanzania have taken the Irish model of the event and run with it, according to the competition’s co-founder Joseph Clowry, a former secondary school science teacher from St Mary’s Academy, Carlow
“If you look at the projects that are presented in Tanzania, they’re all about issues around inequality around climate change, agriculture, access to education,” Clowry told TheJournal.ie.
Climate change is also a dominant theme for Irish students, featuring heavily among the 1,800 projects entered in the 56th BT Young Scientist, set to take place in the coming week.
The Young Scientists competition was tailored for Ireland by its founders Rev Dr Burke and Dr Tony Scott who believed Irish students would benefit from experiences similar to entrants to US science fairs.
They launched the first Irish competition in 1965 at the Mansion House Round Room in Dublin with 230 participants. The success of the first year was such that the exhibition then moved to the much larger venue of the RDS, where it has remained there ever since.
Joseph Clowry was present at the 1968 competition, an experience he describes as “inspirational”.
He credits the competition with popularising science and technology among secondary school students since his schools days rural Ireland in the 1950s and 60s.
It’s a long way from Dublin 4 – so how did the competition end up as a fixture on the educational calendar all the way over in Tanzania?
In 2008, Clowry was offered a position as an education officer with the Combat Diseases of Poverty Consortium (CDPC) at Maynooth University. The key objective was to develop the concept of Science for Development and continue to introduce Development Education to secondary schools by linking and highlighting the work of the CDPC.
The following year, Clowry hosted some 40 East African researchers on a training programme in Ireland and “they couldn’t believe the level of research being done by children at second level”.
Clowry then went to Tanzania to explore the possibilities of transferring the Science for Development programme to one of the CDPC’s partner countries.
At one of my presentations, a government official cleared his desk and said his country was a fertile ground for such a project. He asked me to support him to plant the seeds for the project and he would ensure it was cultivated.
“I knew that the proposed Science for Development Outreach Programme in Tanzania would need a high profile exhibition if it were to succeed. I could think of nothing better than the Young Scientist in Ireland model to showcase this synergy.
“I suppose the idea of what we’re doing is we put a focus on the need for science teachers in every region [of Tanzania],” Clowry said, adding that he even received the blessing of Tony Scott to use the Irish template.
In 2018, Joseph was presented with the Inaugural Founders Award Scott at the BT Young Scientist Awards in recognition of his work.
Clowry said getting the concept off the ground was a “tough time” as Ireland was in a recession, but his persistence paid off.
“So, I suppose from 2009 to 2011, I worked on getting all of the types of elements together, like government support for the project, but I had to get this project off the ground in Tanzania as an independent NGO and independent of government.”
The Tanzanian government has put its support behind the project but it remains an independent NGO, Clowry said.
After running a pilot of the competition in 2011 with just four schools, a visit from some highly impressed potential sponsors secured future funding for the competition to expand.
The 2011 YST started out with a presence in just two regions. In 2015, schools from all 30 regions in Tanzania participated in the annual exhibition. 2019′s competition received 550 applications.
“Don’t forget, Tanzania is about 11 times bigger than Ireland. So when you’re talking about expanding this nationwide, you’re talking about huge logistics,” said Clowry, explaining that the expansion has been aided by recruiting “local charismatic teachers” as regional coordinators.
Clowry credits the teachers for making the competition a staple on the academic calendar in Tanzania and for helping it to continue to grow “exponentially”.
“From the moments the kids leave their school, to the time they go home, we take care of everything. We take care of the buses, the food, we put them up in great accommodation. We treat them like kings,” Clowry said.
In 2019, over 600 schools from all over Tanzania sent in their projects to participate at the YST 2019 exhibition. The top 100 schools were then selected to showcase their research at the national exhibition.
The most recent winners travelled to South Africa in October representing Tanzania at the Eskom ExpoScience Science Fair where they won a Gold Medal in the Agriculture Category.
Clowry’s end goal is to have an exhibition in each region of the country to give more students a chance to participate, the winners of which would still compete at the grand final in the capital.
Clowry hopes the competition can remain sustainable because “we are very aware that a lot of ideas comes to developing countries to great excitement and then the money dries up. It’s gone.”
“This is definitely the most rewarding aspect of any project that I’ve ever worked on,” Cowry said.
“If YST can do for Tanzania and other developing countries what the Young
Scientists’ Exhibition has done for Ireland, it will perhaps become one of Ireland’s
greatest ever exports.”
The 56th BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition runs from 8-11 January at Dublin’s RDS.
Apologise and then spit in the victims families faces by asking for a retrial. Piece of shi!t.
Wouldn’t you appeal if you got a death sentence, regardless of circumstance? You cannot possibly expect someone as young as he is to just accept his fate and allow the state to kill him.
He could just appeal the sentence and not the conviction. But as already stated he is a piece of s(um. Another ‘jihadi’ who wants western style justice when caught but wants Sharia law for others.
He’ll not be dead soon enough.
Eoin what about the fate he inflicted on his victims? He knew what he was doing and he knew where he was doing it. America have the death sentence for lads like this, it’s not a secret.
@jane I totally agree with you, but i was making reference to the apology he made to them during his trial.
@Eoin If you go out and try and kill and injure as many people as you can, you know the outcome if you’re caught. Don’t apologise and then ask for a retrial. Take your punishment
I meant my comment for Eoin Byrne. Just noticed 2 eoins.
@ Jane There’s only one Eoin! ;)
Haha that what your mammy told you?
They don’t lie Jane!
That’s very true.
How many US soldiers face death penalty for war crimes committed.Waterbording, abu grain prison 500,000 deaths in Iraq as a result of war. Civilians were high percentage. Afghanistan 5000 a year average civilians killed. One Sargent killed 16 afghans but no death penalty here. it’s 1961 last time death penalty was given to us solider. This kid was wrong for what he did. But death penalty I don’t think so. US create kids like this they have no hope. poor and uneducated.
Both of them had been in college, so they were hardly uneducated.
Can any of you guys who gives a red thumb argue why it’s ok for US soldiers to kill civilians and not get death penalty and it’s ok to give death penalty to a Muslim. I think he should get life but not death penalty.
David. Soldiers kill on behalf of the State they represent. And only if they deliberately set out with the sole intention of killing non combatants can they be held personally responsible.
He and his brother did intend to murder innocents and were representing no state but a religion.
Yes they do kill on behalf of state. There has been thousands of murders committed by Us soliders Their sentences range from none to 20 years no death penalty since 1961 A few years a go a Us Sargent murdered 16 afghans and got 20 years.
The USA middle East policy is creating terrorism. Before 9/11 The USA sponsored bin laden to run a war for them. He turned on them. Since then a million or more have died mostly poor. All that million have family and friends that had no axe to grind before 9/11. Now the world is over run with fear of terrorism because of USA oil driven policy. If your going to kill this kid in name of justice. Then give Usa murdering soilder justice to. Personally I don’t think all this killing is working. USA is a revenge driven society and god for bid if you step on their toes.But when shoe is on the other foot they whinge like baby’s
And David the Prosecutors in the case of the Sergeant did ask for the Death Penalty in the Courts Marshall but it was the Judge Advocate that ruled against it. Just as the Judge in this case could have ruled out the Death Penalty if he had so wished.
And as for your claim the US sponsored Bin Laden to ” Run their war for them” we both know that is patently false. Remember the Wiki Leaks documents? They described Bin Laden and his followers as “minor bit players in the conflict” and of Bin Laden himself as “Someone of little importance. A Middle ranking money guy”. Not exactly a ringing endorsement of his Generalship as someone you claim was running the war.
point is he did not get death penalty and the kid did. Why can’t you understand this kids death will only add to USA problems. it will create more terrorism.
point taken he was one of many state sponsored warlord. like there budy sadam
He’s 21, not a ‘kid.’ He was fully aware of what he was doing & unrepentent, at least until he was found guilty.
David. His Death will no more impact world politics than would some ISIS cannon fodder in Iraq. Islamic extremists are going to hate the West no matter what we do. Our entire way of life is an anethma to them.
Your right it wont effect the bigger picture much put it will help to polarize things a little more. Daddy Bush went into the middle east and did what he had to do fair play. But baby bush went back in when rest of world said stay out but no puppy dog Blair and and baby bush went looking for more trouble based on lies. Fueling (excuse the pun) the extremists.If USA and the rest of the world spent as much money on help instead of bombs I don’t think their would be many I E D s waiting for them.But the guys making the bombs in the states are pulling the strings. When the black and tans were here they were not welcomed with open arms. They left we had a silly civil war and we came to our sinces. leave them alone to solve their own problems. No oil in Africa yanks wont do much helping out their. One of baby bush polices in Africa is letting USA drug companies do what they like. I agree to disagree but I think helping is better than shooting them dead.
make him pay for it himself, he is going to drag the families through the pain again and cause great expense to the state while doing so. Mass Murderers shouldn’t have any rights
He can demand away, doesn’t mean he should or will get it though.
This is a routine move by defense lawyers. They will probably raise the fact the trial was not conducted outside Boston.
Appeal away, this creep is going nowhere.
And so it begins. Appeal after appeal. Happy to kill for Allah but not so happy to die for Allah.
Hope he meets his 70 virgins soon!
This is just the first in a long line of legal blocks he will keep lodging in order to delay his excution. Each appeal and demand will be all legit. All to ensure his rights are being protected. In the meantime his victims and their families are denied justice.
I hope he dies slowly and painfully!
Well I think he should die, why do we – the civilised side of the world(I use the term loosely) always have to “do the right thing” try reform people show them kindness etc, those terrorists are maniacs… death sentence is perfect for them
just set a date for his anti terrorism jab and move on
This bombing took place in the past and the past is the past. It is time to move forward. These things happen in war. Perhaps this young man would like a future in politics. If he decides to choose such a path he will get plenty of support from you know who.
Tw@t
Tap,u are a knob.
I’m against the penalty but if it was me…and i was guilty i think i’d request it….death or life in a US prison….it’s a no-brainer!
fair comment
It would be very wrong to kill this poor kid with a lethal injection. ………………..way to quick.
inject him, televise it and dump his carcass in a lime pit
have your say