Irish Examiner View: Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition an important showcase for our youth

Inquiring minds need to be nurtured and, since its foundation, the Young Scientist competition has played a fundamental role in that.

The 2005 Young Scientist of the Year Patrick Collison has gone on to co-found online payments company Stripe, which was recently valued at $95bn. Picture: Photocall Ireland

Opening the 58th BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition yesterday, President Michael D Higgins said: “Over the decades, the awards and exhibition have rightly earned their place as an annual highlight in the school calendar.”

They certainly have done that, but the annual event has also achieved much more — inspiring successive generations to think, create, and nurture scientific inquiry.