Thomond Community College wins: Pictured at the presentation of the BD STEM Stars Competition is Padraig Fitzgerald, BD RCI’s Site Director, with Thomond Community College Technology Teacher Bernie O’Driscoll, Science Teacher Niamh Harrison and Transition Year Students Emma Myo-Nyunt, Tia Williams, Zuzanna Maj, Erin O’Callaghan, James Quinn, Mary Kate Ray, Shauna Power, Katie McNamara, Sara Chan, Alex Kelly and Josh Sheehan. Photo by Alan Place.
The BD STEM Stars Competition 2019 invited students to identify a key health problem that affects their community and demonstrate how they could solve or improve this problem through the STEM subjects. Thomond

Pictured at the presentation of the BD STEM Stars Competition is Padraig Fitzgerald, BD RCI’s Site Director, with Limerick Educate Together Science Teacher Fiona O’Shea, Principal Eoin Shinners and 2nd Year Students Teya and Kenny Larinde, Eoin Callanan, Carrie Carroll, Luke Moroney and Sam McNamara, who were highly commended and recipients of €1,000 in STEM funding. Photo by Alan Place.
Four other schools in Clare and Limerick were also awarded €1,000 in STEM funding each for their highly commended entries including: Villiers School for their study into the effectiveness of the male HPV vaccination Colaiste Mhuire, Ennis, for a solution they envisioned to monitor vitamin D in the body Limerick Educate Together, who developed a solution for paramedics and emergency care workers to retrieve critical patient data in case of a medical emergency Salesian, Pallaskenry, for intervention on infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
At the presentation of the awards, Padraig Fitzgerald, BD RCI’s Site Director, commented, “We were blown away by the level of creativity, STEM skills and knowledge showcased in the BD STEM Stars competition entries. Thomond Community College’s project took the overall prize for its originality and relevance.
“At BD RCI we are passionate about the STEM subjects and really want to help teach students that Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths are not just for the classroom or the lab – they’re part of everyday life and can greatly impact our health. This competition has given us great hope that the future of healthcare is in good hands with the budding scientists and engineers in our community,” he added.