BD STEM Stars
- About STEM Stars
- Past Winners
- Competition Details
- Terms and Conditions
- Register
BD STEM Stars aims to inspire and encourage students in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. People who pioneer and create in these areas are capable of incredible advances in the world of health. BD support programs that foster future talent, and as such feel passionate about community-based initiatives like STEM Stars. This competition is open to all secondary schools within the Munster region.
New for 2025, are project categories to assist students focus their efforts with associated student prizes! One grand prize winner will be selected with a prize of €12,000 to support and develop STEM education in the winning school. See our competition details tab for more details.
BD STEM Stars team have provided templates to assist the students in putting together their projects. Download and fill in the template and include within your submission.
Can you identify a healthcare problem that you would like to solve?
BD is looking for creative and innovative ideas that tackle key healthcare problems. Any solution can be submitted, whether it be an idea, a fully working prototype, or anything in between. The submissions should include a short video between 2 and 5 minutes. Be creative and fun with the video, it should be engaging but also detail key problem areas and the applicant's approach to solving the identified issue.
We would like to acknowledge and thank Limerick and Clare, Education and Training Board (LCETB) for their valued contributions and continued support in the success of this initiative.
2024 Winner
Kinsale Community School
In the tightest competition to date, Etaoin Healy Bastow and Ronan Hawkins could not be separated, sharing 1st place in the 2024 BD STEM Stars competitions. Their projects, “Wound Protection” and “A Radiology Tool Harnessing Neural Networks for Early Diagnosis from CT scans and MRIs” showcased the diversity of the proposed solutions presented at the STEM Stars showcase.
Etaoin’s proposed solution utilized 3D printing to design a custom cage to cover the wound. This maintained a safe barrier over the wound, aiding in the recovery process.
Ronan’s project sought to use neural networks to create a diagnosis tool for radiologists to more efficiently work through CT and MRI imagery.
2023 Winner
Desmond College
Madison Saracoglu & Emma Greaney won the 2023 BD STEM Stars competition with their project called 'Rehabilitation Nation'. After extensive research around the issue of shoulder mobility and a review of existing solutions, their idea won them the coveted first place at the STEM Stars finals in BD Research Centre Ireland.
Their solution is a device that assists and tracks patients' progress in regaining shoulder mobility. They tested it in the field with physiotherapists and patients, and have taken it a step further by gaining a patent for their design. These students were passionate and determined and won the judging team over with their knowledge, ambition and execution.
2022 Winner
Colaiste Nano Nagle
Maha Shahzadi won the 2022 BD STEM Stars competition with her innovative app for visually impaired people that allows them to shop for their groceries while keeping track of any dietary requirements they may need.
She conducted research to ensure the app she developed had the most helpful features. Her research highlighted the need to have features for accessibility such as increasing text size, high contrast mode and text-to-speech features.
Once she had all the information gathered and assessed, she developed a wireframe for the app "Eataware" and then moved on to create the app. Eataware has a minimalistic user interface and features to allow users to scan their food labels and browse stores with the app.
2021 Winner
Desmond College
Desmond College won the STEM Stars competition with its project tackling teenage obesity. They highlighted the average time spent online and how it contributed to areas such as poor achievement of development milestones, higher likelihood of inadequate sleep, lower scores on thinking and language tests, and emotional stability issues.
They gathered data using the Central Statistics Office and created their own survey which showed a lack of exercise in young people caused by an increase in screen time. They then developed a device, using a micro:bit computer that would be worn like an activity tracker and monitors active minutes such as running or walking.
2020 Winner
Thomand College
Thomond College won the inaugural STEM Stars competition with their entry where they tackled stress and anxiety in teenagers. They performed interviews and online surveys with students to gain more data on what causes stress and anxiety in students. They also designed an experiment to prove that tests cause stress.
Aiming to reduce stress, they researched sensory environments and light therapy. They deduced that light therapy, specifically blue light, can be therapeutic and calming. They programmed a micro:bit microcontroller to control a ZIP halo LED ring light to output blue light, and designed a phone case that would enable students to use their phones to output blue light therapy.
Grand Prize
For the project with the most outstanding innovation, creativity and efficacy in its design, The Grand Prize will be awarded to a finalist from Product, Software, and Poster categories. €10,000 will be awarded to the winning school and student(s) will receive €2000.
Main Categories
For those who prefer a hands-on approach, the product category encompasses projects which create a physical prototype, including a combination of mechanical and electrical components which may also include an embedded software component. Students should clearly demonstrate what medical issue creates a need for the product and how the need is met by the product design.
For those who think in ones and zeroes, the software category deals with solving problems through code-based solutions. Students should clearly demonstrate what medical issue creates a need for their solution and include in their submission the overall design of the solution as well as detailing the algorithms, data and user interfaces, etc. that make up the solution.
For those who think a picture is worth 1,000 words, the poster category allows students to showcase innovations and potential solutions which will require further work before a prototype can be created. Students should clearly demonstrate what medical issue creates a need for the innovation, the proposed solution design, and what future work would be required to bring their design to the next step.
Additional Categories
For the creative directors, the video category allows students to highlight their projects prior to the live demonstration. The students’ videos will be assessed on the communication skills demonstrated, the clarity with which the information is presented, and the overall technical skills demonstrated in the making of the video.
For the eloquent and articulate, the outstanding live demonstration category allows students to showcase their project. Students should seek to engage with the audience, clearly highlighting the medical need and innovation design in their project and leaving a lasting impression.
These Terms and Conditions are known as the 'Rules'. The Rules apply to BD school's competition - STEM Stars, and by entering the competition you agree to be bound by the Rules.
- The BD school’s competition—STEM Stars, is open to secondary school teachers and students (under the age of 19) who are attending school in the Munster region in the Republic of Ireland and who are residents of these counties.
- Multiple entries from each school are allowed, however, any individual team can only claim one of the top prizes e.g. either grand prize, software, product or poster research.
- Projects must be entered into one of three main categories (i. Product Category, ii. Software Category, iii. Research Poster). Schools may enter up to two teams in the Research Poster category and up to two schools across the Product and Software categories.
- There are 4 main prizes available: one for each of the three main categories (Product/Software/Research Poster) and a fourth, Grand Prize. The Grand Prize winning team will be selected from the winners of the Product, Software and Research Poster categories.
- The Grand Prize is split between the school and the student team with €10,000 awarded to the school and €2,000 awarded to the student team.
- Prizes are awarded to the student team and are required to be shared equally between all team members.
- A second team from the Grand Prize winning school is eligible to win in the other categories (Product/Software/Research Poster). However, no school may win more than two of the three main categories.
- All teams entered are also eligible to participate in the video and demonstration categories. However, if a team wins one of these categories, that team and other teams from the same school are ineligible to win the second category.
- Entries can be from individual students or groups. The maximum group size is 8 students.
- The competition is not open to Judges, their family members, their agents or anyone professionally associated with judging the competition.
- The prize fund cannot be exchanged.
- The maximum prize fund that any single school may win is capped at €15,000.
- Registration is by Microsoft form, for which the link can be found on the Register and Competition Details pages.
- The prize is subject to availability and in the event of circumstances outside of its control, we reserve the right to substitute similar or alternative prizes of equal or greater value.
- All entries will be submitted for review by the judging panel. The judges’ decision will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
- Entries that are incomplete or those that are not in accordance with all the entry instructions will be invalid.
- BD reserve the right to disqualify an entrant if it has reasonable grounds to believe that the Rules have been compromised.
- All submitted entries should be original work and previous STEM Stars competition topics should not be repeated.
- By entering this competition, you agree that BD and/or their agents reserve the right to use your entry for any promotional purpose. You confirm that your entry is an original work that you own. The winner will also be required to take part in publicity resulting from this competition.
- BD reserves the right to cancel or amend the competition and these terms and conditions without notice.
- No purchase necessary.
- Entries to the Product and Software categories should include the completed project template with a supporting video (max. 5 minutes). Entries to the Research Poster category should follow the Research Poster Template although video entries are also encouraged.
- The images/videos resulting from the photography/video submitted as part of the competition and from photography/video during the judging process, and any reproductions or adaptations of the images for publicity purposes, will be publicity to recognise the participants in STEM Stars and to promote the initiative and encourage other schools to get involved. This might include (but is not limited to) printed and online publicity, TV and video, social media, press releases and images on the BD Stem Stars website. Anyone attending the prize giving ceremony agree to allowing BD to use these images/videos unless otherwise agreed
- Videos submitted may be used for promotional purposes
- The grand prize winner will be awarded their prize fund on condition of liaising with BD RCI to share their use of the STEM Stars funding within their school. A form will be shared with the school and should be returned to BD RCI within 6 months of receiving the prize fund.
Registration is open, click the link below to register your interest.
The following information will be required:
- School's name
- Teacher's name, phone number and e-mail address
- Student's name(s)
- Project name
- Category selection
- If submitting in Research Poster, indicate if team will supply a video for including in the Video category
