1. 10,000+ students participated in SciFest 2017.

2. SciFest Vision Mission
By 2018 SciFest will be recognised as a key player in the promotion of STEM education in Irish schools
Mission
To provide an inclusive and accessible platform for students in Irish schools to explore the STEM disciplines in an investigative way and to present their findings to a wider audience, thus supporting the development of key skills, including critical thinking, problem solving, communication and collaboration
298 schools participated in SciFest 2017.

3. What is SciFest? is
SciFest is a series of one day science fairs for second-level students which take place in:
Schools
16 Regional venues - 14 Institutes of Technology, DCU and St Mary’s College Derry
Dublin (National final)
4,412 projects were exhibited at SciFest 2017.

4. SciFest International
SciFest is affiliated to two international science fairs:
The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) in the USA
The International Environment and Sustainability Project Olympiad (INESPO) in the Netherlands.
In the six years that SciFest has participated in Intel ISEF students representing SciFest have won a total of eight major awards.
SciFest affiliated to INESPO in 2015 and in the three years of affiliation SciFest students have won two first place awards and a second place award.
Winner/s of the Runner up Best Project Award at the national final travel to Berlin in June to participate in the Berlin Long Night of Science.
More than 10,000 students have participated in SciFest since 2008.

5. How does SciFest work? SciFest Ltd www.scifest.ie
Not-for-profit company with charitable status
8 board members representing education, government and industry CEO and CFO
Partners and Sponsors
Third-level colleges and Second-level schools
National Final
ISEF
Over 60% of students in SciFest 2017 were female.

6. SciFest – Major Milestones
Local
National SciFest
Final
Founded by Sheila Porter
1 science fair
170 students
2008
2006
2011
Regional
SciFest launched
nationwide
88 science fairs
students
625 Teachers
298 Schools
International
Affiliated to
Intel ISEF in the
USA
2017
2013
2012
Set up as
not-for-profit
company with
charitable status
International
Affiliated to INESPO
in the Netherlands
2014

7. The growth of SciFest 2008 – 2017 Year 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Total
Students
1612
1980
2649
3275
4059
5368
6059
7202
8084
10,136
50,424
Projects
680
836
1097
1364
1754
2262
2594
3060
3519
4,412
21,578

8. SciFest 2017 – The numbers 10,000 4400 298 625 16 70 1 29 62% 98% 100%
Students
Projects
Schools
Teachers (registered)
science fairs
science fairs
National Final
Counties
Female students
of students said participating in SciFest was a worthwhile learning experience (2,000+ student respondents)
of teachers said participating in SciFest was a worthwhile learning experience
‘My SciFest journey was a truly life changing experience.’ Student,

9. Why enter SciFest? SciFest is an exciting way for you to:
Investigate a topic that really interests you
Research and solve a real world problem
Showcase your science, maths or technology project
Talk to experts from academia and industry about
your discoveries
Improve your problem solving, computer, presentation, and research skills
Work with others and make new friends
Compete for more than €20,000 in prizes
See real scientists in action
Visit a college’s laboratories and view the facilities
Learn about the courses available in the college
Enhance your CV
SciFest is your topic, your project, your achievement.

10. Who can enter SciFest?
SciFest is open to all second-level students. There is no entry fee.
Project Type
Individual or Group - (Max. 3 students per group – all group members must be in attendance at the exhibition)
Age Categories
Junior: st Year and 2nd Year
Intermediate: 3rd Year and 4th Year
Senior: th Year and 6th Year
Project Categories
Physical Sciences
Life Sciences
Technology
Don’t be left behind. Get involved today.

11. 6 easy steps to a successful project
State Problem
Look around, ask questions, identify a problem, state a hypothesis
Research
Gather as much information about the topic as
possible
Investigate
Design and carry out experiments to test the
hypothesis; collect data
Analyse
Analyse the data, discuss the findings
Conclude
Come up with a possible solution to the original problem
Present findings at SciFest
Present
Entry to SciFest is free. It’s hard work but worth it.

12. A completed project must contain
PROJECT REPORT BOOK
Title Page
Introduction
Background Research
Experimental Methods
Results
Conclusions and Recommendations
Acknowledgements
Appendices
References
SUMMARY (included in Report Book)
This is a short description of what your project is about. 
It should be no more than two typed pages in length.
VISUAL DISPLAY
See the SciFest website for lots of useful information -
‘So many skills learned but academically and socially.’ Teacher, 2016

13. SciFest T: (+353) 1 298 8312 M: (+353) 86 379 6143 E: info@scifest.ieW:
SciFest is funded primarily by Science Foundation Ireland’s (SFI) Discover programme, Intel Ireland and Boston Scientific. It is also supported by a number of other companies and organisations: Abbott, BioPharmaChem Ireland, Newstalk, SEAI, NCE-MSTL, the Royal Society of Chemistry, ESERO Ireland, the Institute of Physics, Business Excellence Institute and the Irish Science Teachers’ Association
‘When it comes to science competitions, SciFest is the best.’ Student 2016