St Killian’s students reach ‘Big Bang’ UK Finals

A group of students from St Killian’s College have been selected to compete at the UK finals of a science and engineering competition after their exciting project caught the eye of judges.
St Killian's student  Emma Martin -  one of the pupils from the College who has been selected to compete at the UK finals of The Big Bang UK Young Scientists & Engineers Competition in Birmingham in MarchSt Killian's student  Emma Martin -  one of the pupils from the College who has been selected to compete at the UK finals of The Big Bang UK Young Scientists & Engineers Competition in Birmingham in March
St Killian's student Emma Martin - one of the pupils from the College who has been selected to compete at the UK finals of The Big Bang UK Young Scientists & Engineers Competition in Birmingham in March

The teams of Year Nine pupils from the school will take their place in this years The Big Bang UK Young Scientists & Engineers Competition.

The teams have been announced as some of the winners of the regional heats at The Big Bang - Northern Ireland. One team, consisting of Tess Brady and Amy Mcmullen, titled their project ‘Be Seen Trendy’ and, as part of the project, the group have made a device which can provide fashion advice to the blind using a Raspberry Pi Computer and an NFC shield. The device uses NFC communication to read small tags and labels which can be attached to both the garment itself or the clothes hanger detailing all information about the item and any other items which they could be matched with in order to be seen as trendy.

The other team, made up of Emma Martin and Niamh Reid, titled their project ‘Weight Watching Plate’. As part of the project, the team designed a device which can weigh the food on a plate and calculate accurately the total number of calories for the user. The weight of food on the plate is transmitted via Bluetooth to a Raspberry Pi computer where the type of food is input using food type images and the computer will generate the calories which are on the plate.

Tess Brady -  one of the students from St Killians College who has been selected to compete at the UK finals of The Big Bang UK Young Scientists & Engineers CompetitionTess Brady -  one of the students from St Killians College who has been selected to compete at the UK finals of The Big Bang UK Young Scientists & Engineers Competition
Tess Brady - one of the students from St Killians College who has been selected to compete at the UK finals of The Big Bang UK Young Scientists & Engineers Competition

Dr Hilary Leevers, Chief Executive, EngineeringUK said: “The teams from St Killian’s College really impressed the judges with their projects and we’re excited to see how they do at the UK finals. It is a huge achievement to progress to this stage of The Competition and they should be incredibly proud to take up their places and compete at The Big Bang Fair in March 2020.

Going into its 12th year in 2020, The Big Bang Fair continues to be a great source of STEM inspiration for young people, providing an amazing opportunity for young visitors, their teachers and parents to get hands-on with a wide range of activities, workshops and shows, and engage in meaningful career conversations with professionals, all designed to bring classroom learning to life and inspire the next generation.”

The students will be invited to attend the competition finals, which are taking place at The Big Bang Fair at Birmingham’s NEC in March 2020. There, they will vie for top prizes including the coveted title of GSK UK Young Engineer and GSK UK Young Scientist of the Year.