Largy College scoop two awards at Scifest 2025 in DKIT
Three 1st year students: Niamh McGuigan. Danielius Gavelis and Isabell O’Reilly entered Scifest this year which took place in Dundalk IT on Tuesday 29th April. Schools from all around the region assembled in the Institute of Technology and presented 144 projects to several judges.
Niamh had a project entitled “Under Pressure? Using hydraulics to de-stress”. Niamh’s idea stemmed from a prototype she made for Science week in school. She then designed and made a game that would be suitable to improve pencil grip for young children, good for people recovering from a stroke and it is educational – it could possibly inspire future mechanics or engineers. The game was made using hydraulics instead of electricity as it is more sustainable. Niamh also carried out a research questionnaire based around stress and concluded that the game could be used as a form of stress relief among her 1st year peers. The judges were very impressed and some of the comments were “excellent project showing great innovation and creativity” and “A project with great potential, a lot of work has been completed and there was good clear goals and objectives”.
Danielius’ project was called “The MMRV (Monaghan Mini Rescue Vehicle)”. His project was also based on a prototype he made for Science week in school. Danielius amended his design and decided to make a vehicle that could bring necessary medication, a phone or water to a casualty that humans cannot reach. One of the first things you do is assess a patient the vehicle has a camera could give a better picture to the emergency services and then they can see if the person is unresponsive. Danielius also included a micro-bit GPS to aid with reaching the casualty. Judges comments included “great idea, well designed and executed”, “great innovation serving the need of a rescue team” “great compact project that would reach places other rescue vehicles can’t reach and would have a positive impact to society”. Danielius also met with Clones Station Officer, Niall Nolan to showcase how his design would work to help them in their job.
Danielius’ project won the Best Junior Physical Sciences &Technology Project on the day which was an amazing achievement for a 1st year student.
Isabell made an app because she wanted people of all ages to be able to get access to information about dementia. It was aimed at teenagers with the hope that it could help them get a better understanding of this disease that their loved ones have and get the help that they need when living with someone who has Dementia. Isabell did lots of research and altered it so that it would be easily understood by younger people. She carried out surveys and recorded interviews with teenagers who have had stories to share. The app also had useful tips for teenagers and activities they could do with the person who has Dementia as well as supports that are available. Comments from the judges included “brilliant work, very important topic and would be extremely beneficial to a young person”. Isabell won the Irish Science Teachers’ Association Award on the day which was a remarkable achievement.
