The BT Business of Science & Technology
Based on the successes of the program’s maiden voyage, BT is delighted to announce a new and improved programme for 2011. One idea is to involve some of BT’s own customers by canvassing them for case-study content. If our customers have some real business challenges or ideas that they are willing to share and expose to students, that would expand the real-world aspect of the program and allow our customers to share in this worthwhile experience.
BT Ireland, is preparing the country’s future business leaders by introducing them to entrepreneurial thinking.
Now, through a new program called The BT Business of Science and Technology, 30 top award winners from the competition are selected to experience first-hand the world of technology commercialization and entrepreneurship.
The BT Business of Science and Technology program is a response to feedback we’ve had over the years.
What happens to these brightest-of-bright students after the science exhibition?
We have created a program to provide the missing link in the innovation process - that being the steps required in moving a scientific idea toward commercial reality. We also want to provide our young scientists with commercialization skills to carry forward into their careers and lives.
The talent that exists in schools across the island is evident each year in the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition. We want to take that one step further and arm these students with the business skills they need to turn good ideas into potential commercial opportunities.
Expanding Business Leadership
As an extension of BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition the Business of Science & Technology program has enabled BT to take a national leadership role in economic development. BT is collaborating with key private- and public-sector organizations to create an opportunity to mentor the next generation of Irish innovators and entrepreneurs.
During the first instalment of the program in 2010, 53 students who had distinguished themselves at the science exhibition were grouped into 10 teams and assigned an innovation from within Ireland. The program kicked off in February with a one-day orientation, and throughout that month the teams worked with Wendy Kennedy (www.wendykennedy.com) through a private blogging network to research and discover the commercial aspects of their assigned innovation.
In March, the teams converged in Dublin for three days of intensive So what? who cares? why you?® workshops. Kennedy led the teams to apply the methodology and tools to their assigned innovations. Business professionals from within BT played a key role as facilitators to the teams. Business leaders gave presentations about their experiences as executives in successful, Irish companies such as Bombardier Aerospace, IBM, Intel and others. The program culminated in a presentation by each team to a panel of judges, focusing on the commercial value proposition of each innovation.
Igniting Entrepreneurial Spirit
We at BT believe that the BT Business of Science & Technology program helps to bridge the gap between the worlds of education and business and mentor the next generation of young innovators and entrepreneurs. Bridging this gap is critical and urgent if Ireland is to be a competitive player in the global economy.
The BT Business of Science & Technology experience immediately ignited entrepreneurial thinking in some of the participants. Three students from one Irish school will apply what they learned to their YSE project – a more effective alternative to salting icy roads. “Although we knew what the best mix was [molasses and calcium chloride], we had no idea about the business side of science and technology,” explains one of the students, Fionnuala Kennedy. The team now plans to patent its mixture using funds from their science fair award and skills learned during the business program.
Real World Experience
Real-world case examples are woven throughout the So what? who cares? why you?® workbook and accompanying resources, but BT also found technologies from within Ireland to showcase in the BT Business of Science & Technology program. The students worked on home-grown science and technology innovations in micro electronics, bio engineering, bio chemistry, genetics and photonics. The technologies included a DNA analysis regime for animal food products, a solution to administer vaccines without injections, a biodegradable plastic technology that can decompose naturally in the environment, and seven other viable innovations.
The students overwhelmingly agreed that they would apply what they had learned in the program to real life. The most common response was that they would apply it to their own work for the BT Young Scientist & Technology program. This tells us that they saw the material as immediately applicable, not vague or abstract. There’s no doubt that this was a vital and complementary addition to their education as future science and technology innovators.
For BT, the program has provided new avenues to engage with staff, customers, government bodies and others to collaborate on the important work of fostering innovation and economic stimulation within Ireland.
Batt O'Keefe, the Irish minister of education said "The BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition promotes scientific and technological endeavour among our young people. So it is fitting that, in an age of greater Government-backed collaboration between higher-education institutions, BT, the Higher Education Authority and the universities provide experience and practical avenues for our young leaders in science and technology to develop their ideas."
"I am pleased this year to be in a position to provide placements in higher education institutions because enhanced interaction between business, higher education and second-level education is essential in meeting the ambitious economic and social development goals that we now set ourselves."
Michael Kelly, Chairman, HEA, said "I would like to acknowledge the great contribution that BT has made to these students' education. We feel our strategic objectives, in terms of the promotion of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects in schools, are very much aligned with BT and we hope we can continue to work with BT to turn these objectives into reality. The third level summer placements have been designed to maximize the learning experience of these students and following this fantastic opportunity we feel that the winners will be well equipped to enter the business world.'
www.nuigalway.ie/about-us/news-and-events/news.php?p_id=1236
www.ul.ie/web/WWW/Services/News?did=544161621&pageUrl=/WWW/Services/News
http://www.ucd.ie/news/2010/04APR10/090410_young_scientist.html
