Lisburn students show they’re the BEST

LISBURN students have scooped a range of awards at the annual BEST (Business and Education through Skills and Training) Awards which celebrate the creative and innovative talent within Northern Ireland’s six Regional colleges in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Over 100 students and 70 projects competed in the BEST Finals, with projects demonstrating the real world application of STEM knowledge across a broad range of disciples. South Eastern Regional College students won a range of awards including manufacturing engineering students Neil Martin, David Agnew and Scott Elliot who won the SEMTA Science and Engineering for their innovative bag weight gauging system.

The students designed and built a unique weighing system for Royal Mail as part of a health and safety solution.

Next up were Antony Cheung and Cara Neill, who received the Ancher Advertising Visual Design Award. The students developed a Broken Core System for Montupet - their system was designed to detect a 30% blockage in an oil return port of an aluminium cast cylinder head on a continuous production line.

Minister for Employment and Learning, Dr Stephen Farry said; “The BEST Awards have stimulated our college talent and I have been greatly impressed by the high standards shown by all the entries. I hope that many of the people here today continue to be inspired by the STEM subjects and go on to have a successful career in this sector in Northern Ireland.”

SERC Head of Engineering Kieran McKenna said: “The awards are a great opportunity to motivate and recognise the capabilities of our students who competed against some of the best up and coming innovators of the future. Each of the students worked extremely hard on their projects and were delighted to receive £200 in recognition of their achievement.”