Birr students crowned overall winners at national creative thinking competition
A team from St Brendan's Community School in Birr has been named as the overall winners of a national creative thinking competition which was held in Mastercard HQ, Leopardstown, on Friday last.
Team Gem Solutions from the Offaly school took the top honours at the B!G Idea Showcase, which was hosted by Brendan Courtney.
The St Brendan's team designed a 'Healthy Gems' app for students living away from home, offering affordable and nutritious meal plans alongside subsidised food packages delivered directly to the user's college campus.
Praising the Birr students' project, Grace Hayes Executive Vice President and Head of Global Market Technology at Mastercard, said: "This remarkable B!G Idea of 2024 is an innovative solution to easing both financial and wellbeing challenges for third-level students.
"Congratulations to Team Gem Solutions, their wonderful teacher Julie Stephens, and their very supportive mentors including Stephen Connaire from Nostra and Irina Celinsky from Autodesk".
Transition year students from St Leo's College Carlow; Kilkenny Youth Reach; Castletroy College in Limerick and Mercy Secondary School in Ballymahon were also among the winners at the B!G Idea showcase for the inspired solutions to global problems they developed while learning creative thinking skills.
Teachers who showed outstanding support to their students participating in The B!G Idea programme were also recognised as 'creativity champions' at the showcase. The teachers celebrated during the event included Pauline Murphy from Tullamore Community Training Centre.
Kim Mackenzie-Doyle, founder and CEO of The B!G Idea, said: "Creative thinking is the top skill required by 2025, as identified by the World Economic Forum, LinkedIn and Forbes.
"Our 2024 B!G Idea winners have demonstrated the inspiring ingenuity of the next generation and what can be achieved when we share skills and experience across academia and industry.
"Huge congratulations to all our winners as well as to their teachers for trusting in The B!G Idea and to our very special partners and mentors who are passionate about supporting the younger generation’s future."