ST. PAUL’S SHOWCASE SMART ENERGY PROJECT

14 Jun 2010

Students at St. Paul’s Primary School are busy putting the final touches to their ‘Smart Energy’ project in preparation for the Sentinus Young Innovators Exhibition to be held at the Odyssey arena on the 21st June.



The Primary School are one of ten primary schools participating in the IET Smart Energy Project and were tasked with designing a renewable energy technology plan that could be employed at their school to minimise the buildings’ carbon footprint. With the guidance of their mentor, Judy Black, a student engineer from Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE), the students have built model wind turbines and solar panels as well as preparing a presentation for the Young Innovators event.



Judy Black, who visited the school this week to offer last minute assistance to the students, is delighted to be part of a project that encourages young children to exercise innovation and creativity through practical scientific examples. She says: “I have been really impressed by the interest expressed by the students and the hard work they have put into the project. Finding ways to tackle climate change is an important issue and the students developed some excellent measures that could be integrated into their school to reduce carbon emissions.”



Nicola Dougan, the class teacher at St. Paul’s Primary School explains that whilst the project has been demanding, the children have thoroughly enjoyed working on it. She adds: “They have gained a valuable insight into the importance of using renewable resources and have a better understanding of how an engineer applies science and technology in everyday work.”



NIE has been a strong supporter of IET and Sentinus projects for many years. Judy adds, “There is a shortage of technical and scientific skills across a range of industries and NIE are pleased to be associated with schemes such as these which nurture scientific interest and create practical opportunities to develop valuable career skills. I wish them all the best for the forthcoming event.”



The Sentinus Young Innovators Exhibition held at the Odyssey arena on the 21st June 2010 is the largest event of its kind in the UK. St. Paul’s Primary School is one of ten Primary Schools taking part in the Smart Energy scheme.

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