How to Prepare for the Stripe Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2027

Now open: The Stripe Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2027 is accepting student applications until 17:00 on Friday, 25 September 2026. Teacher assessment is due by Monday, 28 September 2026, and the exhibition takes place at the RDS in Dublin from 6-9 January 2027.

For many families in Ireland and Northern Ireland, the Stripe Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition is the first time a student moves from "I like science" to "I can investigate a real question myself."

That shift matters.

This is not just a poster competition. Strong projects usually have a clear question, a testable method, evidence collected by the student, and a convincing explanation of why the work matters. The best entries often sit at the intersection of science, technology, society, health, environment, and data.

This guide explains what kinds of projects fit the competition, what recent winning projects tell us, and how students can prepare a project that is realistic, original, and well documented.

👉 You can also view the competition listing on CompeteMap here: Stripe Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2027.

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Key takeaways for parents

• The 2027 competition is currently open for entries, with a student deadline of 25 September 2026 at 17:00.
• Students need a clear, original idea, not just a broad topic such as "AI", "climate change", or "health".
• The strongest projects usually combine a real-world problem, a scientific method, and student-collected evidence.
• Recent winners show a clear pattern: health technology, AI, sustainability, education, and social wellbeing can all succeed when the research design is strong.
• A good project diary is not optional; it is part of how students show ownership of the work.

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What is the Stripe Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition?

The Stripe Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition, often shortened to Stripe YSTE, is one of the most important school STEM competitions on the island of Ireland. It is open to students aged roughly 12-19 from post-primary schools, and shortlisted projects are exhibited and judged in person at the RDS in Dublin.

For 2027, the official process includes:

The first entry is not the finished project. It is a proposal: a concise explanation of the problem, the hypothesis or aim, and how the student plans to investigate it.

That means preparation should begin before September, not in the final week before submission.

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What fields does the competition cover?

Stripe YSTE is broad, but it is not vague. Projects are submitted under official categories, and each category expects evidence and method.

Parents sometimes assume that "technology" means coding, or that "science" means lab experiments. In reality, many strong projects combine categories. A student might use AI to study health data, statistics to understand education, or engineering to solve an environmental problem.

The category is useful, but the research question matters more.

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What have recent winning projects been about?

Looking at recent winners is useful, not because students should copy them, but because they reveal what judges tend to value.

These examples show that there is no single "winning topic". A project does not need to be about medicine or AI. But it does need to show:

• a specific question
• a reason the question matters
• a method that fits the question
• data or evidence gathered carefully
• a conclusion that follows from the evidence

❌ Weak version: "I want to do a project about climate change."
✔ Stronger version: "Can a low-cost school garden sensor help predict when soil moisture drops below a level that affects plant growth?"

❌ Weak version: "I want to make an app for health."
✔ Stronger version: "Can a simple mobile tool improve how quickly students identify appropriate first-aid steps in common school emergency scenarios?"

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What makes a good Stripe YSTE project?

A good project usually has four layers.

1. A real problem

The project should begin with something the student genuinely wants to understand or improve. That could come from school, sport, local community life, family experience, environment, technology, farming, health, transport, or education.

The best problems are narrow enough to investigate.

Instead of:

How can we improve mental health?

Try:

Is there a measurable relationship between evening screen use and sleep quality among students in a specific year group?

2. A testable question

Judges need to see that the student is not just collecting facts. They are investigating.

A useful structure is:

Does X affect Y under Z conditions?

or:

Can this method/tool/intervention improve this measurable outcome?

3. A realistic method

Students should ask: what can I actually do safely, ethically, and repeatedly before January?

Methods might include:

• experiments
• surveys
• interviews or observation
• data analysis
• prototype building
• software testing
• mathematical modelling
• field measurements

The method does not need to be expensive. In many cases, careful design beats fancy equipment.

4. Evidence and reflection

The project diary is where students show their thinking. It should record:

• early ideas
• background reading
• trial experiments
• failed attempts
• changes to the method
• raw observations
• photos or sketches
• data tables
• reflections after each step

For parents, this is one of the most important habits to encourage. A neat final poster cannot replace months of visible thinking.

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A practical preparation timeline

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How to choose a topic

Students often start too big. A parent can help by asking narrowing questions:

• Who is affected by this problem?
• Can you measure it?
• Can you test one part of it?
• What data would prove or disprove your idea?
• Can you complete the work safely with school-level resources?
• What would make the result useful to someone else?

Here are some topic directions that fit the spirit of the competition:

The goal is not to sound impressive. The goal is to become investigable.

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What should students do before submitting?

Before the September deadline, students should ideally have:

• a focused project title
• one main question or hypothesis
• short background research
• early trial work or pilot data
• a realistic method
• an idea of what data will be collected
• awareness of safety and ethical issues
• a clear reason the project matters
• a draft 500-word proposal

The proposal should not be marketing copy. It should help judges understand the research.

A simple structure:

1. What problem are you investigating?
2. Why does it matter?
3. What is your hypothesis or aim?
4. What method will you use?
5. What data will you collect?
6. What result would count as meaningful?

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Common mistakes to avoid

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How parents can help without taking over

The best parent role is project manager, listener and safety check.

Parents can help by:

• reminding students of deadlines
• helping them contact teachers early
• encouraging a realistic timeline
• asking the student to explain the method out loud
• checking whether data collection involves consent or safety issues
• helping source ordinary materials
• listening to the final presentation

Parents should avoid:

• rewriting the proposal in an adult voice
• designing the experiment for the student
• coding, analysing, or building the core project themselves
• pushing the student toward a topic just because it sounds prestigious

Judges are used to seeing student work. Authenticity matters.

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So, what kind of student should enter?

Stripe YSTE is a good fit for students who:

• enjoy asking "why?" or "could this be improved?"
• can work steadily over several months
• are willing to revise an idea after early tests
• like explaining their thinking
• are curious about real-world problems

It is especially strong for students interested in:

• medicine and health
• AI and computing
• engineering
• environmental science
• psychology and social research
• maths and data analysis
• sustainability
• innovation and entrepreneurship

But a student does not need to be a future scientist to benefit. The process builds research habits, evidence-based thinking, communication, resilience and confidence.

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Final advice

Start with a problem the student genuinely cares about. Then make it smaller, clearer and testable.

The projects that stand out are rarely just "clever ideas". They are ideas that have been investigated carefully.

For 2027, the practical next step is simple: choose a possible topic now, run a small trial, and use the summer to turn curiosity into a focused proposal before the 25 September 2026 deadline.

👉 View the competition listing: Stripe Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2027

Related reading:

• Stripe Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2027: A Parent-Friendly Guide
• How Many Competitions Should a Student Enter Each Year?

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Sources checked

• Stripe YSTE: How to enter
• Stripe YSTE: 2025 winners
• Stripe YSTE: 2026 winner announcement
• BT Ireland: 2024 BTYSTE winner announcement
• BT Ireland: 2023 BTYSTE winner announcement