The team who established and organises the START Competition all work in the Health Research Board – Trials Methodology Research Network . Our Network has members across five Irish Universities, including University of Galway, University College Cork, University College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin and University of Limerick.
Get to know us
Our ‘day-job’ is to make clinical trials better. We love scientific method and processes, and we like discovering new ways of doing this when it comes to clinical trials. You would be surprised how impactful small changes can be in science. We love to challenge old concepts and develop new innovative ways to get our work done. We developed the START Competition simply because we love what we do, and we want to share that with everyone. We also know how clever and innovative Irish primary school children can be, and we greatly enjoy learning from what the children do each year.
Our team also lead various projects to help the public better understand healthcare and how science works. Check out some of these projects: https://www.meetthescientist.ie/ and https://www.thekidstrial.ie/
The START Competition has been supported since 2016 by the Health Research Board and we are proud to have received further funding from Reasearch Ireland in 2024. Our steering group includes two primary school principals and several primary school teachers, whose expertise helps shape our initiatives.
To date, Teachers and children have provided overwhelmingly positive feedback. The Competition is seen not just as a science learning tool, but as a versatile resource that enhances the curriculum and builds transferable skills, making it a valuable addition to teaching strategies.
Volunteers
The START Competition greatly benefits from the volunteering of University students and staff to make our awards ceremony happen each year. Reach out to our team today if you are interested in being involved.
Ceremony Award Workshops
Each year, we are delighted to welcome our incredible partners to the START Competition ceremony awards, where they join us to celebrate the achievements of our competition winners.
They run engaging workshops that spark curiosity and learning in a range of fascinating fields. Click below to find out more
Exercise Physiology
The “Get Fit and Stay Fit” workshop raises awareness of the importance of physical activity in young children for a healthy lifestyle and reducing long-term illness risks. The workshop explains how the heart, lungs, and muscles respond to exercise and why staying active keeps these systems healthy.
Participants listen to their heartbeat, measure their blood pressure, and observe how these change after brief exercises like skipping or jumping jacks. They also measure recovery time, grip strength, and jumping ability to assess fitness, strength, and endurance. In this workshop the importance of participating in regular physical activity is highlighted. To find out more about exercise physiology, visit Dr Ananya Gupta website https://express.adobe.com/page/Kqp0lxsRjKr63/
Kitchen Chemistry
Kitchen Chemistry demonstrate captivating science experiments to the START Competition award ceremony’s attendees. These colourful concoctions and bubbling reactions are created from everyday household ingredients; to showcase that chemistry isn’t confined to laboratories – it can be found all around us! Near the end of the ceremony, we break out some of our lab equipment to bring you indoor thunderclouds, home-made fire extinguishers, and giant streams of toothpaste! To find out more about Kitchen Chemistry,
Cell Explorers
Cell Explorers offer a hands-on workshop, where participants explore the fascinating world of DNA by extracting it from a banana. Using simple materials, students learn about the structure and function of DNA while conducting their own exciting experiment.
Galway Neuroscience Centre
Galway Neuroscience Centre runs a fun workshop, where young scientists get to look at brain cells under a microscope, discover the magic of Benham’s disc, and explore tricky optical illusions. They also take part in a quick hand dominance test and leave with simple brain-related activities to try at home. GNC participation in START Awards 2024 (universityofgalway.ie)
Statistics workshop
The Statistics workshop aims to explain to children how different studies work. Some studies randomly put people into different groups to test something (experimental), while others just observe what happens naturally without changing or assigning anything randomly. Children will also learn how to collect real data and make sense of it by creating cool graphics, just like real scientists!
Our partners help inspire the next generation of scientists through hands-on, interactive experiences.
Meet the team
Sandra Galvin
Principal Investigator, University of Galway
Manon Hubert
Project Manager, University of Galway
Mengqi Li
Awards Ceremony Workshop Lead, University of Galway
Carol Burke
Awards Ceremony Logistics Guru, University of Galway
Thomas Conway
Training and Events Support Officer, University of Galway & Steering Group
Dara Glynn
Principal, CBS Primary, Ennis & Steering Group Member
Daniel Hayes
Primary School Teacher, Ballybunion NS, Co Kerry & Steering Group Member
Ray Mclnerney
Principal of Ennis National School & Steering Group Member
Declan Devane
Professor of Health Research Methodology, University of Galway & Steering Group Member
Linda Bietsy
Associate Professor in Midwifery, University of Galway & Steering Group Member
Iseult Mangan
Primary School teacher, Cloghans Hill, NS, Co. Mayo & Steering Group Member
Fiona Wall
Primary School Teacher, Scoil Mobhi, Dublin & Steering Group Member
Catherine Doolan
Director, Laois Education Support Centre & Steering Group Member
Meet the judges
Sarah Chapman
Sarah’s work as a Knowledge Broker at Cochrane UK focuses on sharing Cochrane evidence through social media, especially writing and editing Evidently Cochrane blogs. The blogs often include reflections from patients and health professionals alongside the evidence and Sarah thinks they are a great way to make evidence engaging, easy to understand and useful for informing people’s health decisions. Before working in evidence synthesis, Sarah trained and worked as a nurse and also obtained degrees in History from the University of Oxford and in the history of women’s health and illness in early modern England (MPhil., University of Reading)
Iseult Mangan
Iseult Mangan is the Regional Projects Coordinator for Teen Turn and former Principal of Cloghans Hill NS, START competition winners in 2017.
Aisling Murray
Aisling is an experienced teacher at every class level, including SET, who graduated with a Bachelor of Education degree in 2002 from Mary Immaculate College and since then has obtained a Master’s degree in Digital Media Development for Education from the University of Limerick.
Aisling enjoys keeping up with current trends and watching out for innovative ideas and strategies that have a positive impact on the world of education. She is the ICT Co-ordinator for her school and has organised many initiatives, such as Girls in Stem, Road to Code, and Tech Week and is currently participating in the pilot edition of the Microsoft Dreamspace Ambassador Programme. A past winner of the START competition with her class in 2018, she and her class really enjoyed participating and saw first-hand the rich and enjoyable learning experiences that it provides. She is really looking forward to seeing all of this year’s entries and meeting the winning schools on the day.
Need support?
We're here to help! If you have any questions or need assistance with the START competition, don't hesitate to reach out.
startcompetition@universityofgalway.ie
