# Sentinus

Sentinus is an educational charity based in Lisburn, Northern Ireland that provides educational programs for young people interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

## History

Northern Ireland produces around 2,000 qualified IT workers each year; there are around 16,000 IT jobs in the Northern Ireland economy.

## Function

It works with EngineeringUK and the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations & Assessment (CCEA). It works with primary and secondary schools in Northern Ireland.
It runs summer placements for IT workshops for those of sixth form age (16-18). It offers Robotics Roadshows for primary school children.

## Sentinus Young Innovators

Sentinus hosts the annual Big Bang Northern Ireland Fair which incorporates Sentinus Young Innovators. This is a one day science and engineering project exhibition for post-primary students. It is one of largest such events in the United Kingdom. In 2019 over 3,000 students participated from 130 schools across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
The competition is affiliated with the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) and the Broadcom MASTERS program. The overall winner represents Northern Ireland at the following year's ISEF.

### Past Overall Winners

| Year | Name | School | Project Title | Notes |
| 2019 | Cleo Gallen & Zainab Shahid | Loreto Secondary School Balbriggan | | Second time this school won |
| 2018 | Richard Beattie & Dylan Bagnall | The King's Hospital | Identifying Bats from the Roost using an Inexpensive Raspberry Pi Bat Detector & PCR | Awarded Best of Category and First Place in the Animal Sciences Category and the China Association for Science and Technology Award at 2019 Intel ISEF |
| 2017 | Niamh Ann Kelly | Our Lady's College, Greenhills | The Antimicrobial Potential of Tree Bark Extracts | Awarded Third Place in the Plants Sciences Category at 2018 Intel ISEF Second time this school won |
| 2016 | Gareth Reid | Grosvenor Grammar School | Gaze | Awarded Third Place in the Engineering Mechanics Category & SPIE Special Award at 2017 Intel ISEF Second time this school won |
| 2015 | Lauren Murphy | Loreto Secondary School Balbriggan | A Rehabilitation Aid for the Treatment of ‘Clenched Fist | Awarded Third Place in the Computational Biology and Bioinformatics Category at 2016 Intel ISEF |
| 2014 | Anna McEvoy | Our Lady's College, Greenhills | Aetiology of bleeding canker disease of Horse Chestnut trees | Awarded Second Place in the Plant Sciences category and the Monsanto First Award for Innovation in Plant Science at 2015 Intel ISEF |
| 2013 | John Neill | Down High School | Fone2Find | Youngest Winner of the Competition |
| 2012 | Myles Mitchell | Limavady Grammar School | Misbehaving Waves – The Surreal Thing | Awarded first prize from the Acoustical Society of America and a second prize from the Society of Exploration Geophysicists at Intel ISEF 2013 |
| 2011 | Henrik Bruesecke | St Columba’s Comprehensive School | | Awarded Fourth Place in the Category of Computer Science & Second prize from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers at 2012 Intel ISEF |
| 2010 | David McCarroll & Jonathan McEwan | South Eastern Regional College | Voice Activated Alarm | Highly Commended at 2011 Intel ISEF |
| 2005 | Caron Malone, Barbara Fleming & Daniel Evans | Rathmore Grammar School | | |
| 2004 | Peter Kirkland | Dalriada School | | Awarded First Place in Engineering at 2005 Intel ISEF |
| 2003 | Fergal Garvey & Darran Treanor | Abbey Christian Brothers' Grammar School | Colonial Behaviour in sea anemones | Awarded Fourth Place in Category and Third Place in Northern American Benthological Society Award at 2004 Intel ISEF |
| 2002 | Patrick Corbett | St Patrick's College, Maghera | | Awarded Second Place Grand Award in Engineering at 2003 Intel ISEF |
| 2000 | Sharon Matchett | Grosvenor Grammar School | Maternity Seat Belt | Awarded Fourth Place in her Category at 2001 Intel ISEF |
| 1999 | Conor Higgins, Elizabeth Crawford & Angela Wilson | Hazelwood College | | Awarded Second Place in the Environmental Science Category at 2000 Intel ISEF |
| 1998 | Ravi Sumra | Foyle and Londonderry College | Sinker Sorting Device | Awarded First Place in the Engineering Category at 1999 Intel ISEF Inaugural Winner |