Success for LWETB Students at the 2026 Stripe Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition

Students from Longford and Westmeath Education and Training Board (LWETB) schools achieved remarkable success at this year’s Stripe Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition (YSTE), held at the RDS.

A huge congratulations goes to Srinidhi Karthik, who proudly represented Athlone Community College and delivered an extraordinary project.

Srinidhi’s project, “Enduring Learning Dynamics: A Novel Approach to Analyse and Improve Forgetting and Alignment Drift in Machine Learning,” impressed judges across multiple categories. Her work explored innovative methods to enhance how machine learning models retain information and avoid drifting from intended outcomes—an area with growing importance as AI continues to scale.

She received a special Award from Dublin City University (DCU) taking 1st Place in the Intermediate Individual Chemical, Physical & Mathematical Sciences category.

This recognition reflects both her deep understanding of advanced machine learning concepts and her ability to bring fresh thinking to one of today’s most exciting scientific fields.

 

We also caught up with Ronan Lyons from Lanesboro Community College, whose groundbreaking work earned him the prestigious RegeneronISEF Award at this year’s exhibition. He also received a ‘highly commended’ award for his Senior technology category project “CAPILL: A Medicine Dispenser for People with Reduced Hand Mobility”.

Ronan spoke to us about the inspiration behind his project, his development process, and his ambitions for the future. His award‑winning project aims to support individuals experiencing difficulty with fine motor movements—an innovation with the potential to make a real difference in everyday healthcare.

These remarkable achievements by Srinidhi and Ronan highlight the exceptional talent and innovation within LWETB schools. We are incredibly proud of their dedication, vision, and passion for science and technology.