Year of Astronomy a Key Feature as Details Announced of the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2009

Summer break a great time for students to begin thinking about entries

Wednesday, 14th May 2008: The BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2009 was launched today by its organiser and sponsor BT. A key feature will be the International Year of Astronomy 2009 which coincides with the 400th anniversary of the development of the telescope by Galileo in 1609 and is being marked by events throughout the world.

Due to Galileo’s foresight and advancements with the telescope, scholars and professors went on to discover our planets and solar system, the earth was deemed to be round and, in more modern times, space travel became a reality. The 400th anniversary will educate and inspire young people worldwide to look at the universe with the same questioning and pioneering spirit as Galileo.

BT is highlighting the theme of Astronomy for the 2009 exhibition in January and has begun work on developing attractions for visitors on this topic, as well as on other themes including climate change, robotics, ecology and technology.

The BT Young Scientist 2009 exhibition will again benefit from renewed investment from BT as the organiser and sponsor of the event including project management, volunteering by BT staff, IT expertise and financial support.

This significant investment includes a team of 10 employees from across the island working for 12 months on the organisation of the event. It also includes enlisting 100 staff volunteers to generously give five days of their time at the RDS in Dublin to manage all logistics of this event.

Chris Clark, Chief Executive Officer, BT said, "The BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition is one of the finest showcases in the world for science, technology and mathematics. This 32 county exhibition provides a platform for our young scientists and technologists to come together to investigate theories, discover new technologies and advance current knowledge through innovation.

Continued focus is needed on developing Ireland as a knowledge economy. We believe that our investment in, and commitment to, this exhibition encourages schools throughout the island to have a passion and interest in those very skills that will help Ireland advance and thrive.”

The BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition, now entering its 45th year, recorded its greatest number of entries last year with 1,416 projects entered. BT hopes to break that record for the 2009 exhibition and continues to work on enhancing the event to attract both visitors and students to see first hand how interesting, revealing and often how mesmerising science can be!

The BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition will be held in the RDS, Dublin from the 6th – 10th January 2009. For more information on the exhibition, please visit www.btyoungscientist.ie or call 1800 924 362 or from Northern Ireland 0800 917 1297.

ENDS

For further information please contact
Gill Madden, Fleishman-Hillard, 01 6188414 or 086 2309070
Sinead Ni Chonaill, Fleishman-Hillard, 01 6188408 or 086 3316461

About BT in Ireland:
BT operates across Ireland, north and south. With over 3,000 employees, the company is headquartered in Dublin and Belfast, with offices in Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford.

BT is one of the world’s leading providers of communications solutions and services operating in 170 countries. Its principal activities include networked IT services, local, national and international telecommunications services, and higher-value broadband and internet products and services.

For more information, visit www.btireland.ie

About BT
BT is one of the world’s leading providers of communications solutions and services operating in 170 countries. Its principal activities include networked IT services; local, national and international telecommunications services; higher-value broadband and internet products and services and converged fixed/mobile products and services. BT consists principally of four lines of business: BT Global Services, Openreach, BT Retail and BT Wholesale.

In the year ended 31 March 2007, BT Group plc’s revenue was £20,223 million with profit before taxation of £2,484 million.
British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York.

For more information, visit www.bt.com/aboutbt