ReelLIFE SCIENCE Video Competition
Year Awarded
2025
Amount
€60,000
- Organisation:University of Galway
Project Summary
ReelLIFE SCIENCE is a nationwide public engagement programme that encourages young people and the public to discover more about STEM and its impact on individuals, society and the environment, while at the same time developing participants’ creativity, communication and digital skills.
Young people from primary schools, secondary schools and youth services are challenged to research a STEM topic and communicate it via an engaging and educational three minute video. The best videos are awarded prizes of €1000 and are screened for the public at the Galway Science and Technology Festival.
Based in University of Galway and launched in 2013, ReelLIFE SCIENCE has enabled more than 29,000 young people in 791 schools and groups to engage with STEM in a novel way. The short videos produced have had a secondary audience of over 1,000,000, online and at screenings, increasing the public’s knowledge and awareness of STEM.
In 2026, ReelLIFE SCIENCE will encourage engagement from students and teachers across Ireland through the long running competition and via virtual STEM Ambassador visits and online training. Outside the classroom, in partnership with Foróige, youth workers will be trained to run the ‘Exploring STEAM’ programme with their young people, while a STEAM Showcase event will be held to engage more young people from diverse backgrounds via immersive science and digital workshops.
This versatile and strategic approach will increase participants’ science capital and develop digital skills in young people from all over Ireland, increasing their likelihood of choosing STEM subjects and pursuing STEM careers.