THE EXHIBITION The Judges
The Judges It takes the work of hundreds of people to make the annual BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition the success that it is, but there is one group in particular that deserves special mention – the judges. These 80 or more volunteers make the whole thing happen, encouraging students to deliver their best and helping them to realise their ambitions.
a more scientific result. In those days the organisers would assemble as many judges as there were projects but with a constantly growing number of applicants and more than 550 projects each year this is no longer possible. One aspect of judging has never changed however. “The one rule I make with judges is you may never talk down to the student, you must always make them feel you are interested in the project even if it isn’t of the highest order,” says Scott. “You must always leave the student with the feeling that they have done really well and their project was well done. We rely on the judges’ knowledge and professionalism and their ability to interact well with the young people.”
“The judges are fundamental to the event. They are the ones who by careful talking with the students and teasing out the value of their work, manage to find the most worthy projects for the main awards,” says Tony Scott, co-founder of the exhibition. “The winners of our all-island event do exceptionally well at the European Contest for Young Scientists, so our judges certainly must be doing something right,” he adds.
The process involves a great deal of time and care, and each project will be assessed by three judges. The first spends about 20 minutes with the student and this judge will give an initial score. A second judge will then talk to the student about their work and will give a second score that is kept separate from the first judge. The two scores are then discussed by the first two judges plus a third who listens to the arguments for and against the project. The third judge then visits the stand with all these comments in mind to help decide if the project should move forward for further judging.
He remembers the judging during the earliest days of the event. It happens in more or less the same way, although they now use a much better marking scheme and assessment methods to help get
For all the hard work, the exhibition is never short of volunteer judges. There is something special about the exhibition that makes them come back year after year.
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BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition
