If you are a Transition Year or 5th Year student in Mayo then you could be in with a chance to win some top prizes in a School Essay Competition launched by the local Heart & Stroke Charity Croí and Mayo PCCC, HSE West as part of Mayo Healthy Living Month.

Mayo exhibitors were among more than 230 second level students from the region whoshowcased their impressive scientific discoveries and explorations at SciFest@IT Sligo on May 4th. The exhibition was part of a series of one-day science fairs that will take place this year at Institutes of Technology across the country. Almost 100 science projects were displayed at SciFest@IT Sligo with the students delving into a range of investigations.

A new Irish website, www.TheMathsTutor.ie, providing online support for Project Maths, has been launched in time for the 2012 exams.  Project Maths is the name given to the new maths syllabus being rolled out by the Department of Education for  both the Junior and Leaving Certificate courses.  This year’s Leaving Cert students are the first full cohort to sit exams based on Project Maths.

Scoil Phádraig, Ballina, won Best Innovation Project in the Mayo Science and Technology Competition, held in Westport, and run by Mayo County Council.  The boys completed a project on a proposal for a Ballina guide application designed for smartphones.  The students demonstrated how their app would be a useful tourist guide and a major means of promoting local businesses.

Gaelscoil Uileog de Búrca Claremorris were crowned overall winners at the Mayo Science and Technology Competition held in Westport. Run by Mayo Country Council – The Mayo Science and Technology Competition encouraged primary schools from all over Mayo to have fun with science or technology and prepare projects which researched and experimented with an idea, problem or hypothesis.

The award-winning team of three 5th year students from St. Gerald’s College, Castlebar, who developed a mobile phone application which could save lives are celebraing further success after being chosen as overall winners of the prestigious European e-Skills Young Entrepreneurship competition.

Matthew Cullen (16) from Castleconnor, near Ballina, and a student at St Muredach's College, looks like he may have one of the hottest bets when it comes to new inventions. Matthew has invented Eqwhip - a whip that could solve British horse racing's controversial whip issue by letting jockeys know through an earpiece when they have reached their whip quota during a race.

Eircom Group has announced that both Ballina and Castlebar will be included in Phase II of its fibre based broadband rollout plan, providing speeds of 40 Mbps and beyond. The announcement follows last year’s commitment by eircom to spend €100 million on Phase 1 of a plan that aims to reach one million premises over the next four years.

Minister for Communications, Pat Rabbitte TD, has ruled out in the short term giving commercial radio operators in Ireland a share of the TV licence fee, but urged independent broadcasters to fully participate in the Government's review of funding of public and independent broadcasters.

Castlebar students from St. Gerald’s College and St. Joseph’s Secondary School were out in full force for the National Final of Agri Aware’s Green Dragon Secondary School Innovation Challenge.