Co Longford pupils capture prestigious ‘NextGen 40’ award at showcase

A group of 6th class pupils from St Mary's National School in Edgeworthstown, were the winners of the 'NextGen 40' award at the Microsoft Dream Space Showcase for their inspiring project, ‘The Eco-town’.

Held over three days at Microsoft’s Dublin campus, the third annual Microsoft Dream Space Showcase brought together students from across Ireland to demonstrate how their STEM and AI skills developed during the programme can tackle real-world challenges.

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Building on the knowledge and skills that the St Mary's NS pupils developed over the past year, they created multiple micro:bit devices through coding to transform Edgeworthstown into an eco-town.

They focused on key areas such as safety, recycling, and solar energy.

As part of the project, the students built a prototype of their local town to demonstrate how their micro:bits would function, offering a clear vision of how technology can enhance sustainability in their community and empower them to achieve more.
A member of the 'NextGen 40' award winning team, Róisin said they really enjoyed the Microsoft Dream Space Showcase experience.

Róisin added, “We loved learning more about STEM and how technology can be used to tackle problems. With my classmates I worked on a project called ’The Eco-town’.

“For it we used micro:bits to create solutions focused on safety, recycling, and solar energy to make our community more sustainable. It was amazing to see how technology can have a positive impact in the area we live in. We were delighted to win the award.”

Reflecting on the impact of Microsoft Dream Space in her classroom, St Mary's NS teacher Shannon Boyle highlighted how 'Microsoft Dream Space has become a vital part of how we teach STEM in our school'.

Ms Boyle continued, “The resources are easy to integrate into our day-to-day curriculum and allow us to connect learning to real-world challenges, helping students see how technology can shape their futures.

“This year, our students won the ‘NextGen 40 award at Microsoft Dream Space Showcase for The Eco-town - a project tackling sustainability, safety, recycling, and renewable energy in our community. It’s been inspiring to watch them apply coding and digital tools to create practical solutions for Edgeworthstown.

“Our school motto is ‘Education for Life’. We live this motto out every day and we’re excited to apply this commitment towards bringing STEM to life for the students in our school.”

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Launched in 2018, Microsoft Dream Space was designed to provide young people with an opportunity to participate in immersive, research-based STEM experiences to enhance their STEM skills and shift their perceptions about the role technology can play in their future careers.

James O’Connor, Microsoft Ireland Site Leader and Corporate Vice President Microsoft Global Operations Service Centre, said:
“The Dream Space Showcase is a powerful reflection of what’s possible when students are given the skills and confidence to explore STEM and AI.

“This year’s event brought together hundreds of young innovators who used these skills to tackle real-world challenges. Their projects show that the next generation is not just ready to participate in the digital world – they are ready to shape it.”

The Microsoft Dream Space Showcase was launched three years ago with the objective of extending access to the programme’s learning content and supports to pupils and their teachers in rural communities in collaboration with the Department of Rural and Community Development and local county councils.