SciFest Vision: "THAT EVERY SECOND-LEVEL STUDENT HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN A SCIENCE FAIR, IRRESPECTIVE OF THEIR ABILITY, BACKGROUND OR CIRCUMSTANCES, EMPOWERING THEM TO LEAD A FULFILLING PERSONAL LIFE AS A CITIZEN IN AN INCREASINGLY TECHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY WHILE CONTRIBUTING TO THE CREATION OF A STRONG 21ST CENTURY IRELAND" SciFest is a national programme of one-day STEM fairs hosted at local level in schools (SciFest@School), at regional level (SciFest@College) in TU Dublin (3 venues), ATU (3 venues), TUS (3 venues) DkIT, DCU, MTU (2venues) and SETU (2 venues and St Mary's College, Derry, culminating in a national competition for the overall winners of each regional event. The SciFest programme was founded by the current CEO, Sheila Porter in 2006. The aim of the programme is to encourage in second-level students a love of STEM through active, collaborative, inquiry-based learning and to provide a forum for students at local/regional/national level to present their scientific investigations. Since its launch in 2006 the programme has expanded rapidly and currently over 10,000 students take part in around one hundred local, regional and national fairs each year. Since the launch of the programme nationwide in 2008 more than 90,000 students have participated. SciFest is funded entirely by sponsorship. Currently the main sponsors are Boston Scientific and Intel Ireland. The programme also attracts support from a number of other companies and organisations. The ongoing expansion and development of the SciFest programme continues to create opportunities for additional sponsors. SciFest is honoured to have the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins as its sole Patron. In 2016 SciFest joined Gaisce as an official Challenge Partner supporting The President's Award. The SciFest programme is run by a not-for-profit company, SciFest PLC: CRO Number: 517787; Registered Charity Number: 20081270; CHY Number: 20478. RCN 20081270