FortHill Integrated College was awarded ‘Overall Winner’ at the recent ‘Digital Youth’ final with their ‘GeAR Goggles’ which are innovative glasses with built in AR designed to assist tourists worldwide on their travels.

The final was a tightly fought contest at Lagan Valley Island between teams from five local post-primary schools: Breda Academy, FortHill, Friends’ School Lisburn, St Patrick’s Academy and Wallace High School.

GeAR Goggles’ help the user break down language barriers by translating signs into their own language; and popular attractions will be pinned and visible to the user through the glasses.

Other awards presented at the final were: ‘High Commended’ to Breda Academy for its ‘The World’s Eye’, Friends’ School Lisburn won the ‘Tech Time Challenge’ and was commended for its ‘Match Analysis Robot’, St Patrick’s Academy won ‘Most Innovative’ for its ‘MED-Drone’, and Wallace High School was the ‘Runner Up’ with its ‘Tutor AR’ project.

Alderman William Leathem, Chairman of the Council’s Development Committee, speaking about the final, said: “I would like to commend all the participating schools on the problem solving, communication and teamwork skills demonstrated in designing their projects.  It was a very tough decision for the judges to identify an overall winner, as there were only a few marks between all the entrants.  Each of the final innovative projects presented exceeded our expectations of this project; and are an indication of the high level of entrepreneurial drive being harnessed in schools within the Lisburn Castlereagh area. 

“When deciding on their projects it was very evident that from the outset the students had considered the end user/customer, wanted to make a difference and it was not about how much profit they could make.  This is a very important aspect of product development and one that at times can be forgotten within industry.  I hope that everyone who participated in ‘Digital Youth’ has benefited from it.  Initiatives like this can help to bridge the gap between education and industry and the Council is pleased to have been part of this”, concluded Alderman Leathem.

‘Digital Youth’ was delivered by Young Enterprise NI on behalf of Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council.

Carol Fitzsimons MBE, Chief Executive with Youth Enterprise NI added: “Young Enterprise commends the Council on its commitment to developing the digital skills of the young people in the Council area. Their investment in this project demonstrates their understanding of the importance of young people gaining awareness of the digital industry from an early age. We are delighted that so many young people in schools across the Council area and local business leaders have been able get involved.”

The judging panel was made up of representatives from McAvoy Group, Tourism NI, Smiley Monroe, Yellow Design.TV, SERC and the Council.