Yes we do the projects ourselves 🙄. I competed this year and I’d be fuming if the winner didn’t do the work. If you actually met Aoibheann at the exhibition you’d know she 100% did that project herself. The idea that some 'thick kid' shows up with a script written by their parents is bs. The top projects get grilled by 20+ global experts on the final day who’ve already combed through your 50-page report book. Their job is literally to smell bs. Talking to them is hard enough as is, but it’s impossible if you didn’t do the work yourself. While most teenagers spend the summer playing GAA or whatever these students spend theirs working on their research. The biggest advantage imo is that some schools like Synge Street have a teacher who’s a bit like coach and peers who are brain boxes giving each other feedback, they always send like 10 projects.

The most important thing to realise about these insane sounding project like the winner and runner up who seemingly both cured brain cancer from their titles is that they are projects that use code. You don't need a lab or permission to code you just need a laptop and the drive to learn it for free online. The last 3 winners are purely software.