Coolest Projects Ireland - Frequently asked questions

Coolest Projects Ireland is an in-person event for young digital tech creators on 1 July 2023 at the Helix in Dublin:

• It is open to young digital tech creators up to age 18, resident in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland only
• All digital making projects are welcome, whether they’re beginner, advanced, or somewhere in between, and they don’t have to be complete
• You can participate individually or in a team of up to five friends
• Projects can be registered in one of six categories
• Places are limited to one project per team

Applications for places will open on 7 March 2023 and close on 31 May 2023. You can apply for your place with your idea for what you want to create, and then you have until the event day itself to keep working on your project!

The categories relate to the technology you use to create your project. You may only select one category during registration. The categories are Scratch, Games. Web, Mobile Apps, Hardware and Advanced Programming. You can read more about these categories here.

As well as picking a category for your project, you can choose to select up to three topics that describe your project:

My project relates to a problem in my community
Choose the Community topic if your project is designed to increase awareness of (or solve) a problem you have noticed in our society and feel is important. This could relate to mental illness, homelessness, discrimination, or social justice, or it could address any sort of condition or lack of behaviour that has negative consequences for a group in your community.

My project relates to the environment
Choose the Environment topic if your project is designed to increase awareness of environmental issues or solve problems that are important to maintaining or repairing our natural environment. This could be related to earth science, climate change, nature, biodiversity, or other environmental topics.

My project is about health, wellbeing, or medicine
Choose the Health topic if your project is designed to raise awareness of (or solve) problems that are important to the health and wellbeing of people in our society. This could be related to COVID-19, healthy lifestyles, diet, exercise, disease, treatment, prevention, or other health and wellbeing topics.

My project is all about having fun
Choose the Fun topic if your project is designed to entertain people who engage with it. It could help people relax, have fun, or think about something they enjoy. This could be a game, film, story, toy, or any other entertaining and engaging digital object.

My project is artistic or creative
Choose the Art topic if your project is a creative piece designed to be appreciated for the beauty or emotional power of its sounds and visuals, with or without interaction from the audience. This could be a piece of music, visual art, an animation, a drawing, a collage, a film, or any other aesthetically interesting digital object.

My project teaches people about something
Choose the Education topic if your project is designed to help people learn something, practise skills, or to impart knowledge to the user. This could be a game, a film, a story, a quiz, an animation, or any other educational digital object.

My project is about me, my family, or my culture
Choose the Identity topic if your project is designed to share with the user an aspect of your life, culture, or personality that is important to you. This could be related to your beliefs, the cultural or social norms where you live, your personal or gender identity, or anything else about your life that is personal to you or someone close to you.

Judges will review all projects on the day of the event, and choose favourites from each category.
Here are the questions the judges will use to review each project:

Coolness

• Does the project ‘wow’ you?
• Are you surprised or excited by the project idea?
• Is it something you’d be proud to show to other people?
• Is it original or unique in some way?
• Does it communicate the personality of its creators?

Complexity

• How ambitious is the project (both in terms of the idea behind it and its execution)?
• How many processes have the creator(s) followed to make the project?
• What level of technical knowledge have they demonstrated?
• How difficult do you think it was for the creator(s) to make this project?

Presentation and Communication

• How effectively have the creator(s) communicated the idea behind their project and the function(s) it is intended to serve?
• How much care and attention has gone into the visual design of the project? Does it look cool?
• How well have the creator(s) answered the three questions asked in the registration form?

Design and Usability

• Does the project work in the way it’s intended to?
• Is the project user-friendly?
• Would people have fun interacting with it?
• How easy is it to use the project for its intended purpose?

Bursaries are intended as a contribution to travel expenses such as flights, fuel, train tickets, and reasonable hotel costs that are expected to be incurred as a result of attending this event.

You can request a bursary application form while applying for your place, and we’ll send you a bursary form by email. Once you have completed the application form, we will review your request. If successful, in most cases the bursary is a partial contribution towards the costs of attending.

The selection criteria takes into account many factors including geography, community involvement, and ensuring a diverse group of attendees.

In order to be eligible to be considered for a partial bursary, you must be a member of the Raspberry Pi community, such as a Code Club or CoderDojo volunteer or host.

Places are not guaranteed until we have written to you confirming your place. Due to venue constraints, if places become full, priority will be given to teams from our clubs and programmes.

Yes! In fact, we encourage it. Participants can take part in both Coolest Projects Ireland and the Coolest Projects online showcase, and they can enter the same project to both. Online showcase participants will get their personalised feedback from judges in June, so it’s a great opportunity to test and refine projects for Coolest Projects Ireland in July!