King’s Hospital students win Science for Development Award 2026
- Published on: 9 January 2026
- Last updated on: 9 January 2026
A project aimed at removing lead pollution from water and soil in Zambia has been named winner of the 2026 Irish Aid / Self Help Africa Science for Development Award at the Stripe Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition.
The project – ‘Solutions to Combat Lead Pollution in Soil and Water in Kabwe, Zambia’ - was developed by Matthew Johnson and Yung Hei Tsang, students at King’s Hospital in Dublin, under the supervision of their teacher, Ciaran O’Connor. It developed a cheap and eco-friendly lead removal water filter to reduce the problem caused by lead pollution.
The award by presented by Minister of State for International Development and Diaspora, Neale Richmond.
Minister Richmond said:
The Science for Development Award encourages young people to use science to help create a better and more sustainable world. Science and technology has a huge role to play in addressing some of the big challenges facing the world today.
I would like to sincerely congratulate Matthew Johnson and Yung Hei Tsang from King’s Hospital, along with their teacher Ciaran O’Connor, winners of this year’s award. Their project is incredibly practical and has the potential to make a real difference in people’s lives.
The standard of entry was incredibly high. It is encouraging to see so many young people in Ireland determined to use their scientific skills and curiosity to help the lives of people around the globe and make it a better world for all of us."
The award will enable students and teacher to travel to Africa as part of a Self Help Africa schools visit to give them an opportunity to reflect upon and possibly further develop the project.
This is the twenty-first year that Irish Aid has funded the travel bursary awarded to the winning project.
The award is adjudicated entirely independently by the judges at the annual Stripe Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition. The judges look for evidence that the students have made the link to the global, setting out how many modern challenges are global challenges, which require global solutions.
Last year’s Science for Development Award was won by Anaus Syed Muhammad of Bruce College (Cork) with his project called HemoSense, a non-invasive method for blood screening of hemoglobin using smartphone cameras.
The 2024 winners were Rachel Hamm and Ella Ryan from Moate Community College in Westmeath with their project ‘Banana Bandages - A sustainable approach to Wound care’ which aims to develop biodegradable bandages sustainably from plant waste for use in developing countries.
ENDS
9 January 2026