Patrick Collison inspires Ireland’s next generation of innovators at day two of the Stripe Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition

Patrick Collison, cofounder of Stripe, today met with Ireland’s brightest young scientific minds at the Stripe Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition visiting some of the 550 project stands across the exhibition floor, and taking part in a live student Q&A session. 

Speaking to students at a Q&A session, Patrick Collison said: “I was sitting in the audience here not that long ago, now 21 years ago. I’ve been spending some time in the hall and the standard of your projects is extremely impressive and you are going to accomplish incredible things in the years to come… Hone your curiosity and figure out what it is that compels you in particular—that’s at the heart of it.”

During his visit, Collison engaged with students across all five exhibition categories, including international participants from Kenya and Jordan–national winners in their own countries who traveled to Dublin to participate in the 2026 Stripe YSTE.

Projects he viewed tackled some of Ireland and the world’s most pressing challenges: researching the effect of tidal waves on black holes, investigating the impact of biodegradable products on soil quality, and developing a wearable AI device to detect the early onset of diseases.

Primary Science Fair begins

Collison also visited the Primary Science Fair, where he engaged in a lengthy conversation with the students from Dunderry N.S. in Co. Meath, as they discussed their project titled, “From Blood to Boba: Exploring Coagulation & Spherification”. Running alongside the main competition, this showcase features 60 primary school projects designed to ignite a lifelong love for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in third to sixth class students across Ireland.

Judging continues

Thousands of members filled the exhibition hall throughout Thursday as judging continued. The day’s entertainment included Mark the Science Guy’s Frontiers of Discovery, The Drop Science Bubble Show, and a Career Discovery panel where Stripe engineers and scientists shared advice on navigating careers in technology and science.

Several senior political figures were also in attendance throughout the day, demonstrating strong support for Ireland’s young scientists: Minister of State at the Department of Further and Higher Education, Marian Harkin; Minister of State, Kieran O’Donnell; Minister Helen McEntee; Minister Jack Chambers; Minister Dara Calleary; Minister of State, Jennifer Murnane O’Connor; Minister Martin Heydon; Minister of State Frank Feighan; Minister of State Thomas Byrne; Minister of State Jerry Buttimer; Minister Patrick O’Donovan; Minister Jim O’Callaghan; Deputy Mary Lou McDonald; Deputy Ivana Bacik; and Deputy Roderic O’Gorman.

Awards Ceremony tomorrow

The overall winner of the 2026 Stripe Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition will be announced at the awards ceremony on Friday evening, 9 January, at 5pm. Over 200 prizes will be awarded, with the overall winner receiving €7,500 and representing Ireland at the European Union Contest for Young Scientists. The ceremony will be livestreamed at youtube.com/@StripeYSTE.

The exhibition continues Friday with final judging and public viewing. A limited number of tickets are still available at stripeyste.com/tickets.