Students from across Northern Ireland’s Further Education College’s came together on Thursday 22nd May 2025 to compete in the sector wide ‘Project Based Learning’ (PBL) competition, following initial competition activity at each College. A diverse mix of students and ideas were present ranging from software and games development students, beauty therapy students, and skills for life and work students. The wide range of subject areas made for a spectacular display of innovation and thought-provoking projects.
Judging the projects and bringing their expertise from industry and the education sector were four judges. They were Louis Pearson, Chief Marketing Officer at VIRUS Intl and Founder of Small Business Bootcamp; Matthew McKeown, Programme Manager for Entrepreneurship for All at Catalyst, a pilot programme aimed at creating more locally inclusive entrepreneurship opportunities; Mia Dixon, Digital Marketing Executive at Catalyst and Belfast Telegraph’s 30 Under 30 crop of go getters in 2024 and Lindsay Bronte, Development Manager at Southern Regional College.
After watching students’ presentations, judges grilled each PBL project on its merits with the following projects selected as overall 2025 winners and runner ups:
At level 3 and above:
Winner: Beauty Therapy level 3 NVQ students from Northern Regional College (NRC) with their project ‘Accessibility Desk’. Discovering a gap in the market, students engaged with Disability NI and engineering and joiners to develop a height-adjustable and adaptable accessible beauty therapy workstation to accommodate different sizes of wheelchairs. In bringing their project to life, students engaged with external stakeholders, including potential manufacturers and suppliers, to explore costs and feasibility of bringing the desk into production.
Runner-up: Computing (Software and Games Development) Higher National Diploma (HND) students from South Eastern Regional College (SERC) with ‘Metamorphic – Virtual Reality (VR) Experiences’. Students worked alongside real-world clients to develop two VR applications. In the first, they partnered with the Police Service of Northern Ireland to create a youth intervention experience that places users in realistic scenarios, encouraging reflection on the consequences of their decisions involving law enforcement. The second application, created in collaboration with mental health charity Listening Ear, helping children and young people manage anxiety through simulations of everyday social situations in a guided, virtual environment.
At level 2 and below:
Winner: Beauty Therapy level 2 Traineeship students from NRC with the project ‘Beauty Wheel’. Students worked with clients to assess issues within the beauty sector and provide beauty therapists with improved workspaces akin to trolleys, through the introduction of bio-degradable waste bags and sustainable lighting and storage and make the day-to day running of beauty salons more efficient. As a measure of their success students noted interest from local hospitals in their product.
As a measure of its impact, ‘Beauty Wheel’ was selected by the judging panel as the 2025 overall sector winner.
Runner-up: Skills for Life and Work level 1 students from SERC with the launch of ‘Truffle’ a student led retail space for upcycled, reuseable and vintage items with a focus on transforming waste materials into new practical products. Students obtained hands on experience in merchandising and sales whilst addressing environmental responsibility through waste management, reducing landfill waste and the environmental impact of consumer culture.
Speaking on the 2025 PBL sector competition, Lee Campbell, Principal & CEO of Southern Regional College commented:
"Project Based Learning plays a vital role in equipping students with the skills, creativity, and critical thinking required to address the complex challenges facing society today and in the future. This year's sector-wide competition has showcased an outstanding breadth of talent, innovation, and collaboration across diverse subject areas. The quality and relevance of the projects presented are a testament to the hard work and commitment of both students and staff. Every participant should take great pride in their achievements and the meaningful contributions they have made — not only to their own learning journeys but to the communities and sectors their projects aim to serve.”
This year’s competition marked the tenth year of PBL learning at Southern Regional College. The inspiring range of ideas and projects from this year’s students will undoubtedly lead to a high standard for future competitions.
Lynne Ervine, Project Based Learning and Technology Enhanced Learning Manager at Southern Regional College added:
“Hosting this year’s competition was a fitting celebration of a decade of Project Based Learning at Southern Regional College. The event was a great success, with an exceptional standard of projects this year. The competition provides the ultimate stage for students to showcase their learning and demonstrate how they have developed their skills by tackling real-world industry challenges.”
