Two schools based in the midlands will represent Ireland at the World STEM Racing Finals in Singapore over the coming week.
The schools located just minutes from each other will fly the flag for Ireland along with an all-female team from Loreto in Kilkenny.
The competition gets under way this weekend and will see teams from more than 35 countries battle it out to come STEM Racing Champions.
STEM Racing is an international STEM competition in which students design, manufacture, and race a scaled Formula 1-style car.
The teams are judged on engineering design, innovation, branding, sponsorship and project management aside from race performance.
Preparations for the competition began a year ago with the national finals held in Cork in May.
The teams will bring their car to compete against the best in the world, on a 20-metre track.
"Being able to go to Singapore and share the space with like some of the world's best engineers, it's such a privilege," said Srinidhi Karthik, one of the Apex Racing team members from Athlone Community College.
"I can't wait to meet everyone, all the other teams there and learn from their experiences too," she added.
With their car models safely packed away, the students left for Singapore on Tuesday with the competition set to begin on Sunday.
The team is made up of students Srinidhi Karthik, Orin Smith, Ella McGowan, Tadhg Johnston and Natalia Lison.
"It's the first time our school has qualified for world finals," explained Eoghan Joyce, lead teacher with Apex Racing.
"We’ve only been competing five years and never had a podium finish before this year," he added.
The fact that two schools from the same town have qualified has made this even sweeter.
Teachers are putting it down to an increasing interest and focus on STEM in the midlands region.
"I think it shows the strength that’s in the Athlone and the midlands area for STEM based activities," said Mr Joyce.
For Marist College, this is the seventh time the school has had a team at the world competition.
"There is a lot of pressure, but I think we’re confident because a lot of the lads who were involved in the competition before have come on board and mentored us," explains Ruairi Collins, team manager of the Stellar Racing Team at Marist College.
"We’re excited and nervous," he added.
The students have completely overhauled the car that won them the national title.
"We used Ansys computer software to design," explained Hammad Mateen, data analyst and graphic designer with Stellar Racing.
"Theres’s so many regulations when designing the car, that’s really what makes STEM racing fun," he added.
"We have been working every single day since last November so I’m really looking forward to seeing where we stand," he said.
For Marist College teacher Paul Hardiman, it is a proud moment.
"It’s a huge achievement, we’ve been lucky here, we’ve had really good lads and since 2016, we’ve intermittingly being going to world finals.
"We’re excited now, we’re over a year getting ready and this is the culmination of it now."
The Stellar Racing team includes Ruairi Collins, Andrés Leal and Hammad Mateen.
Winning the national competition was one thing but for the students from both schools, they then had to fundraise for their trip to Singapore.
Ahead of the competition, they paid tribute to the community of Athlone who they say provided huge support.
"We've gotten an immense amount of support, not just from companies but also from the school community," said Natalia Lison, another Apex Racing team member.
Registration for the 2027 STEM Racing Ireland competition is now open, with schools and students able to sign up until 23 October on the STEM Racing website.
