SciFest was greatly honoured when an tUasal Michael D. Higgins, President of Ireland (2011-2025) agreed to be the project’s sole Patron. The President’s patronage was recognition of the hard work and dedication of the teachers who support and encourage their students to develop and exhibit their science and technology projects and to those teachers who also organise their own in-house SciFest@School fairs. It was also recognition of the work of the staffs of the third level colleges who give freely of their time and expertise to organise the 16 SciFest@College events, to act as judges at these events and to ensure that the students who participate in the events have the best possible experience on the day.
SciFest has developed rapidly since it was established in 2006. In that year there was just one fair with under 200 students participating. In 2025 over 16,000 second-level students participated in SciFest STEM fairs at school and/or college level. Since 2006 over 130,000 students have had an opportunity to participate in SciFest at local and/or regional level.