A Kerry pupil's imagination has helped him secure the overall prize in a national competition this week.

DJ Poff from Boheshill National School, whose project imagined a world of hydro-powered cars, solar-powered shoes, and homes built on raised platforms to allow plants and animals to live freely in their natural habitat, won the National Broadband Ireland (NBI) 'Imagine the Future' competition.

The competition invited students in the 679 schools in the NBP intervention area to create a piece of art to represent the world of possibilities that will be opened up by high-speed broadband.

His school mate Colin O’Shea from Boheshill National School in Glencar, was also named among the competition winners.

National Broadband Ireland (NBI), the company delivering the National Broadband Plan (NBP), hosted one hundred primary school pupils, from Junior Infants to Sixth Class, at an event at the Barretstown fun camp in Kildare for the presentation of prizes to the winners of the national final.

Project entries ranged from robot surgeons to interactive classrooms where VR headsets transport you to Ancient Egypt to wander around the pyramids. A key theme across the shortlisted entries was the focus on solar powered systems to reduce the impact of fossil fuels.

NBI Chairman David McCourt presented the top prize to DJ whose project also highlighted the use of Artificial Intelligence [AI] to monitor homes and reduce theft.

“NBI is proud to be bringing next generation fibre broadband to the next generation," David McCourt said.

"Primary school students all over Ireland are already seeing the benefit of high speed fibre broadband connections in the classroom and the 'Imagine the Future' competitors have shown amazing creativity in representing the possibilities it opens up. These young artists are the leaders of the future and we can be in no doubt it is in safe hands when we see the ingenuity on display. We are on track to be one of the first countries in Europe to provide high-speed broadband to one hundred percent of the population which is going to lead to long term economic opportunities for the children of today.”