News & Events

€3.6 million invested in projects to promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) in Ireland

41 projects receive funding to improve public understanding of STEM and to support education initiatives for under-represented groups

Minister for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development, John Halligan TD, today announced a national investment of €3.6 million through Science Foundation Ireland’s Discover Programme, to fund projects dedicated to educating and engaging the public in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).

Science Foundation Ireland, through its SFI Discover Programme, aims to develop a highly-engaged and scientifically-informed public. Through the SFI Discover Awards, it provides funding for projects that inspire and guide the best in STEM education and public engagement.

41 diverse initiatives will be supported by this year’s programme, with successful awardees being carefully selected through international peer-review. A further 11 projects that were awarded in 2017, will also have their funding continued for a second year.

Speaking at the SFI Discover Awards event, Minister Halligan said: “Science Foundation Ireland’s work in promoting science, technology, engineering and maths to the public stimulates very important public conversations around scientific research and encourages young people to consider pursuing a career path in these areas. To address the many global challenges we face across society and the economy, we must ensure that future generations of problem solvers have the opportunity to be inspired. Ireland continues to act as a hub for excellent research and the initiatives being funded through this year’s SFI Discover programme will help to generate enthusiasm for STEM and highlight the individual, societal and economic value of encouraging more people in Ireland to get involved.”

A number of the projects receiving funding are specifically targeted towards engaging girls and women in STEM: 

  • SOPHia: Science Outreach to Promote Physics to Female Students (UL) - a project that aims to encourage female students to take up physics as a Leaving Certificate Subject. 
  • STEMChAT – Women as catalysts for change in STEM education (UL) – looks at the recruitment of female undergraduate STEM Champions and industry mentors who will facilitate informal workshops with school students and parents, predominantly in disadvantaged areas. 
  • Strength in Science (NUIG) – The development of cross-curricular resources for science and PE teachers that are linked with the Biology, Physics and PE curricula that will increase girls’ interest in both learning science and participating in exercise 
  • Engaging Girls in CS - Code Plus (TCD) – Female-only coding workshops facilitating a cohort of female speakers working in computing, to deliver career talks in girls’ schools. Tech companies will host visits for teenage females. 
  • Girls in DEIS Schools: Changing Attitudes /Impacting Futures in STEM (UCD) - Students will engage with STEM by exploring the lives and impact of several female STEM pioneers, both historical and contemporary. 
  • Let's talk about STEM: supports for girls' early science engagement (DCU) - Parents and educators will participate in workshops to consider evidence on the role of language in differentially motivating girls’ and boys’ interest in and persistence with scientific learning.

Speaking about the Programme, Interim Director of Science for Society at Science Foundation Ireland, Margie McCarthy, said: “The SFI Discover Programme encourages people from all backgrounds to become informed about, and engaged with, STEM. Through SFI Discover we harness the creativity of diverse engagement initiatives to motivate more people to explore STEM in meaningful ways, and we aspire to create a brighter future for Ireland together. The projects being announced today are very exciting and I look forward to working with them to inspire our future scientists, engineers and innovators.”

Science Foundation Ireland has invested in over 240 public engagement projects through the Discover Programme since 2013. This year’s funded initiatives are estimated to reach over two million people.

ENDS

Notes to Editor

An appendix of the full list of projects receiving funding is attached. Other highlights include: 

National

 

Limerick

  • Young Modellers (UL)
  • Science Hub at Learning Hub Limerick (Learning Hub Limerick) - www.learninghub.ie/hub/science-hub
  • Exploring Computer Science and Career Choices in IT (UL)

 

Galway

 

Cork

  • Ireland’s Secret Past: Unlocking Our Fossil Heritage (UCC)
  • Cork Carnival of Science
  • Tyndall MakerDojo - http://www.makerdojo.ie/

 

Maynooth

  • Introducing the Science of Problem-solving through Education in Computational Thinking (NUIM)
  • The IMT National Integration of Mathematics Outreach

 

Sligo

Sligo Engineering Fair - Institute of Technology Sligo (ITS)

Dublin

  • Music and Science: Quavers to Quadratics (National Concert Hall)
  • dlr Teen Entrepreneur STEM Camp and TY STEM Day 2019
  • Science Foundation Ireland at the Big Day Out - St Patrick’s Day Festival - www.stpatricksfestival.ie
  • Festival of Curiosity - Stupid Things theatre experience - festivalofcuriosity.ie
  • Planeteers at the Cool Planet Experience - coolplanetexperience.org
  • The Astronomical Midlands: Engaging Rural Communities with I-LOFAR (TCD) - lofar.ie
  • OurKidsCode: Phase 2 Supporting families’ continued engagement in computing (TCD) - ourkidscode.ie
  • Community Maths Challenge (UCD)
  • Shaping Your Future: 3D Printing and Augmented Reality (UCD)
  • Irish Sign Language Glossary Project Phase 2: Environmental Science (DCU)
  • Maker Advocacy in Dublin for Everyone (MADE) - www.dublinmaker.ie
  • Mathematics Teaching Practices Toolkit (DCU)
  • Science on Stage (DCU) - www.scienceonstage.ie

 

For further media information contact 

Science Foundation Ireland

Donna McCabe

01 607 3042 / 087 675 6845 - donna.mccabe@sfi.ie

 

For Science Foundation Ireland 

Morwenna Rice

01 260 5000 / 086 194 0069

morwenna.rice@drurypn.ie

 

About Science Foundation Ireland

Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) is the national foundation for investment in scientific and engineering research. SFI funds oriented basic and applied research in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) which promotes and assists the development and competitiveness of industry, enterprise and employment in Ireland. The Foundation also promotes and supports the study of and engagement with STEM and promotes an awareness and understanding of the value of STEM to society and, in particular, to the growth of the economy.  See www.sfi.ie for more information.

Appendix – Full list of SFI Discover Programme 2018 Funded Projects

 

Project title

Project Description

Lead Organisation

Award Value

Awarded for 2019

ReelLIFE SCIENCE Video Competition

ReelLIFE   SCIENCE is a nationwide STEM engagement programme, which encourages the   public to discover more about STEM and its impact on individuals, society and   the environment, while demystifying and promoting cutting-edge Irish   research. Participants of all ages from schools and community groups are   challenged to research a scientific topic and communicate it for the public   via an engaging and educational three minute video, while at the same time   developing the critical thinking, communication and digital skills necessary   for the 21st Century. The best videos are awarded prizes of up to €1000 and   are screened for the public at the Galway Science and Technology Festival,   other public events and online.

National   University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG)

€12,000.00

Science on Stage

Science on Stage is a European initiative designed to encourage teachers from across   Europe to share best practice in science teaching. The primary aims of   Science on Stage are to provide a forum for teachers to exchange teaching ideas   for the sciences; inspire and enthuse science teachers and provide teachers   with access to quality science teaching resources and ideas. The primary   impact of this project will be on teachers of science - at both senior and junior cycle and at primary level. However, the extended impact of this project will be on the pupils and students in the science classrooms.

Dublin City University (DCU)

€15,200.00

dlr Teen Entrepreneur STEM Camp and TY STEM Day 2019

The Teen Entrepreneur Stem Camp is an 8-week program of STEM workshops with 60 TY students from 16 schools across DúnLaoghaire- Rathdown, County Dublin. The weekly workshops include CAD design, Electronics, Coding computer   programming, 3d Printing and design and will include a guest entrepreneur talk.  

DunLaoghaire   Rathdown County Council

€19,996.00

Exploring Computer Science and Career Choices in IT

This project aims to engage mature and second level students as well as parents and guidance counsellors in the exploration of future careers and further education options within the IT Sector.

Limerick   Institute of Technology (LIT)

€20,700.00

Sligo Engineering Fair

The   Sligo Engineering Fair Day will engage and illuminate the community in the North West on the fun, excitement, challenge and positive societal impact associated with engineering. It will target primarily young people, particularly girls, and their parents. The one-day event will include: hands-on workshops aimed at a variety of levels and using a range of technologies (robotics; coding; structures; 3-Printing); shows and talks. There will be a particular focus on the positive impact that engineering has   on society and also on the creative aspect of engineering.

Institute   of Technology Sligo (ITS)

€22,000.00

Science Hub at Learning Hub Limerick

Initially piloted in 2011, the central goal of the Science Hub is to increase engagement and participation in STEM subjects among children, young people and the general public in Limerick City and County. This project aims to design, develop and implement a new set of programmes (based around a STEAM   focused curriculum) which will be rolled out to schools all over the City and   County in 2019., particularly our main industry partner Regeneron.

Learning   Hub Limerick Ltd

€25,000.00

Planeteers

Dublin, Kildare, Meath, Wexford, Wicklow

Centre   for Climate Change t/a Cool Planet Experience

€30,500.00

SOPHia: Science Outreach to Promote Physics to Female Students

This project aims to encourage female students to take up physics as a Leaving Certificate Subject through an ambitious school visit programme with training for undergraduate facilitators and improved workshop design, a student   competition for projects researching famous physicists/important physics discoveries/local physics, a showcase event to inform teachers of the issues with regards to gender in physics, an interactive website for parents, teachers and students, to supplement the school visit programme, with curriculum-linked activities.

University   of Limerick (UL)

€31,561.00

STEMChAT – Women as catalysts for change in STEM education

This   project develops innovative approaches to address the serious under-representation of women in the STEM workforce in Ireland. By creating new, engaging approaches to providing career information for school students and parents, the project will address barriers to STEM careers experienced by females.

University   of Limerick (UL)

€35,880.00

Shaping Your Future: 3D Printing and Augmented Reality

This initiative aims to harness the use of new advanced manufacturing technologies, as an approach to make careers in manufacturing and STEM more appealing to students. ‘Shaping Your Future’ is a joint pilot project between the I-Form Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre and Irish Manufacturing   Research (IMR). The programme combines hands-on making, design thinking and innovation challenges for students, using high-tech tools; while teachers through lesson plans will be supported to bring 3D printing back to the classroom.

University   College Dublin (UCD)

€38,120.00

Young Modellers

Young Modellers will empower students to identify and apply the mathematics and statistics (mathematical sciences) that they learn in class to solve   real-world problems, giving participants a first-hand experience of mathematical and statistical modelling.

University   of Limerick (UL)

€39,125.00

Music and Science: Quavers to Quadratics

Quavers to Quadratics is a workshop programme that explores the significant overlap   between physics, maths and music. The project will deliver a fully interactive and immersive learning experience for the children attending, breaking down barriers and building connections between music and science. It will encourage further engagement with STEM by the students and schools   involved, which are from predominantly disadvantaged areas.

The   National Concert Hall

€39,800.00

I'm a Scientist and I'm an Engineer Ireland

I’m a Scientist and I’m an Engineer are online events where school students and   their families connect with STEM professionals. The unique online format enables all kinds of students to engage with STEM, regardless of confidence levels or location. Students challenge STEM professionals through text-based live CHATs, and ASK questions relevant to them, helping them understand the role of STEM in their lives. Students discover scientists are real human beings and become more enthused about science. They start to see it's something ‘for them’, encouraging them to consider STEM careers.

Gallomanor   Communications

€39,900.00

Science Foundation Ireland at the Big Day Out

St. Patrick's Festival, Ireland's national festival, will deliver a dedicated 'Science Foundation Ireland Science Zone' at Big Day Out, one of the Festival’s Flagship Family events as part of their national holiday celebrations in March 2019

Feilte Dhuibh Linne Teoranta t/a St Patrick’s Day Festival

€41,236.00

Community Maths Challenge

Community Challenge is designed for primary-school children in areas of educational   disadvantage. Working with a mathematician, an illustrator, and their class teacher, the children will create mathematical challenges which will be   displayed in their local community. The children will evaluate the   community’s responses and construct their own solutions to the mathematical   challenges. Based on this, the children will participate in the RDS Primary Science Fair Dublin, where they will display their work on behalf of their local community. This initiative aims to challenge the entire community's   perceptions of mathematics, showing it to be creative, social, and relevant to real-world questions.

University   College Dublin (UCD)

€42,138.00

Brigit's Garden Family STEM Trail

Brigit’s Garden will develop an interactive Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Trail to engage with families visiting Brigit's Garden. The Trail will encourage playful engagement and interaction among visiting family members and will also be incorporated into the existing Nature’s Power   education programmes for primary and post-primary schools. It will   incorporate scientific activities including observation, recording, classifying and prediction of the natural world, and an exploration of the technologies underpinning new installations on the Trail.

Brigit's   Garden CLG

€43,740.00

Motherhood,   empowerment, sustainable self-help: addressing gaps in education with science

This project creates self-help educational videos on UI, in partnership with women, explaining how to self-assess the factors or activities that trigger leakage, and includes tips on PFMT, taking some of the confusion away. The target audience is mothers aged 18-45 years, and maternity care professionals,   reaching women attending the 19 maternal hospitals in Ireland, by offering the videos free to all, placing them on various websites.

Trinity   College Dublin (TCD)

€44,692.00

Suite Science

Suite Science takes primary school children from low socio-economic areas and transports them to University College Dublin to explore exciting science   through inquiry-based learning in a specifically designed outreach laboratory. The unique selling point of Suite Science is that the children decide what topic they are going to learn about. This process engages children in a truly impactful way because it values and listens to the interests of the children involved.

University   College Dublin (UCD)

€46,990.00

Strength   in Science

This   project aims to develop lesson plan resources for PE teachers that are linked with the Leaving Certificate (LC) Biology, Physics and PE curricula that will increase students' interest in both learning science and participating in   exercise.

National   University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG)

€47,650.00

Let's talk about STEM: supports for girls' early science engagement

This project is a collaboration between STEM education and psychology to deliver a pilot programme to address the underrepresentation of women in STEM by targeting girls' early engagement with science. Drawing on twenty years of robust international research and initiatives, this project will deliver a STEM education programme for parents and educators of young children which highlights the potential impact of language on children’s perception of, and motivation to engage with, science.

Dublin   City University (DCU)

€49,130.50

Bright Club

Bright Club, the ‘variety night for lateral minds’, uses comedy to bring academic research to the public. Academic speakers give short humorous talks about   their work alongside professional comedians and musicians in an informal pub   setting. Speakers receive professional training on communicating their research using humour. Bright Club shows that science is integrated with the   rest of human knowledge, and raises the confidence of those who attend to discuss science informally.

National   University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG)

€49,797.00

FameLab   Ireland 2019

FameLab   is the world’s leading competition to discover the best new voices in   science, providing them with the skills, confidence and opportunities to engage audiences on STEM in fun, innovative ways. Since 2005, FameLab has   cultivated 11000+ communicators from 35+ countries. Now in its fifth year,   FameLab Ireland is firmly respected as a top quality science engagement initiative with its unique programme of competition, training and public outreach.

British   Council Ireland

€49,800.00

OurKidsCode:   Phase 2 Supporting families’ continued engagement in computing

'OurKidsCode:   Phase 2 Supporting families’ continued engagement in computing' is a joint project between Trinity College Dublin and the National Parents' Council which aims to promote and support parents/guardians who wish to engage their primary-school children's interest and activity in coding and Computational Thinking. It will extend the single-workshop model of the OurKidsCode project to encourage more sustained and deeper involvement through a 4-part workshop  series and a community of practice.

Trinity   College Dublin (TCD)

€49,883.00

Engaging Girls in CS - Code Plus

This initiative builds on the existing CodePlus initiative and will involve teaching computer science content in week-long, female only, coding workshops, facilitating a cohort of female speakers working in computing to deliver career talks in girls schools, collaborating with tech companies to host visits by teenage girls to their offices and systematically tracking the impact of the interventions on participants.

Trinity   College Dublin (TCD)

€49,919.00

Mathematics Teaching Practices Toolkit

The Mathematics Teaching Practices Toolkit will support teachers in implementing practices associated with effective mathematics teaching, in particular, the use of cognitively-challenging tasks and the promotion of math talk (children’s talk about their mathematical thinking). This website will provide both directly actionable resources such as lesson plans and a suite   of other professional development resources which prompt teachers to analyse and reflect on mathematics teaching practices, and will act as a developmental toolkit for teachers’ reflection on effective mathematics teaching practices.

Dublin   City University (DCU)

€49,998.00

Girls in DEIS Schools: Changing Attitudes /Impacting Futures in STEM

This   project aims to develop and strengthen the interest and attitudes of young girls in post-primary schools designated as disadvantaged (DEIS) in STEM. Teachers will be provided with a narrative overview of key STEM women, with parallel tasks and activities for students to partake in as part of their   exploration of the person and the impact of their work. These narratives will   be anchored in the junior cycle specifications in Science, History and   English and aim to foster an emotional connection with STEM women leaders   through the mechanism of story-telling.

University   College Dublin (UCD)

€50,000.00

Ireland's Secret Past: Unlocking Our Fossil Heritage

This   pioneering project will reach out to thousands of Irish children and adults via innovative hands-on, digital and interpersonal formats that encourage hypothesis-testing and active kinaesthetic learning. It will feature bespoke resources tailored to nationally important fossils found in specific locations around the country will complement a novel national network of urban fossil trails. By   raising the profile of palaeontology, this project will inspire curiosity in   our ancient past at a national scale, ultimately reforming national science curricula and stimulating pursuit of STEM careers.

University   College Cork (UCC)

€50,000.00

Irish Sign Language Glossary Project Phase 2: Environmental Science

For those Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) people to be fully engaged and scientifically informed, there must first be an agreed lexicon in Irish Sign Language for STEM terms. This initiative, aiming to promote and support STEM education for DHH learners, is building on a pilot project funded by SFI last   year to remedy this problem. The pilot project (currently underway) concentrates on terms in maths and will create an open-access online ISL glossary of these terms. This year it will extend this glossary to include environment science.

Dublin   City University (DCU)

€50,000.00

Stupid Things

Part play, part human experiment, Stupid Things is a unique and interactive theatrical experience which will be developed through ‘Public Engagement Workshops’ during Science Week 2018 and finally staged as part of the Festival of Curiosity in 2019 with high potential to tour nationally and   internationally thereafter. Stupid Things is a piece of theatre about the human brain; about how cognitive biases lead us to make poor decisions in the face of uncertainty. Staged with technologically bold and brilliant AV work, this will be an interactive, entertaining, educational and engaging night at   the theatre like no other.

The   Festival of Curiosity Ltd

€50,000.00

The   IMT National Integration of Mathematics Outreach

The Irish Mathematical Trust will provide a complex, integrated system of activities aimed at young people aged 9-18, designed to ignite their enthusiasm for mathematics and to nurture their development through long-term engagement, in a supportive atmosphere among like-minded peers.

National   University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM)

€50,000.00

Tyndall   MakerDojo: Festivals and Workshops

MakerDojo encourages active learning and engagement with STEM through hands on demonstrations and workshops which seek participants’ direct involvement, including initiating their own Maker projects. This project will access an audience who do not self-identify with science and technology, by taking hands-on demonstrations to Family festivals and by holding workshops at a local schools activity centre (Lifetime Lab).

Tyndall   National Institute (TNI)

€ 50,000.00

Awarded for 2019 and 2020

Tech   Week

Tech Week celebrates new technology and envisages the power of digitisation to transform lives as the motivation for engaging with, learning to leverage and control innovation. A nationwide festival of technology, Tech Week is a brand for a wide range of activities, workshops, competitions, challenges and fun, to inspire the next generation of STEM pioneers.

ECDL   Ireland Ltd T/A ICS Skills

€50,000.00

SCI:COM

SCI:COM is a two-day, multi-event all-island science communication conference. It is   run by Whipsmart Media, a communications and events company in partnership   with UCD. As in previous years, the conference will feature keynote speakers,   breakout sessions on key issues, skills sessions and an exhibition of   exemplar science communication programmes. SCI:COM aims to inspire, engage,   and question delegates from the broad science communication spectrum.

Whipsmart   Media

€64,000.00

The Astronomical Midlands: Engaging Rural Communities with I-LOFAR

The   Astronomical Midlands uses the recently constructed Irish Low Frequency Array and Education Centre at Birr Castle to connect with students, teachers and members of the public in rural communities in the Midlands. Astronomical Midlands will open new conversations with groups that have had little   involvement with STEM using a unique astronomical facility and heritage at   Birr, allowing people in the Midlands to discover opportunities for further education and careers in STEM and   inspiring the next generation of scientific explorers.

Trinity   College Dublin (TCD)

€195,502.00

Introducing the Science of Problem-solving through Education in Computational Thinking

Universities   in Ireland are currently preparing to recognise Leaving Certificate Computer Science as a science subject for entry into 3rd level science programs. This   initiative will engage secondary school students with computational thinking   through teaching resources (lesson plans, workbooks, teacher portal), and   activities (workshops, school visits, and regional meetups) with the aim to   increase teacher, student, and parent interest and enhance involvement in   STEM subjects.

National   University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM)

€272,895.00

Cork Carnival of Science

Cork   Carnival of Science sets about creating and delivering a large public engagement event that will intertwine science, technology, engineering and maths with playful learning in a fun, open and easily accessible environment.  

Cork   City Council t/a Lifetime Lab

€283,000.00

Science Gallery

Science   Gallery Dublin is part of the Global Science Gallery Network pioneered by Trinity College Dublin. Science Gallery Dublin develops an ever-changing programme of exhibitions and events fuelled by the expertise of scientists, researchers, students, artists, designers, inventors, creative thinkers and entrepreneurs. The focus is on providing programmes and experiences that   allow visitors to participate and facilitate social connections, always providing an element of surprise.

Trinity   College Dublin (TCD)

€298,000.00

Cell   EXPLORERS

Cell   EXPLORERS is a successful science education and public engagement programme delivering STEM activities regionally and nationally. It uses a unique model for sustainable science public engagement in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) where undergraduate and postgraduate student volunteers from local HEIs, deliver outreach activities to school children and the Irish public.

National   University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG)

€298,778.00

STEAM in Youth Work

This   initiative aims to transform the capacity of the youth sector to deliver engaging, experiential, inspiring STEAM education and engagement projects on a wide-scale across Ireland. Working through the youth sector will ensure the project targets disadvantaged young people. Through training, ‘scientist in   youth work residency’ schemes, resources and equipment grants, youth workers will be enabled to communicate STEAM concepts covering light, energy, electricity, circuits and environmental science. They will develop their   youth work repertoire to include scientific method. They will develop innovative learning models based on ‘physics through art’, ‘development education & environmental science through gaming’ and the ‘maker   movement’.

National   Youth Council of Ireland

€299,999.00

Curiosity  Studio - Ireland's Science Communications Accelerator

A  complementary initiative to The Festival of Curiosity, the Curiosity Studio will build capacity in the Irish science communications sector by scaling the quantity and quality of STEM public engagement events and activities across   Ireland.

The   Festival of Curiosity Ltd

€300,000.00

Maker Advocacy in Dublin for Everyone (MADE)

The   MADE project has as its objective the better embedding of maker culture thinking at all levels in Irish society and making it available to all, starting with the greater Dublin region. The project will build on the   successful maker fair and introduce a Maker Advocate role – a person who will foster and support makers where ever they are and for the benefit of many, placing emphasis on targeting socially disadvantaged regions of the city. The mobile maker space will be used to facilitate making events with other key target groups including people with disabilities, older people and the Irish   Traveller Community – all of which are underpinned by identified and committed community partners.

Dublin   City University (DCU)

€300,000.00

Awarded for 2018 and 2019

CoderDojo Ireland Foundation Community and Events Co-Ordination

CoderDojo   is a child centric movement of community led free coding clubs (Dojos) for   young people aged between 7 and 17. At Dojos around Ireland almost 6,000   young people regularly learn how to; code, build websites, interact with   hardware, electronics and much more. Within a Dojo there is a focus on   community, peer learning, collaboration, mentoring and an emphasis on   openness. Most importantly CoderDojo is about encouraging creativity and   having fun in a social environment.

CoderDojo   Ireland Foundation

€123,000

SciFest

The   SciFest STEM fairs programme is a national initiative designed to foster a love of STEM in second-level students through active, collaborative, inquiry-based learning. The programme consists of a series of one-day STEM   fairs for second-level students hosted at local level in schools and at   regional level in the Institutes of Technology (IoTs) and Dublin City University (DCU), culminating in a national competition for the overall   winners from the colleges, with winners from this competition going on to   participate in international competitions.

Scifest   Limited

€340,000

Engaging Space

‘Engaging Space’ is a multifaceted proposal employing the inspirational theme of “SPACE” to support initiatives which strengthen STEM education amongst primary, post-primary and third level students, teachers and parents, and catalysing science capital amongst the general public. The proposal involves   a mix of initiatives with national impact (STEM Weeks, Space Week, STEM Career events, CPD training for

Cosmos   Education Ltd T/A Blackrock Castle Observatory

€286,769

Computer Science at Leaving Certificate CPD Programme

Lero,   in conjunction with education and advisory partners, proposes to support the   introduction of Computer Science on the Leaving Certificate by providing input from computer science international best practice and through the evaluation of teacher CPD. Lero is an internationally recognised centre of excellence in software research, located across nine HEIs, and currently provides similar support in conjunction with JCT (Junior Cycle for Teachers),   industry and educational partners for the Junior Cycle Short Course in   Coding.

University   of Limerick (UL)

€291,264

VEX Robotics

VEX Robotics is a programme that promotes STEM involving over a million participants   worldwide and operates to a global standard, organised by the non-profit   Robotics Education and Competition Foundation. Participants design, build and   program their own robot to compete in an exciting teamwork based competition.  

Cork   Institute of Technology (CIT)

€298,053

Engineers Ireland STEPS programme - 2018 & 2019: Engineering Futures

The   Engineers Ireland STEPS programme aims to grow understanding of and enthusiasm for engineering among young people and to drive the uptake of engineering at third level and as a career. To achieve this, we facilitate   direct engagement between engineer role models and young people (and their   influencers), helping our target audience to see engineering in a new light: as a creative, dynamic, rewarding way to make a difference to people's lives.

The   Institution of Engineers of Ireland

€300,000

Futurewize

Futurewize teaches STEM skills to junior cycle (12-14 years) and senior cycle (16 years)   second level students. It combines a five-module, in-class, programme for 1st  years with Smart Futures delivered to 2nd and 4th year students, all industry   volunteer-led.

Junior   Achievement Ire Ltd

€299,184

Spectroscopy in a Suitcase

Spectroscopy in a Suitcase   (SIAS) brings portable analytical technology into the classroom as part of a   hands-on practical workshop. Making ‘real’ science accessible to students,   our programme has developed into a key part of our offering to schools in   Ireland as an enrichment activity, meeting its aims of inspiring and engaging   students with chemistry and related careers.

Royal   Society of Chemistry

€193,600

RDS Primary Science Fair - Dublin and Limerick 2018/2019

The   RDS Primary Science Fair is a non-competitive exhibition forum for primary   schools in Ireland that promotes and supports the development of STEM skills   in children aged 8 – 12. The Fair takes place annually in Dublin, Limerick   and Belfast. The Primary Science Fair encourages teachers and pupils to   undertake STEM investigations during the school year in a unique,   whole-class, child-led approach. The RDS STEM Learning programme, developed   in partnership with Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), underpins the Fair by   providing continuing professional development opportunities for teachers   through workshops and a National Conference.

Royal   Dublin Society (RDS)

€150,000

The Festival of Curiosity 2018 & 2019 - Reconnecting

The   Festival of Curiosity is an international festival of science, arts, design   and technology. From Playful days (family programme) to Curious Nights (Adult   Programme) The Festival of Curiosity is a cultural feast of unique, visual   and interactive experiences, installations and creative events that merge   cutting edge science, technology, design and the arts in playful, immersive   and curious ways. The Festival of Curiosity takes an innovative and research   led approach to audience development, participation and engagement in   science, arts, design and technology for all ages and has sold out every year   since its inception.

The   Festival of Curiosity Ltd

€300,000

Maths   Ireland incorporating Maths Week Ireland

Maths   Week Ireland is an all island festival celebrating Maths and its   applications. It raises awareness, appreciation and understanding of   mathematics for all. The major activity takes place in October, the week   containing Hamilton day, but increasingly activities do run throughout the   year.

Waterford   Institute of Technology (WIT)

€290,163