€2.8 Million SFI Investment in STEM Public Engagement Initiatives

Ireland’s Minister for Research, Innovation and Skills, Damien English, TD has announced a €2.8 million national investment in 42 initiatives aimed at engaging the Irish public in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) through Science Foundation Ireland’s Discover funding awards. The investment supports a national aim to have the most scientifically engaged public by breaking down barriers, creating more accessible paths to skill acquisition and ultimately fulfilling careers in STEM subjects. Geographically dispersed, it is estimated that these STEM projects will touch 3.6 million people in Ireland by the end of 2017.

Announcing the funding at an event at Farmleigh House in Dublin, the Minister emphasised that a core message of its Action Plan for Jobs 2016, “was the need to continue to invest in science and technology to foster creativity and innovation, which will ultimately lead to job growth. The initiatives funded through Science Foundation Ireland’s Discover programme encourage the Irish public to stop and think about how science impacts upon them in their daily lives.  It encourages our young people to think about a career in STEM and it demonstrates to multinational companies considering creating jobs in Ireland that we as a nation are engaged with and committed to excellence in science, technology, engineering and maths. We are thinking globally but acting locally to create a learning environment in communities right across the country.”

Minister English said that Ireland was home to nine of the top ten global ICT companies, nine of the top ten global pharmaceutical companies, and 17 of the top 25 global medical devices companies along with  more than half of the world’s leading financial services institutions. In the Global Top 20 for the quality of scientific research, Ireland was also ranked first in the world for its research in nanoscience, second in computer science and in immunology, third in animal and dairy science and fifth in materials science.  “It is vital that we continue to foster further innovation and STEM industries by encouraging the general public, and in particular our young people, to have an understanding and appreciation of the role of STEM in our society,” he added.

Niamh Lyons, Interim Director at Science Foundation Ireland added: “The 42 projects which received funding today represent the most creative, educational and engaging STEM programmes in Ireland. The initiatives receiving funding were assessed by international experts and selected based on their potential to promote awareness and understanding of the importance and relevance of STEM in everyday life.”

This investment was made by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through Science Foundation Ireland’s annual education and public engagement Discover Programme awards.