Pictured are Aoibh Cowan age 10, Siobhan O’Leary age 11 and Benjamin Murray age 11.
Photo by Julien Behal courtesy of MKC Communications Ltd.
National and secondary schools throughout Dublin will take part in Tech Week, Ireland’s national festival of technology, this month between April 22nd and April 28th with a variety of nationwide events. The festival is aimed at sparking an interest in technology and related study and careers among students, parents and the public.
Organised by the ICS Foundation, the social enterprise arm of the Irish Computer Society, and supported by Science Foundation Ireland and Amazon Web Services, this exciting week of events will see more than 100,000 students take part in a range of fun activities, including the finals of several national Tech Week events.
School students will be challenged on their computational thinking skills at the National Bebras final in NUI Maynooth on Saturday, 21st April, and coding projects will be showcased by school children in the Scratch Programming Final in UL on Wednesday 25th April.
Speaking at the launch of Tech Week 2018, the Minister of State for Training, Skills and Innovation, John Halligan TD said: “The Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation is delighted to support Tech Week through Science Foundation Ireland’s Discover Programme. All young people love science and finding out how things work. Tech Week is aimed at stimulating children’s natural curiosity and encouraging them to explore, discover and develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. It provides hands-on opportunities for young people to learn about how computing and related technologies are shaping every area of life. With the European Commission estimating that 90% of tomorrow’s jobs will require digital skills, we need to ensure that Ireland is at the forefront of this transformation. We must be a leader in developing and nurturing STEM talent.”
Margie McCarthy, Interim Director of Innovation and Education at Science Foundation Ireland, who was also present, said: “Science Foundation Ireland is delighted to support Tech Week once again. The events held nationwide throughout the week are aimed at inspiring our future STEM leaders, and giving Ireland’s young people an opportunity to explore technology and coding in a fun environment. Tech Week will empower people taking part to become actively involved in STEM. For this reason, we are proud to fund the initiative through the SFI Discover Programme, and look forward to another week of interactive and stimulating events.”
For many students engaging them in science, technology, engineering or maths, (STEM) subjects, if they feel this isn’t their forte can be difficult. Tech Week is a great example of ways in which engagement and interest in these STEM subjects can be built.
With a wide selection of varied events happening all over the country during the week, it helps engage young people with STEM by introducing them to it in a new way, which is hands-on, puts them in the driver seat and focuses on building their confidence.
The organisers and Department are hoping that Tech Week will inspire thousands of young people across Ireland to make, create and invent with confidence and curiosity, and increase engagement in science, technology, engineering and maths by making it fun, practical and accessible
You can learn all about Tech Week 2018 by visiting www.techweek.ie, facebook.com/techweekirl and following @TechWeekIRL on Twitter.
