Trinity STEM public engagement and education projects backed by Science Foundation Ireland 

Posted on: 22 March 2021

Three Trinity College Dublin-led STEM public engagement and education initiatives will be supported as part of a new national investment of €5.2 million through the Science Foundation Ireland Discover Programme.  

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris, TD, today [Monday March 22] announced the funding to support 49 public engagement and education initiatives that aim to improve public understanding of science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) and engage a wide audience of people with STEM topics. 

The Trinity-led projects are: 

• CodePlus/Girls Coding: this project seeks to encourage, facilitate, and provide opportunities to teenage female students to engage with Computer Science. It includes an expansion to the Galway and Limerick areas, in addition to the Dublin-based activities funded under the SFI Discover Programme in previous years. It will take advantage of the fact that students and schools are now much more comfortable with on-line environments. Read more here.
• Visioneers – A Smart Cities Education Programme: As Internet of Things (IoT) technology is dramatically changing how we plan, build and operate our cities, Visioneers is a smart cities education programme targeted at Transition Year students (age 15-16) providing a hands-on opportunity to explore and experiment with IoT hardware as used in a smart city, and encouraging critical thinking on the uses and applicability of this technology to address a host of city challenges. Visioneers is a module of Academy of the Near Future, an education initiative of CONNECT – the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Future Networks and Communications – and Dublin City Council. Read more here.
• DALIDA: Data Literacy Discussion workshops for adults: These will be novel workshops on data literacy that will help the public acquire an awareness of how to think critically about data and its provenance and presentation. The workshops are designed with, and developed for, people from socially, economically, or educationally disadvantaged groups as they are more prone to struggle with data literacy. Co-creation will ensure that the format and material resonate with the target audience.  

Overall, the funded projects cover topics including biodiversity, STEM sign language, climate action and sustainability, coding, epilepsy, understanding pandemics, digital wellbeing, and the link between music, maths, and physics. The initiatives also target a wide range of ages including young children, teens, and adults as well as some initiatives designed for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and attending DEIS schools and those living with sight loss. 

Minister Harris said:  

I am delighted to announce the 49 projects that will receive funding through the SFI Discover Programme. As we continue to live through the COVID-19 pandemic, we are more conscious than ever of the importance of supporting the public to have access to and to understand the issues that impact our collective future, and the role science and technology can play in providing solutions. These projects will play a role in starting conversations about the role of STEM in society and inspiring our young people to explore careers in these areas. I wish all the recipients every success in the roll out of their projects.