SERC awarded grant from All-Island Fund

SERC and partner organisation, University of Limerick, have secured a grant of €9,000 from the All-Island Fund at Community Foundation Ireland, to help strengthen STEM teaching methods in primary schools.

Recent research carried out by the College and the University identified that current educational teaching models in place at primary schools contribute to the continuing lack of females entering the engineering industry. The vital funding will be used to prepare and introduce essential, prepared primary school lessons and exciting STEM-based classroom activities to encourage young girls to explore the many qualities of engineering.

The project will build on the success of previous SERC projects, such as the We Can Engineer It workshops, which were introduced at the College last year. The eventual aim will be to increase the gender diversity in the engineering sector across Ireland.

Aine McGreeghan, Engineering Curriculum Manager says:

“We are delighted to have received, in partnership with the University of Limerick, funding from the All-Island Fund to encourage and support STEM teaching in primary schools. Currently, the engineering industry is heavily male dominated, with just 20.1% of the overall workforce being women, so it is important to address this gender imbalance and remove the barriers facing females pursuing a career in this field."

“We ran several We Can Engineer It workshops for young girls in SERC last year, in order to raise awareness of engineering as an option and help develop STEM skills. This is a fantastic initiative to build on and will help to implement effective STEM teaching models across primary schools in Northern Ireland in the future, driving further skills and economic growth.”