2004 Science Week Ireland November 7-14, 2004 “Science Week Ireland” 13 Nov Briefing for Committee on Jobs, Social Protection and Education 16 th November 2011 Peter Brabazon, Director, Discover Science and Engineering Forfás, Wilton Park House, Dublin 2 tel , mob ,

1. Discover Science and Engineering “National Integrated Awareness Programme” Launched October 2003 Funded by Dept. Jobs Enterprise and Innovation (€1.9M in 2011) and Managed by Forfás -Mission is to contribute to Ireland’s continued growth and development as an economy and as a society that has an active and informed interest and involvement in STEM ( Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) -Overall objectives are to increase the numbers of students studying the physical sciences, to promote a positive attitude to careers in STEM and to foster a greater understanding of science and its value to Irish society. - Target audience for DSE includes students at all levels, (with a particular focus on primary and secondary) their parents and teachers, as well as the wider public.

2. Science Week Ireland th to 20 th November Nationwide STEM Awareness Week Theme “The Chemistry of Life” 100 key partners (including 18 Corporate Partners) 500 events designed to engage young people 115,000+ direct participants Events at Libraries, Factories, Higher Education etc. Support funding to regional events in Sligo, Galway, Mayo, Limerick, Cork and Waterford Lecture Series in Dublin at Science Gallery, Belvedere College, National Gallery, RIA

3. DSE Summary of Activity 2010 Primary Science and Maths –5,000 teachers trained –92% of primary schools –250,000 pupils –400 Excellence Awards/yr Second Level Science –200 secondary schools –25 Tutors Science Week (115,000 participants) partners (505 plus events) Working through Partnerships ( STEPS to Engineering, CEIA, BT Young Scientist, Intel – “Scifest”, Abbott, Science Gallery, ESA) Mathematics Initiatives – 6 + modules Leveraging 3 Euro for every 1 Euro

4. Additional Focus for 2011 !! Support for Project Maths Additional Engineering Outreach Second level pilots and Careers Leveraging partner input at €4 to €1 from DSE Investigating more European programmes to add value for DSE Engaging Industry to “open doors” to show young people what a career is like These areas were identified for additional focus/funding by: SMART Economy report ( 2008) Innovation Task Force (2009) Evaluation Report of Discover Science and Engineering (2009) Project Maths Implementation Support Group (June 2010) “Government for National Recovery 2011 – 2016” THANK YOU!

2004 Science Week Ireland November 7-14, 2004 Other Background Information Forfás, Wilton Park House, Dublin 2 tel , mob ,

1.Young People’s Programmes supporting Curriculum Change Primary School Science Initiatives Discover Primary Science with Maths Modules Awards of Science and Maths Excellence GreenWave.ie in Europe from 2011 Secondary School Science Initiatives Discover Sensors (Junior Cert. Science) Scifest (with Intel and 14 IoTs) Careers (CareersPortal.ie and the DSE site MyScienceCareer.ie)

2. Awareness Programmes supporting Careers and Jobs Events Science Week ’10 - (13 Nov ‘11) – 505 events nationwide on third of previous budget St. Patrick’s Festival (up to 3,500 visitors to “Science Zone”) BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition –Sponsored Maths Award and Maths Workshop Main sponsor and partner of Maths & Engineering Weeks Communications Internet –Usage increasing and part of new internet strategy –Partnering with Careersportal.ie from launch Apr. ‘08

3. Partnership Strategic Partnerships –“STEPS to Engineering" of Engineers Ireland –Cork Electronic Industry Association (CEIA) –Scifest with Intel –“Six cities” for Science Week, etc. –Mallow Development Project –Other Exploration Station (Board Member) –Interactive Science Centre interpreting the brief of Discover Science and Engineering Dublin City of Science Chairman of Public Engagement Working Group and other support

Working through Partnerships Business Science Week - Microsoft, Abbott, etc Scifest - Intel plus BT, Abbott, local industry etc. Young Scientist, - RDS “On-line Careers” - ICT Ireland/Irish Software Association Institutional Various shows - Science Gallery City of Science - Chief Scientific Adviser STEPS to Engineering - Engineers Ireland Educational - Teachers, incl Training Colleges - DES, NCCA (Science and Maths), NCTE - ISTA, INTO Commercial Contracts - Drury, AMAS, Xwerx, H2, Begley etc

Common “Key Skills” for both Education & Business Partners Information Processing –Incl. Recording, organising, summarising and integrating information Critical and Creative thinking –Incl. Examining patterns and relationships, classifying and ordering information Communicating –Incl. Engaging in dialogue, listening attentively and eliciting opinions, views and emotions Working With Others –Incl. Working with others in a variety of contexts with different goals and purposes Being Personally effective –Identifying, evaluating and achieving personal goals, including developing and evaluating actions plans (National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA))

4. Space and Mathematics Initiatives European Space Education Resource Office (ESERO) –Teacher support. Incl Primary School modules –Using the existing DSE networks for delivery –“Our Place in Space” theme of Science Week 2010 Maths –Primary School pilot-projects –Awareness Campaign – Maths Week plus new presenters –Support to others, particularly Maths Week & Project maths

Awareness Outputs Discover Primary Science (DPS) a flagship project of DSE with 5,00 teachers in 92% of primary schools and 135,000 pupils benefiting annually 2010 saw 128 pieces of DPS media –Combined circulation 2,309,667 Sensors - 1,000 in SciFest Awards 2010, with all 14 Institutes of technology, funded by DSE and Intel. April to June 2010 SciFest received 117 placements –Combined circulation of 1,630,200 Science Week is Ireland’s biggest annual promotion of science115,000 participants at 505 Science events (2010) involving 100 partner organisations. –“The Chemistry of Life” 13 th – 20 th November 2011 Internet- 11 sites supporting each project area including all content, dissemination and registration etc. - Cost and effectiveness benefits

Science Week Media Results Total National Print Radio TV75511 Regional Print

Career Advice- The Information Gap 70% of 18 year olds are continuing into third level, as did 35% of their parents or 15% of grandparents