Science Foundation Programme To Receive Funding

The Science Foundation Ireland’s Discover Programme is to recieve €5.2 million in funding. This was confirmed by the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris. 

This funding will support 49 projects across the programme.

The projects being supported by this funding will include supports for students with hearing impairments who wish to study Science,Engineering, Technology or Maths.

“AI In My Life”

These projects will also include “AI In My Life”. This project engages with 500 teenagers across Dublin from different backgrounds. The workshop lasts for 15 weeks (20 hours) and is an interactive, co-created series.

This also encourages students to reflect on experiences of a world shaped by digital transformation and personal data processing. Students will also learn how to protect their digital privacy and to activate STEM career and university awareness.

Discover Programme

The 49 projects being supported by this funding will take place locally and nationally across Ireland. These projects also include biodiversity, coding, climate action and sustainability, STEM sign language, understanding pandemics, digital welbeing and the link between maths, music and phsysics.

A wide range of ages are also targeted under this intiative. These range from young children, to teenagers, to adults. Some intiatives are also aimed at young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, people attending DEIS schools or visually impaired. This flexible initiative encourages inclusivity and diversity.

The projects included are:

• Eco Showboat Expedition 2021: This environmental science laboratory and art studio, brings communities, artists, and scientists together across Ireland to study, draw, photograph and film freshwater biodiversity through workshops.
• Dingle Peninsula 2030 – A Model Enabling Community-led Climate Action: this project builds capacity for STEM engagement in community-based climate action. This is a project providing an ideal platform for up-scaling and amplified impact, from local to national levels. MaREI SFI Research Centre for Energy, Climate and Marine will lead this initiative.
• Irish Sign Language STEM Glossary Project – National Expansion: this project promotes and supports STEM education for Deaf and Hearing Impaired (DHH) people by developing an agreed lexicon in Irish Sign Language for STEM terms. The absence of agreed signs for STEM vocabulary hinders the teaching of STEM subjects at all educational levels. This also leads to difficulties for those working in interpreting.

Other projects:

• Girls Coding Code Plus: This projects works towards encouraging, facilitating, and providing opportunities to teenage female students interested in studying Computer Science.  Along with the Dublin based activities funded under the SFI Discover Programme in previous years, an expansion to the Galway and Limerick areas is also included.
• Educational platform for Irish beekeepers (EDIBEE): this project engages beekeepers with STEM through a series of workshops. These workshops help students to explore other skills and technology that can be used with beekeeping.
• Science 4 Sight Loss: The co-creation group and planned workshops aim to stimulate engagement and curiosity in STEM. They help to provide insights into STEM-related careers. They also inspire this underrepresented group to have confidence in their ability, to tackle the barriers of diversity and inclusion in STEM.
• Little Big Questions (LBQ): This project helps to take young school children from disadvantaged areas. They bring them to University College Dublin (UCD). They also explore exciting science through play and inquiry-based learning in a purpose-built outreach laboratory.

For more information, you can also check out the SFI website here.