I Wish 2016

I Wish gives girls a taste of STEM in Cork

Life
Students get a fresh view of STEM at I Wish 2016

11 February 2016

An estimated 2,000 female transition year students will get a taste of what it is like to have a career in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) at the I Wish conference in City Hall, Cork.

Coinciding with the first inaugural International Day of Women and Girls in Science on 11 February, the two-day event provides introductions to a number of engaging female role models working in a variety of STEM careers with companies such as Dell, Pfizer, TapStack, Technically Write IT, Google and Vodafone.

The initiative was founded in 2014 by Cork business women Gillian Keating of Ronan Daly Jermyn Solicitors; Caroline O’Driscoll, from KPMG and vice chair of it@Cork; and Ruth Buckley, head of ICT & Business services at Cork City Council. It is supported by supported by Science Foundation Ireland, Dell, Cork County Council, UCC and CIT.

“There are not enough women entering into STEM careers. I Wish aims to highlight the exciting and rewarding careers in STEM and to increase female entrants to third level courses in STEM by 30% by 2020,” said Keating.

Niamh Townsend, general manager at Dell Ireland, said: “At Dell, our approach to creating a diverse workforce has been to ensure that we are bringing together people with differing perspectives and past experiences. We’ve always said that we want to make our workforce resemble our customer base so that the solutions we develop are of use to the many, not just the few. That inclusive approach has been adopted by more and more technology companies, many of whom are actively hiring in Ireland.

“When it comes to encouraging female participation in STEM careers, we all need to work together to highlight the sheer variety of roles that are available. The technology sector requires those with a development background, but we also look for talented sales people and marketers, among countless other roles. It’s not about fitting the mould or cohering to a stereotype of what someone who works in STEM might look like, but rather putting your own stamp on the position and bringing your ideas and individuality to bear.”

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