STEM South West has opened entries for its 2026 awards, with companies, educators, students and community organisations across Cork and Kerry being invited to showcase work supporting the region’s science, technology, engineering and mathematics sectors.
STEM South West brings together more than 50 companies alongside education, government and community partners across Cork and Kerry, where the sector employs more than 75,000 people.
The awards are now in their third year and are intended to recognise people and organisations supporting STEM development, from industry initiatives and educational programmes to community projects and individual contributions.
“The STEM South West Awards give us a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the remarkable people, partnerships and achievements that are helping Stem flourish across our region,” Áine McCarthy, chair of Stem South West and principal applications engineer at Analog Devices, said.
She said the awards would also provide an opportunity to highlight the work being done to build a stronger STEM talent pipeline.
“In 2025, ManpowerGroup reported that four in five employers in Ireland were struggling to find skilled talent, despite historically low unemployment,” McCarthy said.
She added: “The World Economic Forum also reported that 75% of Irish employers identify skills gaps as a major barrier to transformation by 2030, 12 percentage points above the global average.”
Bob Savage, chair of the judging panel and a non-executive director, said the awards would provide an opportunity to recognise organisations and individuals contributing to STEM across the region.
“With AI at the centre of digital transformation, we need work-ready STEM graduates, alongside real investment in reskilling and upskilling for those already in work,” Savage said.
Entries remaining open until 1 November 2026. Winners will be announced at a ceremony on 21 January 2027.
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