Tech Week set to return in May

Events are planned nationwide to create a fun experience for students and shine a light on STEM

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Ireland’s festival of technology is back. From 11-18 May Tech Week will consist of a series of events will take place across the country with the hopes of highlighting STEM career opportunities.

Now in its sixth year, schools and communities have welcomed the event, finding new ways to get students to engage with tech in their local areas.

Kicking off the week, the national Bebras final will be held in NUI Maynooth on 11 May, testing students computational thinking skills. On 15 May, school children’s coding projects will be showcased at the Scratch Programming Final in University of Limerick.

Other highlights of the week will be The Hour of Code, Bricks4Kidz, and Snap Circuits where students can build a lie detector, a doorbell or an automatic street lamp, and learn about alternative, green energy sources and other technologies. The festivities are predicted to draw tens of thousands of students.

Speaking at the Tech Week 2019 launch, Jim Friars, CEO of the Irish Computer Society, said: “Inspiring young people to pursue STEM subjects in second and third level education and into related industries is key to addressing the skills gap Ireland is currently facing.

“By creating fun hands-on experiences for young students, Tech Week aims to ignite imaginations and an interest in science, technology and maths. Its goal is to shine a light on the path to exciting careers and bright futures in STEM for the next generation of technologists, scientists and engineers.”

Dr Ruth Freeman, director, science for society, Science Foundation Ireland, echoed his sentiment. “Ireland needs the very best talent to help us innovate and create sustainable and positive new technologies and products for the future,” she said. “Tech Week’s unique blend of showcase events, workshops and competitions help inspire young students about careers in science, technology, engineering and maths and inspire future generations to fulfil their potential.”

Tech Week is organised by the ICS Foundation, sponsored by Amazon Web Services and supported by the SFI Discover programme.

TechCentral Reporters

Read More: STEM Tech Week 2019