THUMBS UP FROM PRES. STUDENTS …
Students from Presentation Secondary School, Mitchelstown - Niamh Finn, Amy O’Brien, Julia Krzemyk and Aine Casey - who graduated with a STEM Passport for Inclusion at the Kerry Campus of Munster Technological University (MTU), which has earned them a 50 points bonus on their CAO application for select STEM courses being run on the Kerry Campus of MTU.
200+ Senior cycle girls from across Munster, including several local students, graduated in Munster Technological University (MTU) North Campus (Kerry) on Friday last with a newly developed 5 credit level 6 certificate in 21st STEM Skills.
The completion of this module has earned them a 50 points bonus on their CAO application for select STEM courses being run on the Kerry Campus of MTU, with the aim of the programme being to provide STEM pathways to under-served communities across Ireland.
The inaugural graduation ceremony of STEM Passport for Inclusion included 12 students from Presentation Secondary School, Mitchelstown, as well as students from St Marys Secondary School, Mallow who were amongst 15 participating schools from the province. This first group of students will now be able to use the STEM credit to access STEM courses in MTU
Presentation TY student, Amy O’Brien was very proud of her achievement in completing the initiative.
“There were 3 lab days in the RDI (Research, Development and Innovation) Hub in Kerry which was such a cool space, with lots of high tech equipment and the entire place was really modern. We got to learn about design thinking, practise coding, learn about collecting data, artificial intelligence and lots more that I knew so little about beforehand,” she told TheAvondhu.
The initiative has started to address the gaps in the system and since January 2021 has supported 480 girls, from underserved communities across Munster and Leinster, to participate in the newly developed, university accredited module in STEM skills.
“After the last day, we had a project to complete and everyone who passed was awarded a Level 6 degree by Mary Cusack, president of MTU at the graduation last Friday. I felt so proud and it was amazing to see so many young women being given this access to education!”, Amy said.
Fellow TY Mitchelstown student, Elle Murphy outlined her experience during the year.
“While I was aware of the acronym STEM prior to this programme, I was not overly familiar with what STEM entailed or what careers fell under the umbrella of STEM. I also found it intriguing as I learnt that upon successful completion of the programme, students would receive an additional 50 CAO points and 5 college credits where they were enrolling in a STEM related college course. The fact that the programme is recognised by both MTU and Maynooth University was also very appealing to me,” she said.
“I was chosen to be one of the 18 students to go to the RDI hub in Kerry to work with mentors in RDI and Microsoft Ireland. I was delighted to be afforded this opportunity as it enabled me to obtain a first-hand insight into the world of science, engineering, technology, and maths in a college environment. The programme also allowed me to engage with scientists and engineers, learn about their careers and discuss options for my future career.
“The programme was spread over the academic year and overall, I really enjoyed the programme, and it has directed me to a career path in STEM,” she enthused.
OPENING DOORS
The initiative is a SFI Discover Project spearheaded by Dr Katriona O’Sullivan, All Institute-Maynooth University in partnership with Microsoft, MTU, Accenture and the RDI Hub. In addition to the points bonus, the students took part in STEM lab days throughout the year and mentoring sessions - 125 women from Microsoft and Accenture spent 20 hours supporting these young women to see themselves in STEM.
Having completed the module the students can stay connected to the programme through the bespoke platform created for the project which connects educational institutions and industry partners with the participants for potential study or work opportunities.
Dr Katriona O’Sullivan noted that: “the graduation of the Munster cohort of girls marks a landmark day in their potential futures in STEM but also marks the significance of increasing young women’s engagement in STEM as they are currently underrepresented in STEM courses and in industry. MTU have shown leadership in the area of STEM education by providing senior cycle girls with a university accredited qualification AND attaching a 50 point Leaving Certificate bonus to the qualification. This opens the door to STEM university courses for girls in new and innovative ways, and we hope in the next phase of this programme we can build a national STEM pathway for under-served girls”.
The participants and their families were welcomed to MTU North Campus by MTU President Prof Maggie Cusack and Dr Helena McMahon, who has championed the project for the Munster region. Minister for Education Norma Foley prepared a congratulatory speech for the students and Gervaise Monks, COO at Salaso, was a guest speaker for the ceremony.