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Exploring careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) for Science Week!STEM: What’s it all about?In today’s world we face a number of challenges, from climate change to sustainable food sources, from the treatment of diseases, to online security and more. With a global population that is increasing all the time, the world needs more problem solvers skilled in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) to help find solutions. STEM skills are crucial to the modern world and are an important part of the Irish economy.

Demystifying STEMSTEM subjects like science and maths are sometimes seen in a stereotypical way, as being more difficult than other subjects, or more relevant to boys than girls. We need to encourage our young people to look beyond this; to explore STEM careers and challenge these misconceptions, so they are well prepared for the jobs of the future.

Exploring STEM skills for Science WeekThis year the theme for Science Week is ‘Science Rising’ where we look at how together we can shape the future. We will celebrate how Irish science is making a difference in people’s lives. There is so much potential for our young people to be involved. Follow #ScienceRising on social media to learn more.

Secondary schools across the country are encouraged to explore STEM skills and careers with their students during Science Week 2016.

Trying to decide what career you’d like to follow requires some research. Students are faced with a huge range of options and many have little knowledge about where to find relevant information, or how to get access to experienced people that can give advice. Here are a few activities students can undertake to overcome this:

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1. Invite a guest speaker into your school to talk about working in science

Simply visit www.SmartFutures.ie (a government programme, managed by Science Foundation Ireland, in partnership with Engineers Ireland) and under ‘Resources’ find the teachers section. Here you can access a short registration form where you can sign up for free school visits from volunteers from science, technology, engineering and maths backgrounds. You just need your roll number to do this. Talks typically last 40 minutes and can take place in a classroom or school hall. You can specify what kind of subject area you’d like to hear about, or if you’d prefer a male or female speaker etc.

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2. Research a variety of STEM career pathsVisit www.SmartFutures.ie and under the ‘Who Works in STEM?’ page, you can find 150+ career stories. These can be filtered by school subject, allowing students to look up examples of STEM careers, relating to the subjects they most like in school. Students can also explore information about STEM careers on www.Careersportal.ie and www.GradIreland.com by searching relevant key words. Ask students to profile someone with an interesting science/technology career.

Students can also read more about working in research on the Science Rising website: http://sciencerising.sfi.ie/

Ask students to look up online videos relating to working in science, technology, engineering or maths – what’s their favourite and why? Students could start with https://www.youtube.com/user/DSEvideo

3. Busting STEM stereotypesInvite students to think about what stereotypes they think exist in relation to science and technology, and people who work in these areas. Where might they exist in the school? Who suffers or is impacted by them? Invite students to pose a question and help them set about carrying out a survey among the student and teacher populations to find results. Students should look at a variety of methodologies to carry out the survey (for example, it could be paper-based or online, using something like SurveyMonkey.ie) and then analyse the results, draw conclusions and present their findings before a class or school assembly.

Parents can also play a role in passing on/ or affirming stereotypes as well - why not encourage your daughter or son’s school to hold a parent’s evening during Science Week and invite a STEM volunteer to visit and share their career story?

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Smart Futures provides access to careers information and role models to students, parents and teachers. It is managed by SFI Discover in

partnership with Engineers Ireland’s STEPS programme.

62%of students said ‘fitting in’ was the main reason they chose their college course. More important than› Career prospects (56%)› Entry requirements (28%)

College Choices:Guiding TeenagersThrough The Process

We asked 2,000 �rst year students in colleges across Ireland what in�uenced them when selecting their college course. The answers highlight some interesting facts for parents and teachers when helping students make this important decision. The full survey, conducted by Amárach Research for SFI Discover’s Smart Futures Programme, may be seen on www.smartfutures.ie.

What’s important for students when choosing

a college course?

#1‘Fitting in’

You have a role as aparent or teacher

www.SmartFutures.ie

51%of students influenced by their parents said they were advised that the college course would suit their personality.

Fitting in is important - so how can you help?

HOW? Visit www.smartfutures.ie to see examples of the people, diverse career stories and opportunities within STEM careers. You can also organise a visit from a Smart Futures volunteer to your school.

ENCOURAGE students to explore these opportunities so they can make informed choices for their future.

CHALLENGE misconceptions about careers in STEM. Stereotypes can prevent students from seeing that there’s something for everyone in the STEM sector.

HELP your teenager opentheir eyes to the vast choice of exciting career paths and opportunities in the STEM sector.

Did you knowthis aboutscience,technology, engineeringor maths(STEM)careers?

› 84% of STEM students are extremely positive that they will get a job they enjoy after college

› 80 NEW jobs per week are announced in the technology sector alone

› Strong starting salaries› Engineers €31k› Science and Tech €24k

Too many students miss opportunities in science,engineering or the tech sector because they have no idea what kind of work people in this area do.

Is parents’ advicefiltering through?

01801-SFI-Edelman-infographic-Final-Proof10.indd 1 03/06/2015 16:40

Research carried out by Science Foundation Ireland found that a student’s perception about how they’ll ‘fit in’ to a particular course is the greatest influencing factor on whether they’ll pursue that course or not – stereotypes can play a big role here.

4. STEM for allAfter discussing stereotypes students might realise that science and technology is not always easily accessed or understood by everyone in the community. Ask students to think about this and look at ways to interact with the local community where your school is located. Who might the students be able to link in with and share their knowledge or passion for STEM?

Invite in a local retirement group to explore technologyAsk students to organise a free workshop for older people in the area to take part in. Can the students identify what problems older people experience the most when using technology? What possible solutions can they come up with? Can they demonstrate using technology (such as how to use a digital camera, set up a social media page or use a tool like Skype) to help older people feel more connected to the outside world? Ask students to write up their experiences after the session.

Hold an open day at your schoolInvite your local community and students’ families to an open day, where you could exhibit any recent work students have completed with a STEM connection. Can students come up with a series of short, easy to do science experiments that they could demonstrate and practise their science communications skills?

Can you invite a speaker in to give a talk or lecture about a scientific topic? Themes like space, the environment, energy usage and healthcare are all of interest to the general public. Get the students involved in managing and promoting the event.

5. Industry / college visitWhy not ask a local business or plant to allow your student group to make a short visit, to allow students to learn more about what they do and what kind of people are employed there? You could also reach out to a local college, Institute of Technology or University and see if you can bring the group to visit their labs, or sit in on a lecture. Ask students to prepare some questions in advance, and set out what they hope to learn or achieve from the visit.

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Innovation / Invention / creativitySTEM is all about imagination and creative thinking. Coming up with new ideas and finding new ways of approaching a problem is an important part of pushing science further. Let students use the power of their imagination and natural curiosity to dream up the science of tomorrow! Here are just a few ideas:

uRun a science art or photography competition uAsk students to design a blueprint or plan for a new product that will

improve people’s livesuAsk students to take an existing product and imagine how it could be

better uOrganise a science-fiction film series for lunchtimesuInvite students to draw or create an infographic with a scientific theme

Logical thinkingSTEM is all about being able to apply a rational thought process to design, innovation and invention. To get students thinking about this process, why not:

uHold a science debating competition uInvite students to create a puzzle and invite the rest of the

school to try and solve ituAsk students to investigate something through inquiry – for

example can they test the water quality in the school pond, or sugar content of a sample of school lunches etc?

uFact checking – invite students to choose a topical question or area of scientific debate, and then assign students with the job of checking the facts. This could be related to genetically modified foods, nuclear power, fracking or even vaccination. Students should look up what makes a source of information credible or not, how to verify facts and cross reference or check out if a statement is valid or not.

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How can we get our students more involved in STEM?There are so many STEM events happening all over the country over the year that students can get involved in – with the vast majority being absolutely free! On www.SmartFutures.ie you can see a list of STEM events on a calendar, or access the STEM events listing poster for schools in the teacher’s resource section. Here are just a few to investigate:

uSpace Week (3-8 Oct 2016) http://spaceweek.ie/ uMaths Week (15-23 Oct 2016) http://www.mathsweek.ie/ uScience Week (13-20 Nov 2016) www.ScienceWeek.ie uREELlife Science video competition http://reellifescience.com/u‘I’m a Scientist, Get Me Out Of Here!’ http://imascientist.ie/ uSciFest http://scifest.ie/ uDebating Science Issues http://www.debatingscienceissues.com uCollege Awareness Week (21-27 Nov 2016) www.CollegeAware.ie uBT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition (12-14th Jan) http://btyoungscientist.com/ uGirls Hack Ireland (11th March) https://girlshackireland.org/ uiWish Festival (9-10 Feb, Cork / 13-14 Feb, Dublin) http://www.iwish.ie/ uF1 in Schools Challenge http://www.f1inschools.ie/uMATHletes Challenge tournament http://mathletes.ie/ uAll Ireland Linguistics Olympiad http://adaptcentre.ie/ailo/ uApps4Gaps all-Ireland competition http://apps4gaps.ie/ uTech Week (23-24 April 2017) www.techweek.ie uBealtaine Living Earth Biodiversity Festival (21-29 May) http://www.livingearth.ie/ uThe Festival of Curiosity (July 2017) https://festivalofcuriosity.ie/ uGoogle Science Fair https://www.googlesciencefair.com/en/ uGoogle Call To Code (ages 13-18) www.calltocode.ieu‘I’m an Engineer, Get Me Out Of Here!’ http://imanengineer.ie/ uEngineers Week (4-10 March 2017) www.engineersweek.ie/

What is Smart Futures?Smart Futures is a government-industry-education programme providing post-primary school students in Ireland with information about careers in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). It gives students access to real people working in STEM careers via a volunteer programme for schools. It is coordinated and managed by Science Foundation Ireland, in partnership with Engineers Ireland, and is now supported by over 200 organisations from industry and research nationwide.

Contact ciara.manley@sfi.ie or telephone: 016073271 for more info, or visit www.SmartFutures.ie.