Visioneers – a new smart cities education module of Academy of the Near Future – has won funding from Science Foundation Ireland’s (SFI) Discover Programme to support the delivery of workshops to Transition Year students around Ireland.
The initiative is a partnership of CONNECT with Dublin City Council via Smart Docklands. The workshops will introduce participants to sensors and the Internet of Things with a focus on how this can address a city challenge.
Visioneers is one of 49 public engagement and education initiatives which will share a national investment of €5.2 million through the SFI Discover Programme, which aims to improve public understanding of science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) and engage a wide audience of people with STEM topics.
The announcement of the successful projects was made by Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris, TD, who said:
“I am delighted to announce the 49 projects that will receive funding through the SFI Discover Programme. As we continue to live through the COVID-19 pandemic, we are more conscious than ever of the importance of supporting the public to have access to and to understand the issues that impact our collective future, and the role science and technology can play in providing solutions. These projects will play a role in starting conversations about the role of STEM in society and inspiring our young people to explore careers in these areas. I wish all the recipients every success in the roll out of their projects.”
Commenting on the announcement, Dr Ruth Freeman, Director of Science for Society said:
“The SFI Discover Programme is a key part of our education and public engagement activity. It aims to support projects at local level, as well as at regional and national levels, to stimulate engagement and understanding with STEM. Recently, we published the SFI Science in Ireland Barometer 2020. This research enables us to have better understanding of the public’s attitude to science and provides evidence to inform and shape how our education and public engagement initiatives meet the needs of the people of Ireland. These projects will play a key role in supporting the public to better understand the evidence behind challenges we have collectively face, and the choices we need to make in the future. We are looking forward to working with these exciting and creative education and engagement programmes, making the excitement and importance of STEM more accessible to a wide diversity of people.”
CONNECT is the world leading Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Future Networks and Communications. CONNECT is funded under the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centres Programme and is co-funded under the European Regional Development Fund. We engage with over 35 companies including large multinationals, SMEs and start-ups. CONNECT brings together world-class expertise from ten Irish academic institutes to create a one-stop-shop for telecommunications research, development and innovation.
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