Global interest in iWish

A home school in Nairobi will be tuning into an upcoming science promotion event for young females.

They are some of the 10,000 students who have registered for iWish, a free virtual event aimed at fostering a passion to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).

Hosted in Cork and Dublin over the last number of years, iWish will be held online for the first time on 4 March and speakers include Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland; Anne O’Leary, CEO of Vodafone; Marion Buchet, a French fighter pilot; and Brenda Romero, an American Bafta-winning video game designer and developer.

Caroline O’Driscoll, partner with Deloitte and co-founder of iWish, said: “Our vision, is to ensure that every girl has an equal opportunity of choice in STEM. With many STEM school events postponed and school visits cancelled, we were determined to ensure that despite the challenges faced, this year’s event would be even bigger and better than previous years; that no girl will be left behind.

“Moving to a virtual event is a prime example of the power of STEM – technology has made the event possible and through it we can now reach a global audience and position Ireland as a leader in STEM education.”