Teens to be STEM inspired
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Guest speaker Amanda Adewole with onscreen panellists Aoife Glynn of Johnson & Johnson, Phoebe Desmond of DePuy Synthes and Shreya Salehittal of Johnson and Johnson at the I WISH 2021 virtual showcase event. Photos: Julien Behal Photography and Clare KeoghImage 2 of 6
Gillian Keating and Caroline O’Driscoll, co-founders of I WISH, at the 2021 virtual showcase.Image 3 of 6
Sharon Lombard, Director of I WISH at the 2021 event.Image 4 of 6
Jacqui Hurley with Marie Moynihan and Charity Maziki of Dell Technologies at the virtual showcase event last year.Image 5 of 6
Students enjoying I WISH in 2020.Image 6 of 6
A happy student taking part in I WISH in 2020.Today’s the day more than 15,000 female teenage students will attend a virtual event aimed at inspiring, encouraging and motivating them to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).
It’s the I Wish STEM showcase and will feature more than 70 inspirational STEM leaders and gender equality advocates speak to students from Ireland and across the globe.
Speakers set to share their stories and experiences include Mary Robinson, the first woman President of Ireland and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights as well as Mairead McGuinness, the European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and the Capital Markets Union.
Orla Keane, Deputy Ambassador at the Embassy of Ireland in Washington DC will also speak along with London Breed, the 45th Mayor of San Francisco, who is also the first African American woman to be elected mayor of the US city. Other speakers include Anna Hill, Founder and CEO of River Cycleway Europe, a design innovation company pursuing the positive disruption of urban transport sectors across Europe as well as Brenda Romero, an award-winning game designer and Imelda Hurley, CEO at Coillte, Ireland’s state forestry company.
Nicci Daly, a mechanical engineer and international hockey player is among the guest speakers along with Martin Shanahan, CEO of IDA Ireland who will speak on how a diverse workforce with equal participation of women in STEM is a key factor for investment into Ireland. To be opened by An Taoiseach Micheál Martin, there will be five different sessions running across the day, each approximately 90 minutes in length, hosted by RTÉ TV presenter Sinead Kennedy. Also taking to the virtual stage throughout the day will be speakers from leading science, technology and engineering firms including Deloitte, Arup, AWS in Communities, Dell Technologies, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, PepsiCo, Stripe and Stryker.
I WISH co-founder Gillian Keating said: “The I WISH showcase is about highlighting the possibilities of a career in STEM to young female students and having a virtual event means we can extend this message globally. With 15 of the 20 fastest growing careers in the world requiring a background in maths or science, it has never been more important for women to work in STEM to ensure diversity of thought.”
She added: “We want to inspire young female students worldwide to harness their power to shape a better world. Our event on 10 February is one of a series of year-round global activities we have designed at I WISH to impact girls at key touchpoints in their lives. This is only made possible through our fantastic partners both here in Ireland and globally, who are hugely committed to showcasing the power of STEM to the next generation of female innovators.” For more information, visit iwish.ie. To follow on social media, use the hashtag #IWish22 and #nogirlgetsleftbehind.