New awards to recognise STEM leaders in south west
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Sharon Corcoran, Director of Economic Development & Tourism at Cork County Council; Bob Savage, Dell Technologies; Mary Good, Chairperson of STEM SW and Mairead Cummins of PM Group at the launch of STEM South West Awards. Photos: Brian LougheedImage 2 of 6
Rebecca Cronin, Fastnet, Paul Sheehan, Qualcomm and Doireann O'Riordan, Fastnet.Image 3 of 6
Alan Bateman, Johnson & Johnson and Mary O'Driscoll, Mary O'Driscoll Stratetic Consulting.Image 4 of 6
Mairead Cummins, Paula Byrne-Cody and Grace Glasheen, PM Group.Image 5 of 6
Ingrid Seim, Avenues Consulting and Coaching and Angela Smiddy, Insightful Works.Image 6 of 6
Klaudis Prys, Olivia Sheehan and Claire O'Connor, WITS Ireland.Entries are now open for a new awards initiative recognising the achievements of those working in the south west’s thriving STEM sectors.
The inaugural STEM South West Awards invites STEM leaders in industry, education, and the community to showcase their various programmes and initiatives.
With over 75,000 people working in STEM sectors in the south west of Ireland, one of the key goals of the awards is to actively support the future talent pipeline and STEM growth strategy in the region.
The initiative was launched by European Commissioner nominee Michael McGrath TD; Bob Savage, CIO (EMEA) and Cork Site Lead, Dell Technologies; and Mary Good, Chair STEM South West and Managing Director of Advanced Medical Services at Cork County Hall.
STEM South West, which represents over 50 companies employing thousands of people, will accept entries to the awards up until 20 until September.
Winners will be decided by an independent judging panel, led by Bob Savage, and will be announced at an Awards Ceremony on November 21st.
The awards are divided into three main categories. The first is called STEM in Industry: Company of the Year, which includes small/start-up, small to medium, and large companies. The second category is STEM in Education: Educational Initiative of the Year, which includes primary, secondary, and third level. And finally, STEM in the Community: Transition Year, Challenge of the Year.
Launching the Awards, Michael Minister McGrath said they will provide an opportunity to recognise and celebrate the growth of STEM in the south west region.
“STEM plays such an important role in the economy of our region, which is home to a wide range of industries, from pharma and life sciences, to engineering and technology,” said the minister.
He added: “STEM South West brings together a wide variety of stakeholders including universities, local government, both SME and multinational employers, and state agencies to facilitate skills training. There are now more than 250k people enrolled in publicly funded higher education colleges in Ireland.”
Mary Good, Chairperson of STEM South West, said: “We are calling on companies, schools, and educational institutes that are directly engaged in supporting the development of STEM subject study and career development to enter.
“The Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN) forecasts that 21,000 additional jobs will be created by 2027. To support Ireland's important and fast-growing Biopharma sector as just one example of a sector set to grow in future years, nurturing and developing a robust talent STEM pipeline is fundamental to future economic performance,” added Ms Good.
With Cork set to become the fastest-growing region under the Project 2040 plan, STEM South West say the region (Cork and Kerry) is a place where opportunity meets talent, particularly in STEM.
Bob Savage, Chair of the Judging Panel for the STEM South West Awards, said: “Cork and the greater South West region now employs over 75,000 people in STEM businesses. It is an integral part of our local economy and has consistently grown over the past 40 years to become the region’s largest employer. We must continue to develop and recognise initiatives that support the growth of this crucial industry sector for the future.”