IT Tralee has been awarded funding of €25,500 by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) to host the 2019 Kerry Science Festival. The Kerry Science Festival themed “A Prospective on Climate Change” will inform how science can inspire and enable people to act positively to mitigate climate change and will include a programme of free public engagement events, community talks, exhibitions, shows and school workshops.

In total, 13 regional festivals and 13 individual events are supported by Science Foundation Ireland for Science week 2019 aimed at improving public understanding of science and technology

Commenting on the announcement, Professor Joseph Walsh, Head of School of STEM at IT Tralee said, ‘The goal of the 2019 Kerry Science Festival is to demonstrate how science can be used to effect climate control and its importance for the future wellbeing of the world. The Festival will include a number of events that showcase climate science and the bio-economy and will be targeted as much for adults as it will be for school goers in order to address what could be regarded as cultural issue surrounding climate control’

An IT Tralee initiative, the Kerry Science Festival involves the widest possible participation by Enterprises/Organisations/Associations/Communities, with partners representing education and industry across Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) from the Kerry region area involved in developing the agenda for the Festival.

Highlights for the Kerry Science Week 2019 will include:

• ACE eLearning: Reducing our Carbon Footprint – Agricultural Centre of Excellence / VR-Immersive Learning 
• Climate Smart Careers Exhibition - Kerry SciTech Exhibition/ Career day.
• STEM in Explaining Climate Change and Flooding - Met Eireann Station with Collaiste na Sceillige in Cahirciveen / Demonstration of STEM Equipment.
• Keeping them Alive - STEM in the Aquarium -  Dingle Oceanworld / Tour
• STEM in the Electric Car- Kostal / Illustrated Talk and Demonstration
• STEM on the Modern Farm – Dairymaster & North and South Kerry Farmers / Tour
• Virtual reality Climate Change Experience – IMaR Research Centre / VR tour
• Climate Change Showcase Event – IT Tralee / Demonstrations & Family entertainment

Companies operating in the STEM sector involved with climate change are encouraged to organise their own events which showcase how they mitigate climate change. If you are interested in hosting such an event please contact Dr Noel Mulligan, Head of Department at IT Tralee by emailing noel.mulligan@staff.ittralee.ie.

Aoife O’Brien, Programme Manager for Kerry SciTech, a not-for-profit organisation established to showcase science and technology employers and jobs in Kerry will host a STEM Careers fair as part of the Festival ‘With over 70 sci-tech companies in the Kerry region, spanning a range of sectors such as manufacturing technology, fintech, biotech and agritech there has never been a better time for a career in STEM. Our companies are hungry for talent, with an estimated 180 new jobs being created in 2020. We are therefore delighted to be involved with the Kerry Science Festival and look forward to participating in this event and highlighting the breadth of opportunity available in our thriving sci-tech sector’

A full schedule of events for the Kerry Science Festival will be published in the coming weeks. Details and bookings for all events will be available www.kerryscience.com. Events are free, however many will require registration as places on interactive workshops are limited.