UCD receives funding for STEM workshops for DEIS school students
Posted February 20, 2017
- Three STEM outreach projects get go-ahead with €200,000 from SFI
Maths Sparks is one of three UCD outreach projects to receive funding from (opens in a new window)Science Foundation Ireland as part of its (opens in a new window)Discover programme.
Maths Sparks classes are designed to encourage fourth- and fifth-year students from DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) schools to communicate their thinking, improve their problem-solving skills and expand their understanding of maths.
The aim of the project is to encourage students to take more of an interest in maths and increase the possibility that they will study the subject at higher level.
Suite Science, a project that uses inquiry-based learning to work collaboratively with students from disadvantaged primary schools, is the second UCD outreach project to receive funding from SFI.
Rather than simply laying out facts, this project works by asking questions and posing problems designed to engage students in problem-solving.
It will take place in a specially-designed outreach laboratory at University College Dublin over six weeks.
A third UCD outreach project aimed at children aged 7-12 has also received SFI funding. The Science Apprentice Series will produce and distribute four books on scientific discovery with the Irish Independent.
The books will explore national priority areas in STEM and feature the work and careers of researchers working in universities, colleges and enterprise.
A total of 41 projects received €4.4 million in funding through the latest round of Science Foundation Ireland’s Discover programme. The goal of the investment is to foster the world's most engaged and scientifically-informed public.
By: Jonny Baxter, digital journalist, UCD University Relations
