STEM Careers Week will highlight career opportunities in med-tech sector
(Left to right) Minister Sean Sherlock, TD; Dr Sinead Keogh, IMDA; and Dr Graham Love, director of DSE, at the launch of STEM Careers Week in Trinity College Dublin. Photo by Fennell Photography

STEM Careers Week will highlight career opportunities in med-tech sector

17 Sep 2012

Minister for Research and Innovation, Sean Sherlock, TD, today launched STEM Careers Week, the latest campaign from the Smart Futures initiative to encourage secondary school students to consider careers in science, technology, engineering and maths.

From 22-26 October, STEM Careers Week will champion the value of STEM subjects while highlighting the types of careers available to students studying them and the skillsets required to obtain jobs in these sectors. Interested students can visit the Smart Futures website to find out more and submit questions to professionals working in areas like energy, gaming, mobile app development, cyber security, computer forensics, and medical devices.

Questions from students and guidance counsellors submitted by 28 September will be answered online during STEM Careers Week, when panels of professionals will be available to discuss the work they do and what it takes to get a similar job. The site also features previous Q&A discussions from employees of HP, Microsoft, SAP, Cisco and more.

Focus on med tech

STEM Careers Week will be particularly focused on the medical devices sector as a key area of opportunity, with support from the Irish Medical Devices Association (IMDA). “The medical technology sector in Ireland employs 25,000 in over 200 companies, exports €7.2bn per annum and continues to grow,” said Sharon Higgins, director of the IMDA.

“A skilled and adaptable workforce is central to the sector’s future success, with 60pc of companies indicating they will recruit this year. The current skills shortage in the industry has produced a need for graduates with science, technology, engineering and maths qualifications. With this in mind, the IMDA is working hard to promote the Smart Futures campaign and secure the future growth of the med-tech sector in Ireland through its skilled graduates.”

The Smart Futures programme is run by Discover Science & Engineering (DSE) through Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) with partners ICT Ireland and Engineers Ireland.

Elaine Burke
By Elaine Burke

Elaine Burke was editor of Silicon Republic until 2023, and is now the host of For Tech’s Sake, a co-production from Silicon Republic and The HeadStuff Podcast Network. Elaine joined Silicon Republic in 2011 as a journalist covering gadgets, new media and tech jobs. She later served as managing editor before stepping up as editor in 2019. She comes from a background in publishing and is known for being particularly pernickety when it comes to spelling and grammar – earning her the nickname, Critical Red Pen.

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