Mayo students at NUI Galway awarded STEM scholarships
BRENDA Chanza (Swinford), Aine Mitchell (Ballina) and Rida Naseer (Ballyhaunis) were among 10 students at NUI Galway who have been awarded scholarships at a virtual ceremony as part of the Johnson & Johnson Ireland Women in STEM2D (WiSTEM2D) Award Programme.
This marks the inaugural year of the programme in NUI Galway. WiSTEM2D scholarship recipients will receive extensive industry mentoring and leadership training to help prepare them to pursue a career in STEM.
WiSTEM2D refers to Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Manufacturing and Design. The WiSTEM2D programme underlines Johnson & Johnson’s commitment to developing and implementing high-impact strategies to support female students undertaking STEM2D degree courses at NUI Galway.
The three Mayo students are studying general science at the College of Science and Engineering.
Anna Rafferty, Johnson & Johnson WiSTEM2D University Lead and Director of Strategy, Johnson & Johnson Campus Ireland, said: “At Johnson & Johnson, we recognise that women are still under-represented in the STEM workforce in Ireland. Since 2016, Johnson & Johnson has supported nearly 300 female students across Ireland through the WiSTEM2D programme.
“We were delighted to extend our programme to include NUI Galway for this academic year, as we continue to work at building a diverse WiSTEM2D science community and developing a talent pipeline by nurturing and mentoring our future female STEM leaders.
“Over the last two years, we have worked very hard to ensure that the recipients of this award have not missed out on any opportunities despite the challenges posed by the pandemic.”
Professor Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh, President of NUI Galway, said: “As the inaugural students to receive the Johnson & Johnson WiSTEM2D bursaries at NUI Galway, these students are changemakers, making history and shaping the future of our university. We are very proud of our 10 Johnson & Johnson WiSTEM2D scholarship students in the College of Science and Engineering.
“By openly embracing and respecting all the talents in our society, we embrace and respect excellence. We are confident that the Johnson & Johnson WiSTEM2D programme will empower our scholarship students to impact positively for the public good, for our society, our people and our planet.”
Currently, there are approximately 117,800 people across Ireland who are working in jobs that require STEM skills. However, the CSO reports that just 25% of these roles are performed by women, with just 5% in leadership roles.
While there has been a general upswing in the number of students choosing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects on their CAO applications, uptake among females remains low. Figures from a 2019 UCD Study reveals that over 40% of males list a STEM course versus just 19% of females.