21st of October 2022: Energia Group,
The programme called STEMreach Sustainability; Our Future, Your Story has been developed by the Calmast STEM engagement hub at South-East Technological University and its expansion is being supported by leading Irish renewable energy company, Energia Group.
The initiative encourages transition year students to engage with sustainability and biodiversity through digital storytelling. Last year, over 420 students from 10 schools across the South East took part in a successful pilot of the new programme. With support from Energia Group, the programme will now be extended to students to schools in Counties Wexford and Waterford including; Presentation Secondary School; Meanscoil san Nioclás; Newtown School; Scoil Muire, Greenhill, Edmund Rice Secondary School; Bridgetown College and Presentation Secondary School.
Over six weeks, students will learn about topics including: Engineering and Renewable Energy; Consumption and Sustainability; and Digital Story Telling and Video Production. Students will also hear from experts in sustainability and renewable energy from the Energia renewables team.
Eoin Mc Partland, Offshore Manager, Energia Renewables said: “Energia is aligned to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and we’re committed to promoting climate action and supporting sustainable communities. Our partnership with Calmast helps us to work towards these sustainability goals while also supporting education and awareness among young people in the South East. This is an excellent and important new initiative which we are very pleased to support.”
“Energia is one of Ireland’s leading developers of renewable energy, and as such we understand the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) in climate action and we see it in action everyday across our windfarms, on our solar farms, in hydrogen production from wind, and our energy storage solutions. We are also progressing 2 offshore windfarms, the North Celtic Sea and South Irish Sea projects. These projects form part of our Positive Energy investment programme for Ireland, creating jobs and economic benefit for coastal communities, and clean, green electricity on an ongoing basis into the future. We’re delighted to be able to help encourage so many students to get involved in STEM and in their communities to look after the environment”
Sheila Donegan from Calmast STEM Engagement Centre said: “STEMreach is all about connecting schools with higher education, industry, governmental and non-governmental bodies to engage students with all areas of STEM. In particular this programme seeks to raise awareness of not only the issues facing our environment, but also the solutions which can be developed through engineering, critical thinking, science and communal action. As a renewable energy provider, Energia is a clear example of that and so an ideal partner for this programme.”
