It is of strategic national importance to help primary pupils take an interest in science, maths and engineering

SCIENCE: A COLLEAGUE recently complained about the mainly lightweight events populating the schedule during the recent Science Week Ireland (SWI), reports DICK AHLSTROM

The Government has placed science and research at the centre of its current economic development policy, making public engagement with science of strategic national importance, he pointed out. Yet the week delivered little more than exploding vegetables, kiddie chemistry shows and cuddly animals.

It gave me pause. The State spends about €500,000 each year on this gig. Are we getting value for money or is it a waste of taxpayer money?

The Government's main science outreach programme, Discover Science and Engineering (DSE) organises the annual event. DSE encourages bodies such as universities and institutes to organise SWI event programmes, lines up speakers at libraries and schools up and down the country and this year organised a week of lectures that took place at the impressive new Science Gallery on the Trinity College campus.

However, we still get nothing more than exploding vegetables, a look through some telescopes and those chemistry shows, the critic argued.

Is this really serving our national strategic interest? Is this something that will help generate a knowledge economy and turn us into an international centre for scientific research?

Damn right it will, provided of course that we go back to basics and think again about how the thing is funded and organised.

For starters, the development of a knowledge economy really is a central component of Government thinking, as evidenced in repeated statements by the Taoiseach and Tánaiste and by Minister of State for Science Dr Jimmy Devins. Research spending is one of the few areas to escape significant cuts in the Budget, even if money through the programme for research in third-level institutions is running well behind schedule.

Yet this economic shift will not happen without the knowledge workers - the scientists, engineers, mathematicians and technologists - who can make it happen. The scientists and engineers who will be driving the knowledge economy for us in 2020 or 2025 are, at the moment, struggling through primary school and going to those chemistry shows - which, if you haven't seen one, are hugely impressive.

Given the Government's plans, it is of strategic national importance to help primary pupils take an interest in science, maths and engineering, to encourage more secondary students to take science subjects at Junior and Leaving Certificate level and to incentivise third-level students to take science, engineering and maths, graduate in these subjects and then perhaps consider an MSc or PhD.

This takes money and the €500,000 currently being invested does not even begin to reflect the Government's stated ambitions for a knowledge economy.

It should be more like €5 million or perhaps €10 million. This is not throwing money at a problem, it is serious support for a serious strategic national objective.

This is because the process of encouragement starts at primary school. Chemistry shows and exploding vegetables could trigger a lifelong interest so don't knock it, realise the potential.

Also realise that second-level students need to be kept interested and engaged if we are to prevent our third-level departments of physics and chemistry from closing, as happened in a number of UK universities.

An education programme for parents, boosted by a much bigger DSE budget, is also central to this process. Parents have the single largest impact on what a student decides to take at Junior or Leaving Cert or at entry to third level. If they don't see good career prospects for science they will steer little Johnny or Mary towards business, law and medicine, as is the current tendency.

So we are talking about running Science Week events to engage at four levels - primary, secondary, higher education and parents. That takes money if you want a varied, engaging and interesting programme of events.

The second issue is organisation. The week basically runs thanks to the work of volunteers: kind people who book venues find people to give talks and shows, set up exhibitions and open labs for public tours. This is all excellent work, but with a bit of funding it could be put on a much more structured footing.

The universities and institutes of technology happen to be the centres where most of the research and science takes place and all have attracted public funding to support this work. For this reason all should be required - not asked - to run top quality outreach programmes during the week. Look at what Oxford and other UK universities do during Britain's National Science Week. Each becomes a local hub for activities aimed at all four target levels.

Dublin's recent selection as the 2012 European City of Science now gives us a target to build towards. Over the next four years we should increase funding and help allow Science Week to make the impact needed to help bring more young people into the sciences.