SCIENCE WEEK Ireland, which gets under way tomorrow, will include more than 450 presentations, workshops, talks and exhibitions at venues across the State. It is organised by the Discover Science and Engineering programme which seeks to foster public interest in the sciences, mathematics and engineering, and is the Government's single largest and most important outreach effort in support of the public understanding of science.
As such it is aimed at children and adults alike, with a wide variety of events designed to appeal to the greatest possible audience.
Despite this broad appeal, however, there is a strong bias in the programme in favour of students and primary pupils in particular. Exploding vegetables, rockets and robots all feature as part of exciting presentations designed to captivate this younger audience. The hope is that such entertainment in the name of science could spark an interest at a key formative stage which might develop over time to encourage the student to choose a science subject for the Leaving Certificate and at third level.
The presentations unashamedly tap into a child's natural curiosity. And rightly so. Curiosity prompts questions and questions prompt learning and interest in a subject. But developing an interest takes time and it is clear that educational preferences arise early in a student's academic career. The die effectively is cast once subject choices are made at second level. It is vitally important that the Discover Science and Engineering programme succeeds, bringing more students into the sciences and mathematics.
Current Government policy involves an €8.2 billion investment in public and private sector research between 2007 and 2013. To this end our third level system is meant to double its output of PhDs to match the expected growth in Ireland's national scientific research effort. This is a hugely challenging target. And if Irish students remain indifferent to science as a subject and to the possibility of a career as a scientist or engineer, then how can we possibly meet this self- imposed objective?
The Government views the promotion of science as of great national importance given its drive towards a knowledge economy based on brain power and scientific discovery. The students attending Science Week events represent the knowledge workers of the future and a vital part of our future economic wellbeing - provided they can be encouraged to sign up.