Bringing science back to life

20-06-2008

by Emmet Ryan

Science courses continue to prove unpopular with students, but some new initiatives are trying to change that trend.

The Leaving Cert finishes up shortly, with thousands of students hoping to have done well enough to get their first choice course in third level. Worryingly few of these will have selected a course in science or engineering as their first choice.

The decline in demand for third level places in engineering and science courses has been well underway for some time. Meanwhile, the recent downturn in results in Maths and Science subjects in the Leaving Cert indicates that matters have taken a significant turn for the worse.

Not only are fewer students opting for such courses in universities and institutes of technology, fewer students are getting the results required to do such programmes in the first place.

With skilled staff in these fields a necessity for the development of Ireland's knowledge economy, this trend is worrying.

From an economic perspective the need for uptake in these courses is clear cut. The most valuable asset Ireland has now is the collective brain power of the labour force.

Knowledge economy might sound like a groan-inducing buzz term but it's an accurate one that makes sense. Even within the tech sector Ireland is now losing out on the manufacturing front. Several electronics firms have announced closures or cutbacks over the past year. Home-grown businesses have shut up shop in the face of much lower-cost competitors from Eastern Europe and Asia. Meanwhile foreign manufacturers based in Ireland are upping and leaving these shores, moving to these locations where cheap labour is abundant.

The areas where Ireland has seen growth on the jobs front lately has been in parts of the science and technology sectors where it is much more difficult to find cheap staff capable of fulfilling important roles.

Areas such as research and development and software design have enjoyed substantial growth in recent times. Firms are bringing these highly-skilled jobs to Ireland because these businesses know Ireland is a location where the staff required to fill such positions are available.

The crucial factor for Ireland Inc is to ensure that the steady stream of talent required to attract these kinds of jobs continues to flow out of third level colleges.

The only way to do that is to reverse the decline in uptake of science and engineering courses. Largely fruitless efforts have been made for years to encourage students to apply for these programmes, but the change in approach of recent times shows more promise.

Proponents of engineering and science have long used the carrot rather than the stick to encourage young people to take up such science and engineering courses. Now these advocates have wisely added the ice cream sundae to their arsenal.

From an early age the new message being delivered to school children is 'Science is cool' as opposed to the less hip, albeit practical, 'Science gets you a good job'.

Endeavours such as the Government's Science Bus are getting children as young as primary school age to experiment and play with all sorts of inventions.

After seeing this fun side of the field pupils are far more likely to look positively on science the next time the have to stare at a periodic table, knowing that the elements listed before them can prove entertaining and useful.

The timing of this positive message has also changed. Pupils are being targeted at a younger age and the 'Science is cool' mantra continues to be reinforced right the way through college.

Earlier this month Discover Science and Engineering (DSE) presented Awards of Science Excellence to 654 primary schools across the country. In order to be considered for an award schools had to keep a log of science-related work carried out throughout the year. This year saw the number of awards presented to schools increase by 30 percent.

Science Foundation Ireland has also got in on the act, targeting primary school children with a website launched in January. Microbe Magic is an interactive site that allows pupils to learn about functions of the human body and features educational games for visitors to play.

Critically, these efforts to target children at a young age are being built on as students progress through the education system. Programmes like Discover Sensors, which was launched in December by DSE, are showing the practical and interesting side of science to secondary school students. In all 188 second level schools have signed up to the project, following a pilot scheme in 2006 with 45 schools, which aims to provide students with a hands-on education on sensor technology.

Even at third level, courses and programmes are being implemented to keep students focussed on the exciting facets of engineering and science. University College Dublin's annual RoboRugby tournament has been on the go for four years now. The competition aims to make engineering fun and develop practical skills amongst students. Participants assemble robots and then send them into battle against the creations of other students.

All of these endeavours across the education system have one common goal: to reinvigorate interest in science and engineering courses. By continuing to emphasise the hip and exciting side of science and engineering, Ireland can hope for a steady stream of talented individuals to flow out of third level colleges equipped to support the knowledge economy.