Inspiring students in STEM
Raspberry Pi® computers, strength tests, aging rooms, and sweet snaring were some of the highlights students ranging from ages 11 to 16 years got to experience at the inaugural Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) day on April 18 in Cook Ireland.
It’s hard to believe that over the next six years in Ireland there will be an estimated 44,500 job opportunities in the area of information and communications technology (ICT) alone, and companies like Cook need to think now about finding the right calibre of staff in the future.
Therefore, we took it upon ourselves to start singing the STEM song to educate those around us about the importance of studying these subjects at third level in school. Staff members’ sons and daughters, grandsons and granddaughters, and nephews and nieces were invited to a STEM experience at Cook in Limerick.
Weeks of planning went into creating an engaging and exciting afternoon with presentations and hands-on fun from IT, engineering, quality, and analytical lab employees.
Students were encouraged to design their own simple computer programmes with the very affordable Raspberry Pi computer. They visited the Cook Innovation Centre to learn about the properties of nitinol and why it’s so important in the medical device industry. They also tried to deploy an oesophageal stent and to snare a sweet rather than a polyp.
For the introduction to all things STEM, I was joined by Tony Mahon, engineering lecturer from the Limerick Institute of Technology. Tony encouraged students, especially girls, to get on the engineering and IT education ladder early and make the most of the exciting career opportunities out there!
We hope the afternoon was inspiring for students and parents alike. A big thank you to Colette McGrath, John Gorman, Dorothy Manoras, David Tuohy, Holger Martin, Alphie Moran, and all the team for bringing STEM to life at Cook Ireland.
If any other Cook sites would like to host a similar event, feel free to contact the HR team in Cook Ireland to benefit from our learnings.
About the author: Alice O’Dwyer, is vice president of human resources and Cook Group Europe, and Ethics & Compliance officer
Raspberry Pi is a trademark of the Raspberry Pi Foundation.
Well done Alice, thanks for sharing !
Thanks for sharing this, Alice. These type efforts are so important for both Cook, as well as the advancement of technology.
Great initiative Alice and team…from the various photos I guess you had no Cook Ireland staff offer themselves up for the polyp snaring?
What an amazing opportunity Alice- I wish there had been initiatives like this when I was at school! Well done Cook Medical.
This is a wonderful experience for everyone!
Great to learn about this, Alice!
So glad is Cook is putting time and energy into showing kids how fun STEM fields can be. Such a worthwhile effort!
Let them eat Raspberry Pi!
STEM is often seen as difficult or boring by students, so programs like these are really important to not only pique curiosity but to keep people interested and involved. Great job!
A truly inspiring event for the future generation of Cookies ☺️
Thank you all! I know how important, inspriring and motivating this is for the “Kids”. I wish we’d have had something like this.
Fantastic idea and congratulations to those involved in organising this
It looks really interesting; this is the future! Congratulations
Well done Alice & team