Dedicated Iarnród Éireann trains to be free for teenage girls attending I Wish STEM showcase 2023
I Wish, the organisation inspiring teenage girls towards Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) careers, has announced a new partnership with Iarnród Éireann to secure free transport for female students travelling from Munster to the annual I Wish STEM Showcase event 2023 on February 28th in the RDS, Dublin. As part of the partnership, Iarnród Éireann will put on dedicated I Wish STEM return trains to Dublin, for students departing from Cork, Mallow, Killarney, Tralee, Limerick and Thurles.
The Iarnród Éireann chartered trains for female students attending the annual I Wish STEM showcase 2023 will also feature talks from female STEM influencers. As places are limited, schools are encouraged to sign up via iwish.ie/register
The 9th annual I Wish STEM hybrid event 2023 is set to host an audience of 3,000 teenage girls from around the country in-person, with the virtual TV style live broadcast aiming to reach more than 10,000 teenage girls globally. The 2022 I Wish STEM event drew an audience of 17,036 second-level students from all 32 counties in Ireland as well as from 28 countries across Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and South America.
Gillian Keating, co-founder, I Wish commented: “We are delighted to announce Iarnród Éireann as our national travel partner. This will enable teenage girls to travel for free by train from designated Iarnród Éireann stations to the I Wish STEM showcase event where they will have access to top female STEM role models. It is very exciting to get back to our live events for 2023, even bigger and brighter than ever.”
She continued: “The ethos of I Wish is to make STEM accessible to all and ensure #NoGirlGetsLeftBehind. Our partnership with Iarnród Éireann reinforces that.”
Barry Kenny, Corporate Communications Manager, said: “This is an important partnership for Iarnród Éireann which will see us supporting the I Wish mission to inspire more teenage girls towards STEM careers. This is also a fantastic opportunity, as record investment sees us become the backbone of Ireland’s sustainable transport network, to highlight the STEM roles available to these young women at Iarnród Éireann from ecologists to environmental scientists, mechanical engineers to digital forensics and cyber security experts.”
He continued: “With barriers persisting for female students in STEM according to the recent annual I Wish Report 2022, including poor gender equality and a lack of confidence, we hope that partnerships like this, will help towards accelerating the pace of change.”
The I Wish aim is to continue to provide female STEM role models, and STEM work experience opportunities; to develop policies that address gender differences in STEM after graduation, which deplete the pool of role models; to improve and better inform access to STEM subjects for all Senior Cycle students; and enhance focus on STEM-related careers in the Junior Cycle curriculum. I Wish advocates for engagement in STEM from early years education.
