Science and technology hold out the strongest employment prospects for today’s teenagers, Dragons’ Den star Ramona Nicholas told students at a special event promoting Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Subjects at IT Sligo during Enterprise & Innovation Week.
“STEM subjects are for me the most relevant area in the current economic climate,” she said in a motivational speech in which she confided that even at the age of 11 she was enthralled by chemistry and had set her sights on becoming a pharmacist and owning her own shop.
She and her husband operate Cara Pharmacy, which has 12 outlets, and three Cara Home stores. She said: “I think that the job opportunities that are available out there for those who have a science or a technology or maths background are so much more likely than in any other subject area.
“Science is a fantastic route to go down. I wouldn’t have done anything else, and I knew that from the very start. Today, I really think that the future is in science and technology.”
Around 150 second level pupils from across the North West attended the Student STEM Showcase in the campus’s Hume Hall and talked to IT Sligo researchers, lecturers and visiting advisers at display stands that illustrated the Institute’s varied STEM courses.
Presentations were given by Dr Sheila Gilheany of the Institute of Physics and the IT Sligo team who won this year’s national Microsoft Imagine Cup finals.
The event was followed by an evening session primarily for parents which featured presentations and expert advice about the content of the courses and business options for students.
The STEM events were part of a three-day programme in the Connacht-Ulster Alliance’s Enterprise & Innovation Week, a collaboration involving the Alliance’s component institutes – IT Sligo, GMIT and LyIT.
As guest speaker at the Showcase event, Ramona Nicholas retraced some of her route to success and, along with the Institute’s President Professor Terri Scott who spoke later, pointed up the importance of enterprise spirit, commitment and self-belief in addition to examination success.
Cautioning students against reticence, Ms Nicholas said we Irish are too modest about putting ourselves forward. “On Junior Dragons’ Den, I saw a lot of STEM-related young entrepreneurs,” she said. “It is really important if you feel that you have the skills and you want to do something, that you do it. It doesn’t matter what anybody thinks. You do it. It’s totally up to you in putting yourself forward.
“I think Ireland is going to produce the next Mark Zuckerberg (the Facebook co-founder). I think I have met him already on Junior Dragons’ Den. The potential that your age group has is absolutely just unbelievable.”
Professor Scott said. “Many of the careers that the young people here today will be doing in ten years’ time have not yet been created. If you look at the content of the STEM presentations and the language on the posters, many of those terms and techniques were not even conceptualised ten years ago.”
The event was also tied into the themes of Enterprise & Innovation Week, she said. “Today we are focusing on emerging careers and opportunities and we are providing an insight and sharing the excitement with second level students. Professor Scott concluded by encouraging students to set ambitious targets and not to be put off when things don’t go to plan. “Seek out a coach or a mentor someone who can guide you and help you achieve your goal,” she said.
Caption for above photo: Ramona Nicholas, Dragon’s Den star and owner of Cara Pharmacy was the guest speaker at the STEM Subject Showcase in IT Sligo as part of Enterprise & Innovation Week.
 Sheila Gilheanny, Institute of Physics, Dr Jerry Bird, Head of School of Science, Ramona Nicholas, Dragon's Den and owner of Cara Pharmacy and Mary Hough, Director of Sligo Education Centre at the STEM Subject Showcase. |
 David Tormey, researcher at IT Sligo, Professor Terri Scott, President of IT Sligo, Ramona Nicholas, Dragon's Den star and guest speaker, Glenn Gordan (Charlestown. Co Mayo) and Sean Mulligan (Ballinode, Sligo), research students at IT Sligo pictured at the STEM Subject Showcase in IT Sligo as part of Enterprise & Innovation Week. |
 Aoife O'Reilly, Allanah Granaghan and Shamone Reed, Magh Ene College, Bundoran, Co. Donegal, at the STEM Subject Showcase in IT Sligo as part of Enterprise & Innovation Week. |
 Rita Mhig Fhionnghaile at the Archaeology stand at the STEM Subject Showcase in IT Sligo as part of Enterprise & Innovation Week. |
 Terri Scott, President of IT Sligo, Brian McGloine, Magh Ene Collage, Bundoran, Ramona Nicholas, Dragon's Den star and guest speaker and Conor Dawson, Magh Ene Collage, Bundoran. at the STEM Subject Showcase in IT Sligo as part of Enterprise & Innovation Week. IT Sligo. |