Toy Show favourite Adam King to feature at STEM South West career expo
Adam King aged six from Cork on The Late Late Toy Show 2020. Pic: Andres Poveda Photography.
Toy Show favourite and aspiring CAPCOM from Cork, six-year-old Adam King is to speak at today’s STEM South West Exhibition to promote careers in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths (STEM) industries.
Thousands of students will attend today’s free event, which takes place online this year, with the opportunity to engage in 1:1 sessions with experts from some of the region’s most well-renowned global STEM-sector organisations such as Johnson and Johnson, Gilead, and Pepsi.
Today’s expo will also feature demonstrations in virtual reality, robotics and astronomy, as well as talks from experts in the areas of construction, information technology, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, electronics, weather-forecasting, agri-technology, environmental engineering, and cybersecurity.
The event organisers say today’s sessions will enable students “to get to grips with their career path options, and with how exactly they can make their career goals and ambitions become a reality.”
Speaking in advance of today’s event Cliona Murphy, Vice President Global Quality Assurance, PepsiCo said she hopes students throughout the region, who are currently missing out on school, will take this as an opportunity to engage in some “real-world learning.”
“The opportunity offered by this event is second to none – I only wish a resource like this existed when I was starting out.”
Marguerite O’ Sullivan, Senior Engineering Strategy Leader and STEM South West Chairperson said there is a wealth of opportunities Ireland’s STEM sectors have to offer generations to come.
“With demand for STEM professionals and associate professionals in the EU expected to grow by approximately 8% between now and 2025,much higher than the average 3% growth forecast for all occupations, the opportunity for young people to enjoy a successful career in the Irish STEM sector has never looked brighter”.
Other speakers at the event include Laurence O'Rourke, European Space Agency Engineer Dr Niamh Shaw, Scientist, Engineer and acclaimed STEM education and space enthusiast, Ciara Sheehan founding member and Jillian O’Donoghue committee member of the WiSTEMCIT-MTU - a student-led society that was set up in 2019 to enourage women across all STEM sectors to reach their ambitions and fulfil their career goals - and Madeline Murray co-founder of Kinsale-based sustainability consultancy Change by Degrees.
Speakers from global pharma and tech giants including Johnson and Johnson, Gilead, Plas, and Pepsico will also present to students.
STEM South West 2021 is being organised by the industry-led STEM South West cluster which was established in 2019 to nurture and promote the STEM Sector in the region.
The cluster executive comprises members from DePuy Synthes – Johnson & Johnson, Gilead Sciences, Munster Technological University, University College Cork, Cork County Council, Enterprise Ireland, KerrySciTech, the Southern Regional Skills Forum and more.
