The six Irish Science ambassadors at the launch of the Science Communications Bus at the Mansion House Dublin
The countdown to the Dublin City of Science 2012 has officially begun with the unveiling of six young Irish science ambassadors who will travel across Europe this summer on a specially commissioned Science Communications Bus.
The Bus will visit a number of European cities to promote Dublin City of Science 2012. This will include a five day visit to Turin, the 2010 European City of Science, to co-incide with the highpoint of the city’s science celebrations which take place from 2nd – 7th July.
The trip was launched by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr Emer Costello and the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation Batt O’Keeffe TD today at Dublin’s Mansion House. Organised by Discover Science & Engineering in partnership with Fáilte Ireland, Dublin City Council and the Office of the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government, the Science Communications Bus will leave Dublin on 20th July and visit Liverpool, Brussels and Amsterdam before arriving in Turin to join the City of Science 2010 celebrations.
On leaving Turin it will visit Toulouse and Barcelona before arriving back in Dublin on 14th July. The science ambassadors will visit a number of centres of scientific interest in each city.
They will report on their experiences using social media tools such as Twitter, blogging and YouTube particularly highlighting the quality and excellence of Irish scientists and engineers working in Europe via the Dublin City of Science 2012 website www.dublinscience2012.ie. They will also promote Dublin as the 2012 City of Science in each city that they visit.
The Bus will be a fully equipped mobile media unit with a satellite broadband connection and laptops to enable the students to upload blogs, pictures, video, and interviews.
Additionally, when stationary a branded awning will extend from the side of the Bus to shelter a fenced off exhibition area with tables, chairs and a wide-screen TV for the playing of promotional DVDs which will promote Ireland as a destination and Dublin as the 2012 City of Science.
Dublin City of Science will consist of a year-long programme of science events, with approximately 6,000 international delegates expected the Euroscience Conference in Dublin in July 2012.
According to Fáilte Ireland’s 2009 research, the value of an average international delegate is nearly three times that of a leisure visitor and therefore this conference which is expected to be worth over €9 million in terms of tourism alone to the national economy, will bring together leading scientists and public policy officials to address global issues including energy, climate change, food and health.
It will also serve to showcase Dublin’s long heritage in science, technology, engineering and maths and highlight the capital as an international conference destination. Fáilte Ireland reports that on average each delegate will spend nearly three extra days in Ireland and 28% of them will be accompanied by a partner or friend.
Commenting on the initiative, Batt O’Keeffe T.D., Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation said, “Dublin European City of Science 2012 will showcase Ireland’s strong focus on science and the ’Smart‘ economy as the Government seeks to transform our nation into a global innovation hub.
In implementing the recommendations of the Innovation Taskforce, the Government’s overwhelming focus is on driving innovation by supporting ideas, technology and processes that have commercial potential and can ultimately create jobs.
The well-equipped high-tech Science Communications Bus will capture the strong innovation ethos in our higher education institutions and showcase it to industry leaders and other experts in some of Europe’s top cities.
Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, T.D., Batt O'Keeffe and Caitriona Geraghty enjoying the state of the art Science Communications Bus
The Dublin European City of Science 2012 project will encourage our young people to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and maths, as well as set a new context for indigenous firms to embrace innovation and for multinationals to locate or expand their operations here”.
Cllr Emer Costello, Lord Mayor of Dublin, added, “Dublin has a long heritage in science, technology, engineering and maths, which we are often quick to forget. William Hamilton’s discovery of quaternions in mathematics are indispensible for computer graphics and today a physics engine developed by Havok, a world renowned Irish computer software company spun out of Trinity College Dublin, is used in some of the world’s biggest selling video games. This is but one of the many examples of innovation across Ireland and Dublin City of Science 2012 will underline our position at the heart of cutting-edge research.”
The science ambassadors come from a range of backgrounds including teaching, science communications and include a number of third level students:
Michelle Dunne
Michelle (34) is a secondary school science and chemistry teacher in St. Joseph’s College, Presentation Convent, Lucan, Co. Dublin. She is well travelled, incorporating her experiences into her science lessons in order to inspire her students. Michelle recently mentored groups of students at SciFest 2010 at Blanchardstown Institute of Technology, where they collected eight awards. Her students in St. Josephs also achieved success in the 2010 BT Young Scientist and Technology exhibition where they won a Highly Commended and Best Display award.
Martin McKenna
Martin McKenna (23) is a Biochemistry student in Trinity College Dublin and hopes to pursue a career in Science Communications once he completes his studies. In addition to pursuing his Biochemistry degree, Martin has combined his studies with his other passion, journalism. He earned a professional qualification in photography from Kulturama College, Stockholm, Sweden and also spent a year as editor of Trinity News. In a personal capacity, he also runs www.lunchblock.ie
Dara Boland
Dara (22) has just completed a BSc in Marketing, Innovation and Technology at Dublin City University. He has a passion for all things ‘hi-tech’ and travelling, so the project represented the perfect opportunity for him. A natural communicator, he has performed on stage in the O2, the Odyssey arena and the Helix theatre. He hopes to combine this with his new media skills to help promote Dublin as the City of Science 2012.
Caitriona Geraghty
Caitriona (27) currently works for Engineers Ireland as a “STEPS to engineering Executive”. STEPS to engineering aims to encourage primary and post primary students to explore the world of science and engineering. Her knowledge and experience will allow her to communicate Ireland and its various science initiatives in a very positive light to the science enthusiasts in the various European cities.
Ellen Byrne
Ellen (25) got hooked on all things science, engineering and mathematical after witnessing an onion cell explode under a microscope in a primary school in Co Wicklow. The event ignited her enthusiasm and passion for exploring and learning and has fuelled her career to date as a science communicator. Ellen believes that the exponential growth and adoption of social media, blogging and internet TV has led to a practical but very exciting method for engaging several key science audiences.
Ronan Lyne
Ronan (24) is a Neuroscience student in Trinity College Dublin and also works part-time in the Science Gallery. He is a regular contributor to the science section of the Trinity News and also presented a series of promotional shorts for RTE for the BT Young Scientist Exhibition 2010. After he completes his Neuroscience degree, Ronan would like to move into research or medicine.
