How not to encourage girls to study science

What were they thinking? It really beggars belief that a whole host of people in the EU Commission got it so wrong.

Of course, I'm talking about THAT video. If you haven't seen it, check it out below.




As part of an entirely laudable campaign  (complete with #sciencegirlthing hashtag)to encourage girls to study science and think about careers in science, the European Commission released a launch video which was so far wide of the mark that they had to confirm that it wasn't some sort of joke. As one spokesperson for the Commission put it on twitter: "(the) Commission doesn't really do irony".

The video seems to have been removed from the campaign's Youtube account but not before some kind soul copied it and reposted the offending clip.

To be fair, I'm sure no harm was meant. The campaign website itself seems fine, but perhaps a little light on detail. The Commission moved to deflect some of the online criticism late on Friday evening by encouraging their Twitter followers to help them build a list of #realwomeninscience.

The swift and overwhelming online reaction seems to have ensured that the video will live long online as an example of how not to promote science (on anything for that matter).

At least they got one bit right. Male scientists are all tall, clean shaven and handsome in their glasses and white coat......ahem. ‪

Science in the (Curious) City

A series of events in Cork City this month should inspire creativity, spark innovation and encourage participants to "seek answers to life's great questions", according to the organisers.

In association with Dublin City of Science, CuriousCity is a collection of events running from June 23rd - 25th, all centred around the concept of STEAM - science, technology, engineering, arts and maths.

What I like about this series of events is that it is an attempt to move beyond concept of STEM and integrate the arts and sciences.

The event includes a science picnic at the Lifetime Lab; a retrospective of the work of Paul Gregg at Triskel Christchurch; a science rap workshop with DJ Stevie G; a science storytelling event for children at UCC; and a popup cinema showing films from the National Centre for Scientific Research in France.

Most tantalisingly of all, CuriousCity also promises some Spontaneous Secret Science events throughout the week.

You can find full details of all events on the CuriousCity webpage.

Here comes the Science Squad

Fronted by Aoibhinn Ni Shuilleabhain, Kathriona Devereux and Jonathan McCrea, RTE have just kicked off their new weekly science programme for the Summer season.

The Science Squad promises to take an entertaining look at some of the exciting and important scientific research that is currently underway in Ireland.

The first programme, which aired today, featured research from CLARITY at UCD. They are working with IRFU physiotherapist Brian Green to develop systems which can automatically detect collisions in elite level Rugby Union. The data could help to advise coaching staff as to when a player has received too many heavy tackles and should be substituted from a game.

The show looked at work in UCC on a pioneering neo-natal brain seizure detection system and UCD's SMARTLab which enables disabled people who have lost or have limited use of speech and/or their limbs to speak and perform tasks such as playing music or operating computers by using their eyes instead.


The Science Squad is transmitted on Thursday evenings on RTE One. The episodes are also available to view on RTE Player. You can also follow @TheScienceSquad on twitter.

Science 140: Tweeting for #science

If you think you can explain a scientific principle in 140 characters then Science 140 would like to hear from you.

A new social media project coordinated by science bloggers Humphrey Jones (@thefrogblog) and Maria Daly (@maria_daly), the aim is to communicate science in an innovative way with contributors submitting their science definitions, biographies and explanations in 140 character snapshots.

After 24 hours online, the organisers say they have had hundreds of tweets offering explanations on everything from the definition of science to forces to aerodynamics to astronomy.

This project reminds me of a book I was given last Christmas called Tweeting the Universe by Marcus Chown (@Marcus Chown) and Govert Schilling. They tried to do a similar thing but with a narrower focus on astronomical topics (hence the title). Why is the sky blue? What is a black hole? etc.

They faced the challenge of converting what was a popular twitter stream into something that somebody would like to read in book form. A challenge, in my view at least, they didn't really deliver on.

Hopefully, with a broader remit, Science 140 will have more success when they release the curated results of the project in book form later in the year.

Speaking about the project, Humphrey Jones of Science 140 said “As a science teacher it’s always exciting to explore new ways of communicating science to young people and the general public. There is a very active science community on twitter and a project like Science 140 seems to be getting their attention. I think people love that their short contributions could be included in a book. We don’t want all the tweets to be too serious - science can be fun too".

You can find out more about Science 140  on the project website and on twitter @science140

Cutbacks in Science Subjects at Second Level

Some Irish secondary schools are being forced to stop teaching chemistry and physics because of cutbacks to staffing levels. However, those subjects are easy targets because we don't do enough to promote the study of science in general.

According to an ASTI survey published today (conducted by Millward Brown):

• 47% of schools surveyed (151 took part in the research) had dropped one or more subjects at Leaving Cert level since 2009.

• Of those schools which dropped subjects, 23% dropped Accounting, another 23% dropped Economics.

• 21% of schools have stopped teaching Physics at Senior Cycle level.

• 15% have stopped teaching Applied Maths.

• 11% have stopped teaching Chemistry.

• 32% of schools report significant levels of overcrowding in Biology classes at Leaving Cert level.

• 48% of schools say they will drop one or more subjects at Junior Cycle in 2012.

• 64% say they will drop one or more subjects at Senior Cycle.

• The top three subjects to be dropped? Accounting, Chemistry, Physics.

At a time when we are trying to promote the study of science at 2nd and 3rd level, funding cuts are making it more likely that students will attend a school where they will not be able to study all of the sciences. While Biology remains available to most students (although increasingly in overcrowded classrooms and labs), it is only because of its relative popularity when compared to Phyisics and Chemistry.

According to figures released by the State Examinations Commission, 30,349 students took Biology Leaving Cert exams (at either level) in 2011. This compares to 7677 for Chemistry and 6516 for Physics.

While cutbacks in funding are undoubtedly part of the equation, the popularity of these subjects is also relevant. If 30,000+ students were studying chemistry and physics they might not have been dropped as readily. We need to do more to make science in general an appealing subject choice at 2nd level and certainly, cutting availability of the subject is not the way to go.

The survey doesn't go into it, but it would be interesting to see the gender breakdown. Are chemistry and physics being dropped across the board or are they more likely to be dropped in girls-only schools? It would be interesting to find out.

Has your school dropped science subjects? Let us know by adding a comment below

Debating Science

The 2012 Debating Science Issues All-Ireland Finals will be held Thursday, 19 April, at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in Dublin. The Finals, co-ordinated by the Regenerative Medicine Institute (REMEDI) at NUI Galway, will see four teams of secondary school students. 

This is the only All-Ireland collaborative science outreach initiative of its kind. A field of forty schools narrowed to just four through preliminary debate rounds on a variety of contemporary biomedical science topics.

The four secondary schools in the final will be: St. Catherine’s Vocational School, Killybegs, Donegal; Clonakilty Community College, Cork; St. Andrews College, Blackrock and Abbey Vocational School, Donegal Town.

The first two debates, St. Catherine’s Vocational School against St. Andrews College and Abbey Vocational School against Clonakilty Community College, will focus on the moral obligation to explore research with embryonic stem cells due to the potential to develop new medical treatments. The winners of those rounds will then meet to debate the necessity of animal testing for advancing disease treatment.

 Debating Science Issues encourages young people to engage in debate on the cultural, societal and ethical implications of advances in biomedical science. The competition is led by REMEDI at NUI Galway and collaborators include APC at UCC, BDI at DCU, RCSI, CIT, CRANN at Trinity College, W5 in Belfast, Clarity at UCD and The Centre for Cross Border Studies in Armagh.

Danielle Nicholson, All-Ireland Co-ordinator of Debating Science Issues (DSI), said “This cross border project provides a great opportunity for the teachers and students to be exposed to some of the latest developments in biomedical research and also to consider the ethical elements which can be a great hook to interest young people in the science.”

Data collected from five cycles of DSI involving more than 3500 students shows an increase in interest in science as a subject and as a career as a result of participation in the project. This schools’ biomedical science workshop series and debate competition has been supported by the Wellcome Trust for five consecutive years. Provincial trophies and prizes are provided by Abbott Ireland, Boston Scientific, Merck- Millipore and Pfizer Ireland.

Every year the project has evolved and has responded to the feedback gathered continuously throughout the project. This year a new Topic Guide on rare diseases was introduced and a dedicated website has been developed, www.debatingscienceissues.com

Demand for science courses up

Image: BT

The good news this morning is that figures just released by the Central Applications Office (the body that administrates college applications in Ireland) show that interest in science courses has increased significantly.

The figures show that the number of students expressing a first preference for science courses is up by 18.5% on last year and a whopping 60% over the last five years.

While it's encouraging to see such demand for science courses, it's possible, as reported by the Irish Times, that such a demand could put 'upward pressure' on the points required to study some of these popular science courses. For example, in 2006 you could study science at UCD for 300 points. Last year, that figure had reached 455.

In total, there were 71,648 CAO applications this year; up slightly on 2011.

It is more important than ever that we invest in science teaching and training at third-level to provide the courses (and places in numbers) that CAO applicants are looking for after heeding the many calls from government ministers, industry leaders and science advocates.

Like other sectors, Higher Education is being asked to do more with less. Everyone accepts that value for money needs to be an important consideration, but missing this chance to take advantage of swelling interest in science and technology courses would not do anybody any good. Without significant and sustained investment, this will be a wasted opportunity.

Women in Science and Technology

To mark International Women's Day, five leading women in science and technology will encourage young students to "walk in their stilettos" and see what a modern day scientific career is really like.

In a new video produced by Women in Technology and Science (WITS), the women share insights to their careers, which vary from evolutionary genetics, marine engineering and pharmaceutical research, as well as challenge the gender stereotype of a scientist being ‘a man in a white coat working in a lab’.

Participants include Prof. Dervilla Donnelly, a research chemist; Dr. Aoife McLysaght an evolutionary genetisist and Lt. Cmdr. Niamh Ní Fhátharta, a marine engineer with the Irish Navy.

Speaking at the launch of the film, Sadhbh McCarthy, Chairperson of WITS said: “Science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) is crucial to the recovery of Ireland’s economy and there is ample opportunity for graduates of these subjects.  A lack of diversity in any industry will hamper innovation and advancement so challenging the stereotypes and narrow notions of what a scientist is and what scientific research actually involves is therefore essential.

“Opportunities in science are constantly evolving and there are many Irish people at the forefront of these exciting developments.  As Aoife put it in the film we have launched today, ‘your future career might not even exist today’, highlighting the pace at which these industries move.  I hope that this film will inspire more girls to view a career in STEM as a fulfilling and exciting one worth considering.”