From left: Met Éireann head of forecasting Evelyn Cusack, Minister Simon Harris, TD, and SFI director general Prof Philip Nolan. Image: Julien Behal Photography
The annual SFI celebration returns with hundreds of events across Ireland, exploring key themes such as sustainable living, mental health and digital technology.
Science Week is back in action this month, with in-person and virtual events designed to get people thinking around Ireland.
Organised by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), the celebration will see events taking place nationwide from Sunday 13 November to Sunday 20 November. Most of the events will be free to join, but registration may be required.
There will be 19 regional Science Week festivals taking place across the country, with events in Cork, Galway, Dublin, Tipperary, Mayo, Sligo, Kerry, Wexford and more.
Some highlight events include Bias from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, which aims to encourage national dialogue and debate around inequality in women’s health and research.
Meanwhile, a theatre performance will combine art and science to explore our relationship with AI. It will be a Shakespeare production in Irish Sign Language, that incorporates machine vision and translation, in collaboration with deaf theatre makers in Ireland.
Infinite possibilities
Science Week 2021 partnered with the Government’s Creating Our Future campaign. Launched last year, this campaign encouraged people to submit their ideas for science and research to build a better society for the future.
This year’s theme is infinite possibilities, which was developed as a result of the findings of the Government campaign.
“We are focusing on key themes that we know the public is concerned about such as sustainable living, mental health and digital technologies,” said SFI director general Prof Philip Nolan. “Science Week is a fantastic opportunity for people all over Ireland to discover and engage with science.”
Speaking at the launch of Science Week 2022, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Innovation and Science Simon Harris, TD, said it is “fantastic” to see the conversations from the Creating Our Future campaign continue in new events this year.
“As we consider the role that science plays in all of our lives, and how it affects our future, Science Week provides us with an opportunity to engage with science in informative and creative ways,” Harris said.
“I would encourage everyone to get involved, attending Science Week events and use your voice to help us overcome the challenges our country and our world faces.”
For a full list of the events, workshops and talks across the country, visit the Science Week website.
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