DkIT Celebrate International Women’s Day 2024
Dundalk Institute of Technology celebrated this year’s International Women’s Day through the lens of Engineering as the School of Engineering in the Institute was recently awarded the extremely prestigious and much sought after Bronze Athena Swan accreditation. The Athena SWAN charter is a framework that is used across the globe to support and transform gender equality in higher education and research. This application was spearheaded by Dr Breda Brennan, who is DkIT’s first female Head of School of Engineering and was only appointed to this position in the last 12 months.
With female engineers representing just 12% of the profession in Ireland, along with the latest data from the Higher Education Authority indicating that only 23% of engineering graduates are female, the School of Engineering in DkIT attaining this Athena Swan Bronze accreditation is a step in the right direction for the Institute to help address these national statistics and support female engagement within this highly in demand industry.
The day’s event consisted of a coffee morning and panel discussion investigating how the lifespan of learning can support equity for all. Hugh Nolan Vice President for Finance, Resources & Diversity was the master of ceremonies on the day. Hugh stated, “DkIT has inspired learners since 1971. We must now ensure we continue to inspire inclusion. Inclusion can’t be viewed as tokenism, it needs to be at the very core of what we do and how we do it. DkIT has a rich history of cultivating a sense of belonging, however there is further work to do. We need to reflect on 2023 with its many achievements, including the incredible work of the School of Engineering in obtaining Athena Swan accreditation, whilst also looking forward to 2024 with optimism and activism in mind”.
Dr Breda Brennan set the tone for the panel discussion and was followed by Gareth Kelly who spoke about the Institute’s Primary School Outreach, Maryelllen Kelledy voiced her experience of Secondary School Outreach. DkIT has been a long-time advocate of the importance of female STEM school outreach at both primary and secondary level with the aim of inspiring inclusion throughout all of its STEM subjects.
The panel discussion then moved on to the student experience, postgraduate student Mohadeseh Naderi spoke about her experience in Iran and Ireland, Sabrina Larkin spoke about life as a female Mechanic and the panel also gained Industry Insights from Orlaigh Smyth a DkIT Civil Engineering Graduate who currently works as an Applications Engineer at SITECH UK & Ireland. The day’s discussions concluded with Lavina McGahon who overviewed the Institute’s Thrive4women initiative within the community which is there to support women going back to STEM Careers or to consider STEM as a new career option.
