DkIT were delighted to recently be a part of the national roll out of Maths Week Ireland 2022, which has run annually from 2005. After two years of hosting this event online the Institute and their Maths team were thrilled to be back face to face with young mathematicians of the future.

Maths Week is designed to promote a positive attitude towards maths and its applications. Last year over 400,000 people, including 386,000 students, participated in Maths Week Ireland. This year this national event was held in conjunction with 60 organisations including the Universities, Institutes of Technology, libraries, schools, training colleges and employers.

Minister for Education, Norma Foley said:

“I am very pleased to see Maths Week go from strength to strength each year. It is an integral part of the school calendar, and I am delighted to continue the support from my department to this important initiative.”

“It is wonderful to see children growing in confidence and enjoying all the satisfaction and indeed fun that they derive from great maths teaching and learning. Maths is both an essential life skill, and a driver of the skills and innovation that we want our students to experience in their education. This is also a key element of a successful, vibrant, competitive, and growing economy. Maths Week brings numbers to life. It promotes a positive attitude towards maths in our learners that can contribute to their future success in and out of school”

DkIT held a number of activities over Maths Week, these events were co-ordinated by lecturer Shane Dowdall in conjunction with some of the other DkIT maths lecturing team. These activities included hosted talks and events on campus along with primary and secondary school outreach.  DkIT’s Dr Jack McDonnell and Dr Fiona Lawless presented at MathsMeet22 conference in Maynooth University where they investigated discussions around Data Science as a career.

On campus events included Lunch Time Puzzles facilitated by the DkIT maths lecturing team and a student talk on Maths by guest speaker Professor Colm Mulcahy.

Secondary school outreach events included a set of Maths and Data Science talks by Dr Siobhan Connolly Kernan to 5^th & 6^th year students in Patrician High School, Carrickmacross and Our Lady's Secondary School Castleblayney. Mr Shane Dowdall facilitated a workshop on Maths Puzzles in Dundalk Grammar School where there was also a Maths talk by guest Speaker Professor Colm Mulcahy. Dr Jack McDonnell was delighted to host two insightful presentations at Inver College, Carrickmacross examining and discussing the phenomenal employment opportunities in careers in Maths and Data Science.

The primary school outreach consisted of workshops called Maths Selfies in St. Furseys Primary School and were held by Dr David OKeefe. A Maths talk was presented in Dundalk Grammar School Primary by Professor Colm Mulcahy and separately Maths Puzzles workshops were held in this school by Mr Shane Dowdall. Gareth Kelly, lecturer in Civil and Environmental Engineering was thrilled to host the fun filled Maths Detective workshops for 4^th Class in Scoil Mhuire na nGael Bay Estate National School and St. Mary's National School, Knockbridge.

Maths Week Ireland is co-ordinated by Calmast, South East Technological University’s STEM Engagement centre and supported by the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Discover Programme, the Department of Education, and Business in the Community Northern Ireland.

Dundalk Institute of Technology’s Maths Team would also like to take this opportunity to make secondary school students aware of a Maths Outreach activity due to commence the week of Nov 7^th called DkIT Leaving Certificate Maths Preparation sessions.