Research Ireland Discovery funding to bring STEM to communities nationwide

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless TD, and Minister for Education and Youth, Hildegarde Naughton TD, have announced almost €6 million in funding to support 32 projects designed to engage the public in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) through the Research Ireland Discover Programme.

UCD researchers are involved in four of the funded projects - Dr Maria Prencipe will lead ‘Behind Walls’, Dr Rachel Farrell will lead ‘Cyber Citizens’, Dr David McKeown leads ‘Dublin Maker’, and Dr Shane Bergin leads ‘Quavers to Quadratics’ with colleagues from the National Concert Hall and Trinity College Dublin.

The Research Ireland Discover Programme is a national initiative to widen participation in STEM. Announcing the awards, Minister Lawless said, “STEM is one of the most powerful forces driving Ireland’s creativity, resilience and future prosperity. The projects announced today will widen access to STEM by bringing wonder, curiosity and real opportunities for learning into people’s everyday lives. This investment isn’t just about supporting programmes – it’s about sparking imaginations. It brings conversations about research and innovation directly into our communities and helps nurture a new generation of explorers, problem solvers and innovators who will shape Ireland’s future.”

Welcoming the announcement and her department’s funding of six projects, Minister Naughton commented, “Today’s funding is about opening doors for our children and young people. By supporting STEM projects both inside and outside the classroom, we are helping children and young people across Ireland to discover that science, technology, engineering and maths are not abstract subjects, but real career paths that they can step into. This investment will ensure more children and young people can see themselves in STEM, build their confidence, and will empower them to pursue it as part of their future.”

Dr Diarmuid O’Brien, CEO of Research Ireland, added, “The projects funded today highlight the creativity and ambition of Ireland’s STEM engagement community, and their commitment to inspiring the next generation of scientists. They are also playing a vital role in helping people of all ages feel informed and connected to the role of STEM research in society. Research Ireland’s strategy, launched earlier this week, is built on the three pillars of Talent, Economy and Society. We are proud to support these partners as they deliver programmes to democratise access to STEM across the country, and help support talent for our future economy and society.”

UCD researchers are involved in the following projects:

Behind Walls: Cross-Community Art-Science Fusion to Increase Cancer Awareness

Project lead: Dr Maria Prencipe, UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science

Funding: €145,065.90

Behind Walls is a cross-community, co-creation initiative that unites art, science, and public engagement to address cancer awareness. Street artist ACHES and graphic designer Cian Ryan will collaborate with local youth, patient advocates, and cancer researchers, embedding lived experiences and scientific insights to create two large-scale street art murals. The murals will be located in the southeastern quarter of Waterford City and the City Walls Ward of Derry~Londonderry. Once complete, Cian Ryan will merge the key messages of both murals into a single digital mural, offering interactive augmented reality experiences that extend the project’s reach beyond geographical boundaries. This digital artwork will be exhibited at the EU Cancer Mission Fair and the Altogether Now Festival in Waterford. Following the co-creation phase, the project will move into a knowledge exchange phase. This includes an educational workshop followed by a six-week science education programme at a DEIS school with a diverse student body. The goal is to empower young people with the knowledge and confidence to discuss cancer, helping them become change agents within their communities. The process will be documented by young Belfast filmmaker Éanna McCana, with lived experience of cancer.

Cyber Citizens: A National Initiative for Digital Resilience & Cyber Literacy

Project lead: Dr Rachel Farrell, UCD School of Education

Funding: €299,867

Cyber Citizens is a national initiative led by the UCD Centre for Cyber Resilience Education (Cyberwise), in partnership with ADAPT and Webwise. It aims to strengthen Ireland’s digital resilience by empowering citizens to navigate the emerging challenges at the intersection of generative AI and cybersecurity. As AI-generated content becomes more widespread and convincing, new risks like disinformation, phishing, and social engineering demand more than basic digital skills. Cyber Citizens respond to this need with a public engagement approach that supports Ireland’s obligations under the EU NIS2 Directive while engaging both the public and policymakers. The project will produce a national Expert Report, grounded in the lived digital experiences of young people and public leaders, to inform future policy, digital strategy, and ethical AI governance. Youth-led workshops and family events in schools and libraries will promote cyber hygiene, privacy awareness, and critical thinking about AI-generated content, targeting 10–14-year-olds, while regional academies and briefings will support elected representatives and public officials in building AI-aware cyber governance skills. The initiative will engage more than 50,000 participants nationwide, with a strong focus on rural and disadvantaged communities.

Dublin Maker - Invent, Inspire, Include

Project lead: Dr David McKeown, UCD School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering

Funding: €330,000

Dublin Maker has been the annual independent showcase of the Maker movement in Ireland since 2012. This free-to-attend, community-driven, event taps into the natural curiosity of the public, drawing them into a world of hands-on, gloves-off invention and creativity. Each year, the event brings together an eclectic mix of tech enthusiasts, educators, artists, craftspeople, engineers, backyard inventors, students, and community groups sourced through an open call from across Ireland and beyond. These makers share their work in an engaging “show and tell” style that sparks dialogue, discovery, and imagination. Dublin Maker's mission is threefold: to entertain, inform, and foster connections among the Irish maker community. By inspiring the next generation of makers and inventors, particularly in engineering and science, the festival plays a crucial role in shaping Ireland's innovation landscape.

Quavers to Quadratics: Music and Science

Project lead: Nigel Flegg

Funding: €56,130.00

Co-funded by: Department of Education and Youth

The Quavers to Quadratics (Q2Q) programme is co-designed, co-taught and co-assessed by academics and students from UCD School of Education, Trinity College School of Education and the National Concert Hall’s Learning & Participation department. Dr Shane Bergin, UCD School of Education has co-organised the project for over ten years, and this year, 50 UCD undergraduates are involved as facilitators. Q2Q is a series of workshops for primary school children, primarily from DEIS schools, highlighting the overlap between music, maths and physics, and responding to a lack of STEM engagement. The programme challenges the idea that music and maths/physics lie at opposite ends of the academic spectrum, and is built with active learning and co-teaching pedagogies. The project facilitates the discovery of links between the worlds of music, physics and maths, not only for the students attending, but also for the undergraduate student tutors involved. It also gives the undergraduate cohort excellent teaching experience, allowing them to practice teaching in a genuinely interdisciplinary fashion. A total of 12 higher education institutions and 8 organisations are leading projects in this year’s Discover programme. For more information on all of the projects visit the Research Ireland website.