Science Week, which runs to November 14, celebrates science in our everyday lives across a wide variety of events involving industry, colleges, schools, teachers, researchers, and students throughout Ireland.
“I see Science Week as a time to promote all Stem subjects — science, technology, engineering and mathematics,” explains Professor Ita Richardson. “Stem is a basis for change, hopefully for the better, and we need girls and boys to consider how they can become good scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians.
“It is very important for primary and secondary school students to see how Stem can influence the world, and that they can and are capable of playing a significant role in this area.”
This week, we also need to be cognisant of climate change, and people who are involved in Stem can really make positive change happen, she adds.
“My primary research is with healthcare professionals, working closely with them looking at ways technology can support healthcare and help make it more efficient. We have seen how technology has come to the forefront during the pandemic — how would we have managed without being able to go online, to talk and to meet with each other? This has been so important for business, for education and for our social lives.”
Lero, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Software, brings together expert software teams from universities and institutes of technology across Ireland in a co-ordinated centre of research excellence with a strong industry focus.
With its research spanning a wide range of application domains — cybersecurity, fintech, govtech, smart communities, agtech, and health — Lero’s overall vision is to establish Ireland as a location synonymous with high-quality software research and development. Lero has a strong education and outreach program within primary and secondary schools, and contributes to third-level software engineering education across the country.
“Lero also has a Responsible Software Engineering agenda, it is important to us that our research has a positive influence nationally and globally. Our members come from many Irish Universities and higher institutions and we have a national impact. We have an international reputation for our high-quality research, which has had a significant positive influence on many industries based in Ireland.”
In spite of the its terrible effect across the globe, Covid-19 has underlined the need for constant health research and the advent of new medical systems.
“We have seen how quickly scientists were able to produce a vaccination, building on research that they had already undertaken. Nphet had many mathematicians involved in modelling and making predictions about the spread of the disease, which helped the Government make decisions about how we moved forward as a country.”
What is less obvious is that software and technology have also played a role in our healthcare systems, she points out: “From a software perspective, one of UL’s Computer Systems graduates, Cian Ó Maidín, leads the company, Nearform, which developed the HSE Contact Tracing App — this has been vital in helping contain the spread of the disease.”
In addition, Lero member Prof Derek O’Keeffe from NUIG trialled the use of drones to deliver medicine to the Aran Islands. Professor Richardson also worked with the Patient Advisory and Liaison Support in University Hospital Limerick on the development of a protocol for communications for Covid-19 patients in isolation and ICU.
“A healthcare change that we have seen happen is the use of e-prescription systems. Doctors can now meet patients online and directly send patient information to the pharmacy from where patients have been able to collect their medication. This could not happen without the involvement of people who have Stem backgrounds.”
While there has been some increase in the number of young women choosing technology and science, and significant work being done throughout Ireland to encourage female students to consider Stem courses and careers, she points to the disappointing reality of the low numbers of women studying particular Stem courses in third-level.
In UL, only 15% of Computer Systems students are women. “There are many reasons for wanting to have women involved in Stem courses. First, I believe that if they are not considering or being encouraged to contemplate such courses, they are shutting off interesting and exciting careers by not being given a chance to look at these courses.”
A national survey of third-level students, jointly funded by Lero and Johnson and Johnson, has seen initial and worrying results reveal that career guidance teachers sometimes discourage girls from considering such courses and that all-girl schools still do not provide Stem options to their pupils.
“Second, diversity in teams has been shown to increase the success of these teams. If there are no women to participate in Stem teams, then they will not be so successful. We need diversity of thought and knowledge to support everyone living in the world.”
Thirdly, Professor Richardson adds, that as Stem continues to have an international influence, it seems reasonable that this would include a female influence: “After all, we make up over 50% of the population.”
Working in Stem, Professor Richardson witnesses technology changing regularly, with her current research focused on how technology — software and hardware — can be used to enhance and change healthcare processes.
“As well as being in Lero, I am also a member of the Ageing Research Centre funded by the Health Research Institute in UL,” Prof Richardson says. “I love the excitement of bringing software engineering techniques to projects in other disciplines. I love working with colleagues from these disciplines, some in the University Hospital Limerick, some in our academic departments - Allied Health, Nursing and Midwifery, Kemmy Business School and the Irish World Music Academy.”
The study includes the requirements needed when developing software for particular cohorts, such as older adults and people with mild intellectual and developmental disabilities, and how music therapy is changing because people can participate online.
“I adore working with students, undergraduates and postgraduates - they demonstrate a willingness to learn, and provide great discussion ideas. And, I love our successes, being awarded money to start a new project, having a paper published, seeing students graduate and having students pick up on concepts that I am teaching. It is important to realise that, with push-backs — of which we have lots — there are other successes just around the corner,” she adds.
Despite the many challenges now confronting the world, Professor Richardson remains optimistic for the future. “There are a lot of very bright people working in Stem internationally, and teams around the world are developing many solutions. There are many young women and men, working in both Stem and interdisciplinary teams, daily taking up new challenges and through their work difficult problems can ultimately be solved.”
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