Dr Edel Healy
Head of School of Health & Science, Dundalk Institute of Technology
The Northeast is one of the country’s leading hubs for the life sciences and bio-pharmaceuticals sector with many multinationals basing themselves in the region.
As Head of the School of Health and Science in the leading higher education provider in the Northeast and cross-border region, one of my roles is to satisfy the growing demand for graduates with the skills for this sector.
It is our priority to share our love of all things science with both primary and secondary schools in the region, with the intent to ignite a spark of curiosity for science from an early age, hoping it will turn into a lifetime passion and potentially a Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) undergraduate.
Connecting through a science outreach hub
Over the years, we have been involved in the delivery of both primary and secondary school outreach initiatives — from the well-known H2O Heroes and Cell Explorers workshops, competitions such as SciFest, campus activities including Science Week to its most recent initiative, a TY roadshow ‘DkIT Loves STEM’ programme, and we are new recruits to I Wish.
This year, as we celebrate the opening of our new state-of-the-art 1,300 sqm science laboratory extension, we wanted to take significant steps to increase our activity, so we created an online digital hub which is all about making it easier for both primary and secondary students to meet us and for us to meet them.
This new hub allows us to share all the latest science news, workshops and graduate profiles with schools. The aim is to provide equity and ease of access for schools that would like to avail themselves of the science outreach opportunities hosted by our staff.
It is our priority to share our love of all things science with both primary and secondary schools.
Training to enhance employability
We have an industry-recognised reputation for the education and training of highly skilled graduates. In September 2023, we are adding a new BSc (Hons) in Nutrition and Health to our portfolio.
DkIT Graduates are renowned for actively contributing to advancements in the areas of pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and environmental science, sustainable agriculture, agri-food, health science, physical activity and wellbeing. We are also involved in high-impact internationally recognised science research projects, which are changing the world we live in for the better.