About

Smart Futures is a national campaign promoting careers in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) to second-level students in Ireland.

It aims to encourage the consideration of the STEM areas, such as technology (e.g. gaming, cloud computing, cybersecurity), engineering and energy (e.g. green tech), pharma and medical devices as potential career options.

Smart Futures provides resources to students, teachers, guidance counsellors and parents, in order to stimulate an interest in STEM subjects in secondary school and at third level.

It is a collaborative initiative between Industry and Government, coordinated and managed by Discover Science & Engineering (DSE), the Science Foundation Ireland-funded STEM outreach programme and is supported by ICT Ireland, the Irish Medical Devices Association (IMDA), the Irish Software Association and Engineers Ireland’s STEPS programme. Read more about our partners.

Events and initiatives in the Smart Futures series include:

Get in touch

If you are a student or teacher and would like to sign up to the Smart Futures mailing list, or you are a company in a STEM area that would like to get involved, please contact us by email on info@SmartFutures.ie or telephone (01) 6073042.

The medical devices and technology sectors in Ireland are thriving

IBM’s 2011 Global Location Trends Report, launched in November 2011, ranks Ireland as the top destination in the world by quality and value of investments. With a growing multinational technology presence in Ireland and a vibrant and innovative indigenous software sector, the future prospects for Ireland’s technology sector are bright.

Smart Futures is sponsored by industry partners including Microsoft, Creganna-Tactx Medical, Ericsson, Abbott Ireland, HP, Boston Scientific, SAP, Vitalograph, Cisco, Cook Medical, CPL, Openet, Croom Precision Medical, Xilinx, Dell, Aerogen, Storm Sunlife, Shannon MicroCoil and Trilogy Technologies.

Employment in this area, through indigenous and multinational technology firms, now tops 84,000. There are more than 250 medical technology companies in Ireland, creating €7.2 billion in exports per year and employing 25,000 people. All of the top ten multinational technology companies have a significant presence in Ireland.

The indigenous software sector’s exports are worth well in excess of €1 billion annually, while five of the top ten exporters in Ireland are technology companies. The sector is responsible for approximately one-third of Ireland’s total turnover. Since January 2011 over 80 jobs a week have been announced in the sector – this is on foot of 6% employment growth in 2009 and 4% in 2010