Tag Archives: technology

THE personalised, customer-focused shopping experience that has become synonymous with the town of Ennis is still continuing despite the ongoing Covid-19 crisis. The pandemic has resulted in retail closures throughout the county, with businesses increasingly focusing their efforts online in a bid to meet these new unprecedented challenges. The last few weeks have highlighted the importance of having an online shopping presence, according to Gwen Culligan of the County Boutique in Ennis. While Patrick Burke’s is set to launch a personal shopping service utilising popular apps so people can purchase while still maintaining social distancing. The County Boutique launched its website last year allowing people to buy the latest looks from the comfort of their own home. Gwen tells us they were “incredibly lucky” to already be online when the Covid-19 restrictions were introduced. “We’re selling every day at the moment. I had been spending some time over the last few months putting things on the site, but I’ve been …

BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition have revealed that over the past five years, the participation rate of County Clare secondary schools is 78%. Considered to be Ireland’s premier STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) event for schools, it has been a happy hunting ground for Clare entrants. In fact, Clare students have returned home with a total of 41 awards, which confirms the high calibre of entries submitted across the county each year. BT unveiled the statistics as it called on students across Clare to submit an entry to the 2016 BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition. Now in its 52nd year, the exhibition is synonymous with offering young people a platform from which they can explore and discover the world they live in through the subjects of technology, social and behavioural science, biological and ecological science or chemical, physical and mathematical science. Mari Cahalane, head of the BT Young Scientist, said, “It’s encouraging to see that the majority …

SMART Futures champion and star of Dragons’ Den, Barry O’Sullivan is encouraging Leaving Certificate students to consider careers in science and technology. He is bringing this idea to the fore in advance of the July 1 CAO change of mind deadline. CEO of Altocloud, Mr O’Sullivan is also encouraging leading tech companies in Ireland to get involved with Smart Futures to inspire young people and break down any stereotypical perceptions they may have about careers in science, engineering or technology. According to research with over 2,000 Irish third-level students, conducted by Amárach Research as part of Science Foundation Ireland’s Smart Futures programme, students’ main concern when making their CAO choice is whether they will “fit in”, ranking it higher than other factors like career prospects. The Smart Futures programme, which is managed by SFI Discover and coordinated in partnership with Engineers Ireland, provides a coordinated platform for science and technology companies to reach out to young people and their parents …

Mid-West post-primary school students will be showing off their scientific knowledge at the regional SciFest fair, which will be taking place at LIT on Wednesday next at the LIT Moylish campus. SciFest is an all-inclusive, all-island science competition where second-level students showcase science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) projects at a series of one day science fairs held regionally in the 14 Institutes of Technology, and St Mary’s College, Derry. Ten major awards, including the SFI Discover Best Project Award, the Intel Award and the Boston Scientific Medical Devices Award are available at each of the 15 venues. Winners from each regional science fair go on to compete at a national final, which will take place this year in the Marino Conference Centre, Dublin on November 6. Awards presented at the national final include opportunities to represent Ireland at two international science fairs; the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) 2016 in Phoenix, Arizona and the International Environment and …

A total of  83% of secondary school students in Clare believe that science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects offer the best career opportunity, according to a new national survey. In addition, the survey, which was commissioned by BT as organiser of the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition, revealed that over 83% of secondary school students in Clare plan to study a STEM subject at third level. Conducted through Facebook and Twitter, and completed by over 1,000 students aged under 13 – 18 the survey took in a nationally representative sample across 26 counties. The survey also revealed 72% of students in Clare say that STEM subjects are promoted in their schools, with 65% of respondents believing that boys and girls are encouraged equally to study STEM subjects. Those surveyed  have mixed views when it comes to their potential earnings. When asked how much money they expect to earn in their first year of full-time employment, in keeping with the …

VODAFONE Ireland are seeking retention permission for their infrastructure at Ballyblood, Tulla, but the site notices keep getting taken on them. A letter accompanying their planning application stated, “Following recent repeated removal of site notices in regards to the attached retention application, we have been in contact with the planning department and enclose the following information. 1 We enclose copies of the site notice as erected on 23/07/2014. 2 Letter signed by the local Garda office acknowledging site notices erected etc. The Garda advised if we had similar problems again to contact them, and also noted we did not require an incident number. “Having spoken to the planning dept, we would appreciate receiving some contact/notice, in order to replace any missing notices. As discussed we will maintain a watch on the site notices, however given the problems we have experienced to date, we would appreciate the assistance of the Council, should the notices be missing upon inspection. “Any notices missing …

Secondary school pupils from counties Galway, Clare and several other counties will exhibit a range of exciting science projects in GMIT Galway on Thursday morning, as part of the 2014 Young Scientist SciFest competition. SciFest is an all-island science competition where second-level students showcase their science, technology and maths projects at a series of one-day science fairs held in the 14 regional Institutes of Technology and the University of Ulster. In GMIT Galway, over 100 students will exhibit 50 projects and posters on a range of topics in the life and physical sciences, and technology disciplines. The winners from each science fair will go on to compete at the national final in November. The SciFest programme is primarily sponsored by Science Foundation Ireland’s Discover Science & Engineering Programme and Intel Ireland. It is also supported by a number of other companies and organisations. GMIT SciFest is organised by the GMIT School of Science and the GMIT Schools Liaison Office. Each …

Opel’s new Insignia will be here next month with some bold claims to being the most aerodynamic hatch in the world at 0.25 Cd. It certainly has the right environmental credentials with a sub 100 g/km variant which is expected to be the best seller. The Insignia also promises to herald class-leading technology to the class, with the introduction of IntelliLink, a touch screen powered infotainment system, which will be standard on all but the base model, which starts at €24,995. A new 2.0 litre turbo-diesel with 140 bhp comes in with a remarkable CO2 figure of just 99 g/km and a corresponding 3.7 l/100 km, which endows the car with a huge touring range – something that will suit its target market very well. A higher powered version is also available, with 163 bhp. We drove both of these variants on the launch, but there are also two petrol options, the existing 1.4 litre turbo with 140 bhp and …