Every year Engineers Ireland through the STEPS program hosts a family fun week to promote engineering and the importance of the profession to children in Ireland. The Engineers Ireland STEPS programme, funded by the SFI Discover Programme is a not-for-profit strategic outreach programme that promotes interest and awareness in engineering as a future career to school students through a portfolio of projects. Engineersweek runs from the 29th February through to the 6th March 2020. More about engineers week can be found at the following website: https://www.engineersweek.ie/.
In Cork City proceedings got underway with a family fun day in Corks lifetime laboratory today, the 01st March. INTENSIFY project partner Cork City Council participated in the event by engaging with the attendees to increase awareness of the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and highlighting the many projects the Council is engaged in to reduce emissions from its social housing stock. Among the projects on display were the Intensify project itself, The Interreg Europe EMPOWER project ( https://www.interregeurope.eu/empower/ ), the Interreg North Sea RED-Wolf project ( https://www.nweurope.eu/projects/project-search/red-wolf-rethink-electricity-distribution-without-load-following/ ) and the Interreg North Sea Region Indu-Zero project ( https://northsearegion.eu/indu-zero ).
Our hosts Corks lifetime laboratory ( www.lifetimelab.ie ) was established in the old city waterworks to provide education to young people on environmental and sustainability issues.
Almost one thousand adults and their children attended the event. Considerable interest was shown in the technologies that can be utilised to help people, make decisions on purchases and behaviour changes that can reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. This has been an excellent opportunity for the INTENSIFY project to engage with communities at a local level and increase awareness of the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.