The President of the Royal Academy of Engineering Professor Sir Jim McDonald FREng FRSE has today signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department for the Economy, formalising an agreement between the organisations to work together to deliver an engineering talent programme in Northern Ireland.

The agreement was signed at an event marking the relaunch of Belfast’s Northern Ireland Advanced Composites and Engineering Centre (NIACE), which formed part of a two day visit by the Presidents of the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Irish Academy of Engineering. This is the first visit by an incumbent President of the Royal Academy to Belfast since 2012 and marks the first anniversary of the opening of the Academy’s Northern Ireland Enterprise Hub, based in Belfast’s Ormeau Baths.

This agreement marks an important milestone in the work of the Department and its Women in STEM Steering Group, co-chaired by Dr Bryan Keating CBE and Professor Eileen Harkin-Jones OBE. Over the last year, the Department and Steering Group have been working together to develop an Action Plan to ensure that girls and women have the best possible opportunities to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects and careers. As part of this activity and to help deliver high quality programmes, the Department has agreed to formalise a partnership with the Royal Academy through a Memorandum of Understanding.

The Memorandum underpins the beginning of a partnership with Department for the Economy (NI) which will involve the development and delivery of a Talent and Diversity initiative, tailored to the region, but based on the Academy’s existing Welsh Valleys Engineering Education Project.

The Northern Ireland programme, which has a value of £500,000, will bring together schools, colleges, universities, industry, local government and wider STEM stakeholders to deliver a sustained STEM education programme. The aim is to raise the aspirations of a diverse range of young people to pursue STEM subjects and STEM careers, with a focus on engineering pathways.

Economy Minister Gordon Lyons said, “My Department and the Royal Academy of Engineering want to build a collaborative partnership to deliver a pilot regional engineering education programme in schools across Northern Ireland. This MoU represents our commitment to partner with clearly aligned goals and values.

“I welcome the efforts of the DfE Women in STEM Steering Group who have worked closely with the Department, co-designing an Action Plan to help ensure that women and girls are encouraged into well paid and interesting careers in science and technology. This programme is one of three endorsed by the Steering Group to have been allocated Economic Recovery Action Plan funding. The support of the Steering Group combined with our new partnership with the Royal Academy of Engineering means that there is now a real opportunity to start closing the gender gap in these sectors and help grow the economy.”

Dr Bryan Keating, Co-Chair of the DfE Women in STEM Steering Group, added, “I am delighted to see this Memorandum of Understanding between the Department for the Economy and the Royal Academy of Engineering. I have had the privilege over a very long time to help shape, along with others, the skills policy landscape in Northern Ireland and it is really encouraging to see actions being taken forward so quickly by both parties. The work of the Steering Group to develop an action plan this year has been timely, enabling us to provide evidence and endorse activities at exactly the right time for these funding bids. We look forward with great anticipation and excitement to see positive results stemming from this partnership in the very near future.”

Professor Sir Jim McDonald FREng FRSE, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said, “Engineering innovation is vital as we work to develop the technologies that will help us meet our net zero targets and other pressing challenges, and we can see this borne out in the success of the companies working with the Academy’s Enterprise Hub. We need to see higher levels of innovation in more places across the UK to improve competitiveness and productivity and raise quality of life for all.

“However, innovation depends crucially on skills and I am delighted that we are able to sign this Memorandum of Understanding today to mark our collective determination to build on this region’s rich history of innovation. Through this strategic collaboration, I am confident that we can deliver a flourishing engineering talent programme in Northern Ireland.”