Creating the Demand, Shaping our County's Future

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In April 2024, Longford County Council were awarded €841,290 under the EU Just Transition Fund (JTF) programme. 

The aim of the project for Longford County Council is to engage primary and post primary students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) to foster interest and drive the demand for post primary schools to offer Computer Science along with providing them with the essential equipment and classroom setup.. 

Primary School Programmes

  • Microsoft Dream Space: Microsoft Ireland's STEM innovation and education programme, aimed at empowering students explore the world of STEM and computer science through various curriculum subjects like geography, P.E., visual arts, and more.
  • Ericsson Scratch Coding: promotes STEM from an early age and encourages the students to study STEM subjects as they progress to the secondary level education system. The material provided aims to support teachers to bring fun coding projects into their primary school curriculum.
  • VEX Robotics for Primary: VEX offers educational robotics projects and activites spanning all levels of both formal and informal education, encouraging creativity, teamwork, leadership, and problem solving among student groups. 


Post Primary School Programmes

  • Longford Post-Primary Tech Awards: this competition, hosted by Longford County Council, sets a challenge for fifth-year Computer Science students to apply their study of the subject in the classroom to relevant real-life uses. In December 2024, over 30 students from three schools, Meán Scoil Mhuire Longford, Ballymahon Vocational School and Templemichael College Longford, showcased 16 technology projects at the awards. 
  • STEM Passport for Inclusion: a joint initiative by Maynooth University, Microsoft Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland and the Department of Education that aims to address inequalities with access to STEM careers among secondary school students in socially disadvantaged communities.
  • Ericsson INFUSE Transition Year Work Experience: a week long programme for Transition Year students, involving a combination of programming, a group project and an intro to a variety of technologies. The aim of this programme is for students to come away with a better understanding of what it is like to work for a cutting-edge software company.
  • Dream Big: led by the Advanced Technologies in Manufacturing (ATIM) cluster, this programme responds to the skills challenge of the manufacturing sector, to inspire, engage, and support young people (aged 15-17) pursue advanced manufacturing as a career.
  • VEX Robotics for Post-Primary: VEX offers educational robotics projects and activites spanning all levels of both formal and informal education, encouraging creativity, teamwork, leadership, and problem solving among student groups.