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SETU’s women in technology event attracted almost 1,500 students and their teachers from schools throughout the region to SETU Arena.

Sponsored by Red Hat, the event held on Thursday, 30 March, showcased the very best of women in technology and sought to empower the next generation.

It inspired and encouraged all those curious about a job in technology and further motivated those who already see this as a pathway to a great career.

Opening the event, Vice President for External Affairs, Kathryn Kiely welcomed everyone and outlined the great opportunities that SETU provide to the region.

Next up was Senior Software Engineer at Red Hat, Rachel Lawton. She was followed by a recent computing graduate from SETU, Dr Indrakski Dey, who is a researcher on EU projects at the Walton Institute. Assistant Project Manager at the Gagamuller Group, Shereen Hamilton and Head of Performance at Servier, Emily Watson completed the inspiring talks before the break.

Afterwards, Helga Bjarnadottir from Cartoon Saloon, and Rebecca Troy and Saoirse O’Donovan from Intel enthralled the audience with their technological journeys, before Dr Amanda Barry, representing SETU and IAPM, delivered the highlights of her research career.

Olympian Phil Healy from Sun Life, who graduated with a master’s in enterprise software systems from SETU, inspired the young audience by sharing how she combined her athletic career with a career in technology.

Department Manager for Enterprise Technology at the IDA, Ann Marie Le-Roux, brought the event to a close with some interesting anecdotes and thoughts on a career in technology.

Prominent companies from the region engaged with the interested students and their teachers about the variety of opportunities in their organisations and the pathways to get there. From their stands, they spoke about the flexible working environment and great pay provided by technological jobs.

Lecturers from both the Waterford and Carlow campuses were also on hand to inform guidance counsellors and students about their courses.

The event was supported by Red Hat, Sun Life, UNUM Ireland, Walton Institute, ServisBOT, Asgard Clean Solutions, Radius Technologies, West Pharmaceuticals, Cantec Group, Medite, Repligen, Intel, Voxgid, Tirlan, Integer, Security Risk advisors and VROMO.