A charity aimed at tackling the issue of menstruation and its impact on access to education in developing countries has been declared the winner of “STEAM+ICE”, an innovation incubator held in Trinity for teenagers across the country.
“Lunar” was developed Righini, Nathan Donovan and Emma d’Arcy, all 15 years old, to support girls in developing countries who can miss an average of five days of school per month due to a lack of access to sanitary products.
It is a not-for-profit subscription service that sells “pamper products”. For each box of cosmetics sold, the charity sends a reusable menstrual cup to a girl in a developing country.
Righini, Donovan and d’Arcy were participants of the STEAM+ICE programme, a week-long initiative that teaches young people STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and maths) and ICE (innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship).
The programme is run collaboratively by Trinity Walton Club, Trinity’s Ideas Workspace Tangent, Fighting Words and Bank of Ireland. It is supported by the Higher Education Authority (HEA).
The final pitch was held yesterday at the Innovation Academy and was judged jointly by Dave Tighe, the Head of Innovation at Bank of Ireland and a former Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union President; Fiona Healy, the CEO of Tangent; and Dr Arlene Gallagher, the Director of Trinity Walton Club.
There were 10 projects competing in yesterday’s final, featuring over 40 teenagers.
In a press statement, Gallagher said she was “delighted for the Lunar team and for all the other teams whose scientific, creative and entrepreneurial spirits have been awoken as a result of this experience”.
“It’s just the beginning for these highly creative students, and they are all truly winners”, she said.
Tighe said the programme represents a leading example of Ireland’s emerging STEM educational future”.
“It cannot be underestimated how Ireland’s continued achievement in science and technology is bolstered through support for programmes like this”, he said.
Sara Bennett, the General Manager of Fighting Words, said STEAM+ICE “has provided an opportunity for young people who come to Fighting Words with a different and exciting platform for their creativity”.
“As with Fighting Words programmes, STEAM + ICE is not prescriptive with regard to ideas but rather provides a framework for participants to apply their imaginations and develop their own ideas.”
