In the EPI•STEM PODCAST Episode 6, co-hosts Geraldine Simmie PhD and Michelle Starr PhD chat with Associate Professor Regina Kelly. Regina is a Lecturer in Science Education, a Course Director of Initial Teacher Education science programmes in the School of the Education and an Affiliate of EPI•STEM The National Centre for STEM Education. Regina shares her passion for all things physics, looking at everyday phenomena to develop an understanding of physics concepts, moving away from just rote learning a set of formulas and definitions. Regina delves deeper into her research interest in the gender gap in STEM education, the lower participation rates of girls in senior cycle physics and of women in STEM related careers.

We hear about WiSTEM2D and Regina’s research into the perceptions of female students enrolled in STEM courses at UL, a project funded at EPI•STEM by a local enterprise, Johnson & Johnson.

Regina reminds us that while the ‘gender gap’ in the science disciplines tends to be viewed in terms of participation and performance, it is a complex multivariate problem and it is also important to be aware of more subtle, gender-based differences in the perceptions, experiences and aspirations of females in the science and STEM domain.

The musical selection is from Ben King, a songwriter and guitarist from Nenagh in Co. Tipperary. Ben is a first year student, in the BA in World Music in The Irish World Academy of Music and Dance in UL. Here Ben performs his own Reggae composition called Warm.