The Johnson & Johnson (J&J) family of companies in Cork have rolled out a new science initiative, WiSTEM2D, in partnership with JAI. WiSTEM2D stands for Woman in Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths, Manufacturing and Design. The initiative was part of a worldwide pilot with Cork chosen as one of the European pilot locations. The programme has been developed by J&J in the US in collaboration with Junior Achievement Worldwide and development agency FHI360.
The worldwide locations for the WiSTEM2D initiative
A team of volunteers from Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Janssen Biologics and DePuy Synthes visited five local schools in Cork to present the WiSTEM2D workshops. Fifth and Sixth class students learned about diabetes disease and how to manage it, they examined the process of producing new medicines and explored practical engineering challenges.
WiSTEM2D volunteers from Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Janssen Biologics and DePuy Synthes
Following this pilot phase, J&J hope to advance the WiSTEM2D education of young women and girls globally through community-based partnerships to reach over 1 million females by 2020.