Tech giant Microsoft is to invest €3 million over the next four years in expanding its Dream Space innovation and education hub, setting a target of reaching about 1 million students and teachers across the island.
The expansion will give students the opportunity to learn and develop their digital skills in an immersive learning experience.
The investment, which was announced by Minister for Education Norma Foley, follows the initial €5 million committed to the project when it opened its doors four years ago in Leopardstown. The project had a target of engaging 100,000 students, a target it has surpassed through physical and virtual education sessions.
“We thought that was pretty daunting, and we set that goal for a four-year period. It’s been a remarkable journey,” said James O’Connor, Microsoft Ireland site leader and vice-president of Microsoft Business Operations International. “We had that facility completely booked out with schools coming in every day. Then we had Covid, and what that really enabled us to do was to stand back and reinvent all of those Dreams Space offerings to be able to scale them out digitally. That enabled a much broader reach of students. The team have reached over 130,000 students in that four-year period, so we’ve extended that target or exceeded that target by 20 per cent.”
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The expansion of Microsoft Dream Space brings new elements to the hub, including the primary-focused Dream Space Academy; Dream Space Academy for Post-Primary; Dream Space Digital Academy; and the evolution of Dream Space Teacher and Dream Space TV.
“We have decided we want to continue to expand it because we can see the impact that it’s having on students and the teachers that are going through that experience,” said Mr O’Connor. “We’re making our intention to invest a further €3 million and to expand the offering. We’ve set a new bold goal of 1 million students and teachers for the island of Ireland over the next four years.”
Research undertaken by Maynooth University on behalf of Microsoft Ireland has underlined the impact of Dream Space, with a 42 per cent increase in the likelihood of girls wanting to pursue STEM, according to Dr Katriona O’Sullivan, lecturer in digital skills in the Assisting Living & Learning Institute, Department of Psychology, Maynooth University. It also showed increased confidence in girls from disadvantaged backgrounds who participated in the STEM programme.
