The idea for Maths Week originated in 2005 with Sheila Donegan and Eoin Gill, directors of Calmast STEM Outreach Centre at Waterford Institute of Technology. After several years’ working hard to promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths), they came to the realisation that mathematics was the foundation underpinning all of STEM and in order to increase uptake among the public, attitudes towards maths had to change.
Watching a talk by mathematician Rob Eastaway, Sheila and Eoin were captivated by his ability to engage people of all ages with fun, interesting and challenging maths. They invited him to Waterford Institute of Technology to present to an audience of 16 year old students. The event was an enormous success and so Maths Week was born! That was May 2006.
Since then, Maths Week has grown to attract participation from as many as 300,000 people annually across the island of Ireland. It has evolved into a partnership of more than 50 organisations including universities, institutes of technology, teacher training colleges, further education, professional bodies, museums, libraries and visitor centres and other groups, all united with the shared vision of making maths accessible to people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds. Our maxim is simple, yet inclusive: ”Maths for All”.