Academy of the Near Future and the Cellnex Foundation launch partnership to upskill students on smart technologies and digital connectivity

Dublin, Ireland: Academy of the Near Future, which is an award-winning Smart Cities Education Programme designed for young people and Local Authority staff, has partnered with the Cellnex Foundation for 3 years to develop young people’s understandings of smart technologies and digital connectivity in primary schools across Dublin and nationwide. The programme builds awareness of new trends in telecommunications and digital connectivity as well as supporting future careers in STEM.

Cellnex Ireland is Ireland’s largest, independent telecoms infrastructure provider. The Cellnex Foundation is a Cellnex Group initiative which aims to use technology to bring people together through improved connectivity, particularly those at risk of exclusion.

A €345,000 co-investment initiative

A €345,000 co-investment (the Cellnex Foundation will fund €50,000 every year) will build on the Academy of the Near Future resources and expertise, which has reached 1,500 students nationally over the past 3 years. This new partnership, led by the Academy of the Near Future team, brings the experience of Cellnex Ireland employees, as well as Smart City experts to deliver interactive workshops in primary schools across Ireland. The programme’s mission is to broaden participation in STEM, with a commitment to delivering half of the workshops to female students and prioritising DEIS schools. The workshops focus on empowering communities to tap into the potential of smart technologies to address challenges in their local environment in sustainable ways.

Academy of the Near Future, founded in 2020, is a partnership between CONNECT, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Future Networks, and Dublin City Council to engage communities and Local Authority staff around new and emerging technologies. It won a Chambers Ireland Local Government award for excellence in 2022 for best project in the diversity and inclusion category. To date, Academy of the Near Future has received funding from Dublin City Council under its Smart Docklands research collaboration with CONNECT, and through two successful SFI Discover awards totalling €96,000.

The partnership will draw upon the expertise and know-how developed to date by the Academy of the Near Future programme and bring additional resources to support the scaling of the programme through the hiring of an Engagement Lead hosted at Trinity College Dublin. The engagement lead will co-create content and projects with youth ambassadors and deliver workshops alongside telecoms and Smart City experts to showcase the power and potential of digital connectivity and telecoms.

Find out more about the partnership and details on the engagement lead role here.

Colin Cunningham, Managing Director of Cellnex Ireland, said:

“Connectivity is vitally important for inclusion in our towns, cities and rural areas. Cellnex Ireland works at a practical level every day in ensuring that people are connected through telecoms infrastructure, and we are delighted to be supporting Academy of the Near Future in taking that to a new level. This partnership will allow us to provide further connectivity expertise and guidance to the next generation in areas who may run the risk of being left behind. The commitment to ensuring that 50% of the workshops delivered are to female students is particularly important in ensuring greater representation and diversity in STEM.”

Prof. Ann Devitt, CONNECT Investigator at Trinity College Dublin and Associate Professor of Language Education at the School of Education in Trinity College Dublin: 

“We are thrilled to launch this partnership with Cellnex Ireland, which will greatly enhance our efforts to foster future careers and opportunities in STEM starting at primary level. The new engagement lead we are now recruiting will be crucial in developing a programme of learning with youth ambassadors that is inclusive and exciting for primary school children.  In the school workshops, they will work alongside telecoms and Smart City experts to explore the power and potential of digital connectivity and telecoms to solve some of our most pressing challenges.”

Jamie Cudden, Smart City Lead at Dublin City Council, said: 

“We are delighted to see the expansion of our Academy of the Near Future programme through this partnership with the Cellnex Foundation and the SFI CONNECT research centre. This programme is about promoting the potential and opportunities that smart technologies can bring to local communities and schools. I am really looking forward to seeing what ideas and solutions the students can realise through these workshops and engagements”

About Cellnex Ireland

The business launched in 2015 with the acquisition of 300 sites from Irish state forestry company Coillte, and through further acquisitions and investment now has as portfolio of over 1,800 sites. Cellnex specialises in maximising the efficient use of tower infrastructure through hosting the equipment of multiple operators on its sites, thereby reducing costs for users and reducing the proliferation of unnecessary towers. For more info: www.cellnex.ie

About Connect 

CONNECT is the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Future Networks consisting of over 200 researchers across 11 Higher Education Institutions across Ireland. CONNECT works with over 50 industry and commercially funded partners from multinationals to SMEs to start ups in the areas of 6G, smart cities, quantum, and satellite communications.

About Academy Of The Near Future

Academy of the Near Future is an award-winning engagement programme that empowers citizens to create sustainable and inclusive smart cities. As technology continues to advance, there is a growing need to equip cities with the tools to understand the opportunities and risks these changes bring and how data can be used to tackle key urban, environmental, and societal challenges. Through interactive workshops, citizens of all ages work with experts to identify challenges facing their communities and use technologies to build solutions.

For more information on the partnership please contact: 

Stefan Tonge, Communications and Marketing Manager

CONNECT Centre, Trinity College Dublin

353 (86) 084 3612  – stefan.tonge@tcd.ie