The Equity Challenge Unit has awarded Trinity College Dublin and the University of Limerick bronze institutional awards for their work on promoting women¡¯s careers in science.

Irish universities made ten applications, including those of the two successful institutions, to the scheme, which was launched in Ireland as a pilot project earlier this year.

Trinity College Dublin also achieved bronze departmental awards for its schools of chemistry, physics and natural sciences.

In 2014, the ECU made an agreement with the Higher Education Authority in Ireland to pilot the expansion of its charter mark for women in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine.

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Since then workshops have been held across the country to introduce the awards process to institutions and the three-year project officially began in February this year. The ECU will offer further support to unsuccessful applicants ahead of the next submission deadline in September.

Ruth Gilligan, manager of the Athena SWAN programme, said that the two institutions worked ¡°extremely hard¡± on their applications.

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¡°We¡¯d also like to congratulate and thank all of the institutions who submitted applications. The submission process is in itself rigorous and time-consuming, and these institutions have ably demonstrated their unwavering commitment to gender equality by participating in it,¡± she said.

More than 130 UK universities and research institutes are members of the Athena SWAN charter. In 2015 the charter was expanded to recognise work done in the arts, humanities, social sciences, business and law, after a successful pilot project. The ECU is also in talks to roll out the programme in Australia.

holly.else@tesglobal.com