THE winner of the prestigious Women in Innovation award has unveiled a special Purple Plaque at her former West Belfast school, inspiring more girls to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Dr Roisin Molloy is the CEO and co-founder of West Belfast business TriMedika Ltd; an innovative high performance medical sensor technology company, supplying the most accurate hospital grade non-contact thermometers to 22 countries, and used in over 1,000 hospitals worldwide.
Roisin attended her former school, St Dominic’s Grammar School, for the special unveiling of the Purple Plaque, giving a motivating speech to pupils and sharing her inspirational journey in the world of STEM.
Dr Roisin Molloy sharing wisdom with St Dominic's English students
There are at least 900 plaques in London alone, celebrating the achievements of influential and pioneering figures. Yet, women feature on fewer than one-in-seven of them.
TriMedika CEO, Dr Roisin Molloy, said: “As a female entrepreneur, one of the biggest barriers to overcome was establishing credibility, in a market sector that does not embrace change, both from a female leadership perspective and new technology within healthcare. Being a mentor to the younger female generation is extremely important to me, to ensure female voices are amplified and empowered within STEM subjects and drive them towards entrepreneurship.”
Dr Roisin Molloy with Principal of St Dominic's Orla O'Neill, Co-Founder of TriMedika Ltd Julie Brien, Alayne Kinver of Innovate UK and staff from Trimedika Ltd staff and St Dominic's
St Dominic’s Grammar School Principal, Mrs Orla O’Neill, said: “St Dominic’s were delighted to see Roisin back in her alma mater to unveil the Purple Plaque that now takes pride of place in the school. Roisin was one of only 20 female entrepreneurs to be recognised for her work with a Innovate UK ‘Women in Innovation Award’. As part of the plaque scheme Roisin is a role model for young girls to get into STEM.
“During her visit she presented to a group of Year 11 students and her motivational talk has inspired them to research and develop their skills around STEM. STEM and its promotion is an important aspect of our school development and we are absolutely delighted that Roisin, a past pupil, is leading the way in this area. We look forward to working with Roisin in the future to further embed STEM within our curriculum. It was lovely to welcome her back and to share in her recent successes. Congratulations Roisin.”
Alayne Kinver, Innovate UK said: “Innovate UK is the UK’s national innovation agency, which launched Women in Innovation in 2016. The award programme empowers women business leaders like Roisin Molloy to develop commercially successful solutions to major social, environmental, and economic challenges.”
