Ahead of International Women’s Day next week, PwC Isle of Man and Love Tech have announced a new programme for the island’s primary schools.

Aimed to inspire girls and young women to learn about Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) opportunities, Stem Spark will see volunteers and mentors run assemblies and workshops at each of the island’s 33 primary schools.

Love Tech is a charity which inspires and empowers girls and young women to explore opportunities in STEM, and with sponsorship from services firm PwC, they will be delivering their sessions to pupils over the next two school years until early 2026.

Example session topics on offer will include healthy eating, DNA traits, observing and recording the weather, as well as talks about specific STEM careers.

The schools will also each receive a donation of eight STEM books across age groups to increase school library collections.

Over the last two years, Love Tech trialled its first book programme which saw books gifted to all primary schools in the hope of educating children, teachers and parents on STEM concepts and career opportunities.

It’s now decided that the book initiative is just the start, and a further push on STEM programmes will continue.

Lisa Karran, Love Tech committee member, said: ‘Building on the success of our book initiative and our win at the Awards for Excellence, we’re excited to formalise our approach and develop the programme so that teachers can engage with us directly on an ongoing basis.

‘The launch comes at a perfect time when International Women’s Day is sparking conversations about gender equality worldwide, and we’re proud that through the enhanced programme, we’ll be able to continue the conversation all year-round by providing crucial female role models and STEM education for young people as they begin learning more about the world and the opportunities that are available on the Isle of Man.’