OVER 40 delegates from nine countries gathered in Belfast this week to discover what skills Northern Ireland had to offer.
The visitors, including ministers from the Philippines and Ethiopia, were here as part of a three-day STEM conference organised by the British Council.
The conference aimed to showcase how Northern Ireland is developing its skills system to create one of the most entrepreneurial knowledge economies in Europe by 2030 and included speakers from Invest NI, the Northern Ireland Science Park, and the Department for Employment and Learning.
The programme also featured visits to Belfast Met’s E3 Campus to explore their state-of-the-art construction and aeronautical engineering facilities, the Industry Training Board, CITB-NI, and the Deloitte Academy to learn about apprenticeships for cyber security.
Other countries involved in the conference included South Africa, Jordan, Colombia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Yemen and United Arab Emirates.
Commenting on the visit Jonathan Stewart, deputy director of British Council Northern Ireland, said: “It’s great to have such an international delegation here in Northern Ireland, especially for the second annual NI Science Festival.
“Such visits enable us to showcase Northern Ireland to the world and reinforce our reputation for invention and innovation.
“The NI Science Festival is a wonderful way to showcase our considerable Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) talent and skills, and is vital for our future economic growth and in attracting inward investors to Northern Ireland.”
As part of the programme, the guests also attended a gala dinner at Belfast Metropolitan’s Titanic campus.