TrailblazHER™ Celebrates STEM Advocate of the Year Award Win
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TrailblazHER™ at TU Dublin is celebrating a major national award win, with Project Director Claire MacNamee named STEM Advocate of the Year at the 2026 Diversity Inclusion Tech Awards.
The award recognises Claire’s contribution to advancing opportunities and representation for women and girls in STEM and comes just over two and a half years after the launch of TrailblazHER™, TU Dublin’s gender equality initiative.
Claire, who is Project Director of TrailblazHER™ and Head of Enterprise Engagement at TU Dublin, has played a central role in building the initiative from its inception, bringing together colleagues, students, schools, industry partners and supporters around a shared ambition to create greater opportunities for women and girls across Ireland.
Her individual recognition comes as TrailblazHER™ has also been shortlisted for two other major awards, spanning diversity, inclusion and sustainability.
TrailblazHER™ has been named a finalist for Diversity and Inclusion Initiative of the Year at the Women in STEM Awards, recognising its work to create opportunities for women and girls across education, enterprise and industry.
The initiative has also been named a finalist in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Sustainability category at the UK & Ireland Green Gown Awards 2026.
The nomination forms part of a standout year for sustainability at TU Dublin, which has secured six finalist places across the 2026 Green Gown Awards – more than any other institution on the island of Ireland. The University is also in contention for the Sustainability Institution of the Year Award.
Reflecting on the award, Claire MacNamee said:
“Being named STEM Advocate of the Year is an incredible honour, but advocacy is never the work of one person. TrailblazHER™ has grown because of a community of people who believe that women and girls should have every opportunity to see what is possible, develop their potential and pursue their ambitions. Our students, schools, colleagues, industry partners, mentors and supporters have all played a part in taking TrailblazHER™ from an idea to an initiative that has reached thousands of people in just over two years. I’m incredibly proud of what we are building together and excited about where we go next.”
Dr Aoife Blowick, Senior Manager of TrailblazHER™, said:
“It’s fantastic to see TrailblazHER™ recognised alongside so many pioneering initiatives at these awards, and especially among the many other TU Dublin projects in this year’s Green Gown Awards. Six finalist places says something powerful about the scale of ambition and innovation happening across our University. We are proud to be part of that story.”
Working across three pillars – Inspire, Develop and Innovate – TrailblazHER™ connects schools, students, communities, enterprise and industry to create opportunities for women and girls, particularly in areas of underrepresentation.
TrailblazHER™ is made possible through the generous support of partners Intel, ESB, Fidelity Investments, Jones Engineering, PwC, Workday and Enterprise Mobility.
The winners of the Women in STEM Awards and Green Gown Awards UK & Ireland will be announced later this year.