Donegal Engineers Week a Huge Success

Engineers from Donegal County Council explain the Engineering involved in design, construction and maintenance of infrastructure such as water treatment works, roads, bridges and housing to students at the Engineering Showcases in Donegal Town during Engineers Week. Engineers Week, the annual campaign to inspire the next generation of engineers and excite students about the possibilities a career in engineering can offer, took place in Donegal from Sunday 8th to Saturday 14th February. As well as the many events around the country Engineers Ireland Donegal Region hosted a number of events for primary and secondary school students in the county. Also on Monday 9th a special visit to City of Derry Airport was arranged for a limited number of students from Scoil Mhuire NS in Stranorlar. The visit showed the children the excitement of working in a busy airport as well as the infrastructure which has to be designed, built and maintained by Engineers to allow the airport to work. On Monday the 9th The Magical Science and Engineering Show was held in Letterkenny Institute of Technology for 7 to 12 year olds.  The objective of the show was to stimulate curiosity and imagination within students so that they ultimately left the show wanting to embark on the many problem-solving and design tasks set by Science and Engineering.  The event proved very popular with young students booking out quickly with over 300 children attending. Students from Scoil Mhuire NS in Stranorlar get a chance to experience the air traffic control tower at City of Derry Airport as part of Engineers Week. On Wednesday the 11th and Thursday the 12th over 250 transition year students from 12 second level schools attended Careers Showcases in Letterkenny and Donegal Town. Over 20 different organisations working in Donegal, Derry and Tyrone hosted stands at these events. The Engineers present at these events work in the private and public sector in roles including Software Engineering, Electricity Generation, Environmental Engineering, Transportation, Manufacturing, Civil Engineering and Construction in addition to this staff from LYIT were in attendance to provide students with information about the wide range of Science and Engineering related courses on offer at the IT.    Local Engineers working in Donegal, Derry & Tyrone get ready to share their vast engineering experience with secondary school students from across the county at the Engineering Showcases in Letterkenny during Engineers Week Karen Kane a Chartered Engineer who attended the events on behalf of AECOM Consulting Engineers commented ‘The Career Showcase was a huge success it provided students considering their career options with the opportunity to meet and ask local Engineers about the academic path to becoming an Engineer as well as the day to day experience of working as an Engineer”   An Engineering lecturer from LYIT explaining the finer points of Mechanical & Electrical Engineering to secondary school students at the Engineering Showcases in Letterkenny during Engineers Week. Noreen Durning Engineers Ireland School Liaison Officer said that “The Donegal Region of Engineers Ireland is delighted that there has been such an excellent response from schools to these events.  The number of students attending over the past few days has been very encouraging; It was great to see the level of interest and enthusiasm shown by students considering a career in Science and Engineering.   Jamie Corry Civil Engineer with Whitemountin Quarries Ltd. explains the use of cutting edge Global Position Systems (GPS) used by Engineers to create detailed digital land maps and ground models to students at the Engineering Showcases in Letterkenny during Engineers Week. Stephen Flynn, Chartered Engineer and Chairman of Engineers Ireland Donegal Region said “I would like to thank the members of Engineer Ireland Donegal Region, the staff of LYIT and the local companies who attended our events during Engineers Week.  Our theme this Engineers Week was ‘Engineering is for Everyone’ and I think the events held during the week really did illustrate to students that this is the case.  Given that women are currently under represented in the engineering profession it was particularly encouraging to see the number of secondary school girls in attendance at these events and the level of interest they showed in a possible career in Engineering’. Engineers from ESB Networks discuss the Engineering design, construction and maintenance required to provide us with the electricity that powers our every day lives at the Engineering Showcases in Letterkenny during Engineers Week.     Representative from Abbott Ireland explain how engineers are designing and manufacturing diagnostic and medical devices to students at the Engineering Showcases in Donegal Town during Engineers Week. John Power, chartered engineer and director general, Engineers Ireland, said: “Engineers Week is now in its ninth year and it is encouraging to see a steady increase in the number of students choosing to study engineering at third level. Engineers are in demand in Ireland because they are essential to the growth and development of our country. In the past few decades, engineers have changed the world by creating the internet, mapping the human genome and helping to send astronauts into space. Right now, engineers are working on innovative projects from solar energy to synthetic organs, driverless cars to virtual reality headsets.” Mr Power continued, “Students of engineering develop an invaluable set of skills that serve as a strong career foundation and it is important that we educate students and parents about the opportunities in engineering. Engineers Week allows us to engage with pupils and spark their enthusiasm for engineering.” ENDS   Notes to editor: Engineers Ireland is one of the largest representative bodies on the island of Ireland, with over 22,000 members. The membership incorporates all disciplines of the engineering profession in Ireland across industry, the public service, semi-state organisations and academic institutions.   Engineers Ireland’s STEPS programme is a strategic partner of Science Foundation Ireland’s (SFI) Discover Programme, collaborating on the delivery of Smart Futures – a flagship programme that seeks to promote awareness of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) careers among young people and their influencers.