Students spark their passion for engineering at Dundalk IT's Engineers Week

This year, DKIT served as the North East hub for Engineers Week, which included over 1,700 primary and secondary school students from across the region. A total of 13 events took place during the week, offering a number of opportunities to inspire young students about the possibilities of engineering.

Engineers Week was established to introduce primary and secondary school children to the diverse world of engineering, and this year there was a focus on bringing this message to as many schools as possible. Prior to the official kick off for Engineers Week, volunteers ran STEM quizzes for primary schools in libraries across Monaghan and Louth.

The top teams from each qualifier went head-to-head in the final in DKIT with Killeevan National School from Newbliss, Co Monaghan being named the Engineer’s Ireland North East STEM Quiz Champions. Teams from Scoil Bhríde, Mullaghrafferty, Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan and Scoil Naomh Buithe Tenure NS were named runners up. 

To officially start the series of activities on DkIT campus, 620 primary school attended the Scientific Sue Roadshow, “Chemistry and the Celts”, an exciting and interactive show blending living history and science where students discovered the metals, medicines and pigments the celts used, learned about chemical reactions, and even explored the surprising number of uses for urine!

On Tuesday and Thursday, DKIT lecturers visited primary schools in Louth and Monaghan, giving interactive workshops and talks on bridge building and the use of STEM in the real world. Thirty schools also had the chance to join a virtual lesson called “Amazing Bridges” on Wednesday, where they learned how bridges work and saw some of the most impressive examples from around the world, and closer to home.

Read Next: Speeding crackdown near Louth school sees drivers fined

To round of the week, DKIT hosted over 100 female secondary school students from Louth and Monaghan including The Marist, St Vincent’s and Ó Fiaich College from Dundalk and Beach Hill College from Monaghan Town for the Women in Engineering event. 16 inspirational female professional engineers, lecturers and DKIT students took the time to speak with the students about the challenges, possibilities and opportunities of following a career in engineering. The event aims to be transformative for students who are at a major crossroads in their lives.

Gareth Kelly, Lecturer in Civil Engineering at DkIT said: "It was fantastic to see such great participation from primary and secondary schools across the region. The students showed such enthusiasm for all of the activities and made the week such a huge success. I am confident that with these young people leading the way, the future of engineering is very bright. A huge thank you to our Engineers Week partners Engineers Ireland North East, AtkinsRéalis, and Semple & McKillop for making this week possible and to our wonderful staff and volunteers who gave so much time to help out across the week.”