Students explore engineering possibilities at Dundalk IT Engineer’s Week

To celebrate this year’s Engineer’s Week, Dundalk IT welcomed almost 1,000 primary and secondary school students to campus to participate in 9 events under the theme Transform Your Future. 

Engineers Week has been created to introduce primary and secondary school children to the diverse world of engineering, and this year the DkIT team focused on bringing this message to as many schools as possible. Prior to the events on campus, 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 Aston Village Educate Together from Drogheda being Named the Engineer’s Ireland North East STEM Quiz Champions.

To kick off the DkIT events, 600 primary school students made the journey to campus to attend the Science Made Simple show Who Wants to be a Superhero?, an exciting and interactive session, that introduced the audience to the world of engineering and explored how engineers can work on real life superpowers like lasers, superstrength and flight, to make our world a better place. 

The superhero theme continued later in the week, when The Superhero Scientist Dr. Barry Fitzgerald explored the wonder of science and engineering with 5th and 6th classes from Kilcurry and Dromiskin National Schools. 

A first for Engineers week was the Tráth Na Geist, an Irish language STEM quiz for gaelscoileanna from Monaghan and Louth, where a team from Gaelscoil Lorgan, Castleblaney were announced as the overall winners in the event. 

To round off a fantastic week, DKIT in conjunction with global engineering consultancy company AtkinsRéalis, hosted 75 female secondary school students from Louth and Monaghan in the Women in Engineering event. It was fantastic to have the support from such an established engineering company, particularly when the Irish Managing Director Martina Finn is a proud DKIT graduate. 17 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. 

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“The event had a fantastic impact on students who are at a major crossroads in their lives, by exposing them to a centre of excellence in the teaching of engineering, and the women who are forging pathways into what in the past has been a predominantly male field, according to Gareth Kelly, Lecturer in the Department of Engineering, Trades and Civil Engineering.

He added “It was wonderful to have so much energy on campus throughout the week as our visitors explored the endless possibilities of engineering. With the help of our Engineer’s Week Partners, Engineers Ireland North East, AtkinsRéalis, Louth and Monaghan County Libraries and our fantastic staff and students, we are committed to working with primary and secondary school students throughout the region to have a positive and lasting impact on their career choices and the future of engineering.”