Engineering School hosts lab demos and workshops for schools as part of Engineers Week
Students and staff in the GMIT School of Engineering are hosting a series of laboratory demonstrations and workshops for secondary and primary school pupils, week commencing Monday, 4 March, as part of Engineers Week.
The events are for Leaving Certificate and Transition Year students, and primary pupils (2nd to 6th class) who will learn about the wide variety of career opportunities in Engineering disciplines while taking part in these events.
Students in the Dept of Building & Civil Engineering are hosting workshops and laboratory demonstrations on Friday 8 March from 10am to 12 noon. Second-year students from the B. Eng in Software and Electronic Engineering programme will be running workshops in the programming language Scratch over several days. Students in the Dept of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering are offering a look behind the scenes at how everyday things are designed and manufactured. This workshop is suited to students with an interest in a career in Mechanical, Energy, Manufacturing, Biomedical or Agricultural engineering.
“The week-long festival of nationwide events celebrates the world of Engineering in Ireland. Engineering touches every part of our lives and offers young people the chance to make a positive difference to the world in which we live. A recent report by Engineers Ireland stated that there are not enough engineers with the necessary skills to meet demand in the medium term which means that there are plenty of job opportunities for engineering graduates. Shortages of engineers restricts business growth, competitiveness and the delivery of key projects,” says Shane Newell, lecturer in the Building & Civil Dept, GMIT.
“It’s a great opportunity to find out what civil engineering is about and what kinds of subjects are studied in this engineering discipline. It will also give pupils a flavor of what they can expect as a student of civil engineering in GMIT.” adds Mr Newell.
Students in the Dept of Electronic & Electrical Engineering will host Scratch workshops for pupils in Gaelscoil Dara and Creagh NS. The GMIT electronics students will also run workshops in neighbouring Mervue schools St Michael’s NS and Holy Trinity NS.
Natasha Rohan, Lecturer in the Dept of Electronic & Electrical Engineering, says: “This year we plan to deliver the workshops to 130 children. It’s great to see the children have so much fun programming, and in the process learn to think creatively, reason systematically and work together. Many thanks to our fantastic student tutors!”
Feedback last year from Aine Bleahene, Science Co-ordinator with Creagh NS, says "By all accounts the workshop was educational, fun, interactive and exciting. In fact, most of the children rated it as one of their best days ever in school."
Dr Paul Fahy, lecturer in the Dept of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, says, “As engineers we find solutions to everyday problems, so we have planned live demonstrations on the use of advanced technologies to manufacture medical devices such as “Coronary Stents”, CNC Milling & Turning technologies to produce custom designed products such as a “GMIT Ball Point Pen.” We also will offer an insight into some of the interesting projects designed by our students such as “Electric Go-Karts” and “Human Arterial Flow Simulation System” .
For more information about Engineers Week: http://www.engineersweek.ie/
To book places at the Civil Engineering events on 8 March, please contact Shane Newell, email: shane.newell@gmit.ie For details about Civil Engineering in GMIT, see: https://www.gmit.ie/civil-engineering/bachelor-engineering-honours-civil-engineering
All the Scratch workshops are booked out. For details about Software and Electronic Engineering in GMIT, see: https://www.gmit.ie/electronic-and-electrical-engineering/department-electronic-and-electrical-engineering
To book places on the Dept of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering workshop on ‘A look behind the scenes at how everyday things are designed and manufactured,’ email: paul.fahy@gmit.ie tel. 091 742871 or 085 8034748 (mob). For further details of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering in GMIT see: https://www.gmit.ie/mechanical-industrial-engineering/bachelor-engineering-mechanical-engineering
ENDS
Regina Daly
GMIT Communications Officer
GMIT, Dublin Road, Galway
Tel. 091 742826 / 087-9618355 (m) regina.daly@gmit.ie
www.gmit.ie/news