Redefining the public perception of engineering and construction-related courses is just one of the challenges that Trevor McSharry has set himself as he assumes the position of Head of Department Civil Engineering and Construction at IT Sligo.
“The engineering and construction industries have experienced a dip in the last number of years, but they are changing and adapting to meet the new environment, and greater integration of ICT, sustainable methods of construction and value for money are driving the agenda,” McSharry said.
“Opportunities for our graduates are now being generated in areas relating to environmental engineering, soil mechanics, the repurposing of existing buildings and the achievement of required standards under new European Directives. So while the climate has changed, graduates in these disciplines are still in demand,” he said.
A native of Oakfield Road in Sligo and now resident in Grange, Trevor McSharry has worked as a lecturer in the Institute’s Mechanical and Electronic Engineering Department since 2008, training students in the areas of design, supervisory management, fluid mechanics, and CAD, amongst other things.
After graduating from NUI, Galway with a first class Honours Degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1996, Mc Sharry worked for a time with Pepsi Cola and Bourns Electronics in Cork, before travelling to Australia where he was involved in a research project at the Australian Nuclear Science & Technology Organisation.
He brings a significant amount of industry experience to the Head of Department role, having worked for over eight years with leading biopharmaceutical company Wyeth on returning to Ireland in 2000; first at the WyethMedica plant in Newbridge in Co Kildare and later at its new Biotech plant in Clondalkin. The Wyeth Biotech plant in Clondalkin was one of the biggest ever greenfield projects in Ireland and Mc Sharry was the project manager for the design and construction of a new manufacturing and inspection facility, valued at €32 million. He also oversaw the introduction of a programme management process in the drug substance facility at the plant which dealt with media preparation, fermentation, and purification stages of drug manufacture.
“The systems we introduced at the Wyeth helped the organisation to consistently achieve its challenging productivity targets. Wyeth was subsequently bought out by Pfizer and the plant continues to grow, with a further $200 million investment for the Clondalkin facility announced just this month,” he said.
During his time with Wyeth, he worked as a part time lecturer at DIT and undertook an MBA with Dublin City University, building on his technical experience with further education in business and management skills.
His aspirations for his new role are ambitious; “Engineering and construction have always been cyclical industries, and while we may be at the bottom in terms of project creation in Ireland at the moment it will come around again and the development of infrastructure will be critical as we try to regain our competitiveness” he said.
“It’s important that we continue to listen and work with industry to ensure that our courses are relevant for the current and future market needs. We are already doing that, but we will be focusing on building on these connections, and on progressing research partnerships,” he said.
“Courses like out Interior Architecture are perfectly positioned to meet the needs of today’s building environment, because it’s focused on the repurposing of existing spaces and buildings. As the only interior architecture course in Ireland to be recognised by the European Council of Interior Architects, we are national leaders in this area which is really coming into its own now given the current limitations on construction projects.
“All our construction and quantity surveying courses are also internationally recognised and our graduates are also in a position to get good jobs in countries that are experiencing the building boom that we had a few years ago, such as Canada, the Middle East, Australia and China.”
“Ensuring that our graduates are experienced and flexible enough to work in interdisciplinary teams in whatever the changing circumstances require, will continue to be our aim,” McSharry said.
For more information on IT Sligo see www.itsligo.ie
Image Caption: Trevor McSharry, Head of Department in Civil Engineering and Construction at IT Sligo.