Students weighing up their options for their CAO application should consider mechanical engineering as a career. It’s a growing area and the employment prospects are bright.
That’s according to Trevor McSharry, lecturer and programme co-ordinator in the IT Sligo Mechanical Engineering Department;
“The mechanical engineering area is enjoying a growth period and anyone who is considering embarking on an engineering career would be advised to investigate their job prospects with a mechanical engineering qualification.
“According to the CSO industrial production was up by 15.7 per cent in the last year, while other related areas such as the high-technology and chemical sectors showed an annual increase in production of 21.7%,” he said.
Mr McSharry also added that a qualification in mechanical engineering is also a good basis for a career in the emerging renewable and sustainable energy industries.
Mechanical Engineering is a popular choice at IT Sligo and students have enjoyed significant success in competitions on a national scale. Just last year students from the Level 7 programme won first prize in the Engineers Ireland Student Innovation Awards. A group of five students, John Kelly, Declan McGovern, Robert Gibson, Chris Moran and Shane O’Loughlin won the Award for an innovative farm machine which they designed and built, called ‘Quick Cut’.
This machine splits silage bales and pulls them apart, but can also be used for a range of multifunctional activities such as bale transporting or pallet lifting. The students wanted to improve on existing bale cutters, which can sit in the shed for long periods, by designing one which had more than one use and there is no product currently on the market which meets their specification.
Speaking at the announcement of the winners, John Power, Director General of Engineers Ireland, praised the winners as worthy recipients of the award and for their contribution towards helping Ireland become a genuine home-grown innovation economy that can compete in the global market again. “I strongly believe that the long-term growth in Ireland will be fuelled by innovative companies so it is very encouraging to see such home-grown engineering creativity among our students today. It is imperative we can bring new techniques, processes and skills across all sectors so that we can compete on a global stage with our competitors.”
Major design and build projects, like the one which won this prestigious national competition, are undertaken by all students on the Bachelor Degree in Mechanical Engineering (Level 7) course in year 3 of the programme at IT Sligo. Other group projects completed in the past include a go-cart, hovercraft, wind turbine and dune buggy. These innovative projects have been highly successful at integrating and applying many key mechanical engineering subjects including design, materials, mechanical analysis, CAD, workshop and project management. All of these skills are fundamentally important for a modern day successful mechanical engineer.
At IT Sligo, first year is common for BEng in Mechanical, Mechatronic or Electronic degrees which can give the flexibility to students to change between courses after first year if they wish. On successful completion of this course, students can progress to the BEng Honours in Mechanical Engineering.
If you are interested in further information, please visit www.itsligo.ie , or contact Trevor McSharry at 07191 55240/ email mcsharry.trevor@nullitsligo.ie.
John Power, Director General of Engineers Ireland; John Kelly, Mechanical Engineering student, IT Sligo; Michael O’Connor, Marketing Manager, Siemens Limited pictured at the Engineers Ireland Student Innovation Awards.
Pictured at the IT Sligo Conferring is Chris Moran, Robert Gibson, Shane O’Loughlin, Declan McGovern, John Kelly, who won first prize in the Engineers Ireland Student Innovation Awards.
QuickCut Team at a testing session of the machine are Declan McGovern, John Kelly, Chris Moran, Shane O’Loughlin, and Robert Gibson.
