Brexit preparedness, decreases in graduates, improved CAO interest, and Engineers Week success
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Dear <<Prefered Name>>
Welcome to the March issue of Connect. To support your Brexit preparedness we have information on our website where we highlight in particular, the area of supply. Our Government is urging all businesses to contact their service providers to get assurances about the continuity of supply of goods or services post-Brexit. We also outline some financial supports available. Our President Peter Quinn has been talking to members in our Northern Region and is also visiting London next Tuesday where he will listen to our GB member views and feedback on Brexit and other matters.
Research we have undertaken has found that there has been a 55% decrease in civil and building engineering graduates over the last five years which is a particular cause for concern. While there has been an 48% increase in entrants to civil and building engineering courses in higher education since 2012, that increase has come from a low base.
These findings and more, are available in our new report Engineering 2019 which was launched on 6 March by the Minister for Education and Skills. The report was also presented in Dungannon to the President of Ireland by our President, Peter Quinn. (See pictures below).
With the report also showing that 35% of the parents of secondary school children that we surveyed not confident in explaining what an engineer does, as a society we need to collectively do more to inform the public about the importance of the modern engineer. On Saturday I welcomed provisional data from the CAO which shows an 11% rise in first preference applications by 2nd level pupils for 3rd level engineering courses at Ireland’s higher education institutes. This is welcome news.
A big thank you to all those who participated in Engineers Week. Eight hundred and ten wonderful events took place nationwide from 2-8 March. Thank you again for your determination to support our festival of engineering. Congratulations also to our South East Regional Branch for their Forum on Applied AI on 1 March in Kilkenny which was a great success. Enjoy the pictures below.
To end, the death of engineer Michael Ryan last Sunday, saddened us all. This courageous young man used his engineering qualification to do extremely rewarding work, improving and changing the lives of communities in greatest need. Our statement of sympathy can be viewed here.
With best wishes
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Caroline Spillane
Director General of Engineers Ireland
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Engineering 2019 launched by Education Minister
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During Engineers Week, Engineers Ireland was delighted to welcome Joe McHugh TD, Minister for Education and Skills to our offices in Clyde Road, Dublin 4 to launch ‘Engineering 2019: A barometer of the profession in Ireland’.
At the event held on 6 March, an opening speech by the Minister and a presentation by our Policy Officer Dr Richard Manton, were complemented by a panel discussion involving Professor David FitzPatrick, President of Ireland’s first technological university, TU Dublin; Joe English, Lithography Department Manager, Intel and Caroline Herlihy, Managing Director, Global Professional Consultants.
The second report in our annual series, Engineering 2019 captures trends in engineering employment, perspectives and education. This year’s report was based on three surveys conducted between October 2018 and February 2019 of qualified engineers, engineering employers and the public.
The report highlights a 55% decrease in civil and building engineering graduates over the last five years which is a cause for concern. However, the report also found that there is buoyancy in the engineering sector, with 77% of employers’ financial position improving in 2018 and 89% expecting their financial position to improve in 2019, despite Brexit uncertainties.
In the continuing and growing emphasis in the engineering sector on communication skills, the report also found that 77% of engineering employers viewed communication skills as ‘very important’, with effective communication and teamwork viewed as just as (or even more) important than fundamental engineering knowledge.
Pictured above following the launch of the report are (back row, L to R), Engineers Ireland Policy Officer Dr Richard Manton, Joe English, Lithography Department Manager, Intel, Caroline Herlihy, Managing Director, Global Professional Consultants and Professor David FitzPatrick, President of TU Dublin. (Front row, L to R) Director General of Engineers Ireland, Caroline Spillane, Joe McHugh TD, Minister for Education and Skills and President of Engineers Ireland, Peter Quinn.
To read more insights, including salary, education and diversity trends, click here to download your copy of the Engineering 2019 report.
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Engineers Week 2019 - a big success! … thank you for getting involved
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Engineers, teachers, parents, students and many more celebrated Irish engineering last week and showcased the dynamic world of contemporary engineering throughout Ireland. Thousands of participants, including young people, their parents, teachers, engineers and industry took part in 810 events nationwide - from hands-on engineering challenges in classrooms and libraries to onsite engineering tours and open days. There were also 192 screenings of Dream Big - a film that shows how engineers push the limits of innovation in unexpected and amazing ways.
One of the most important elements of the week was demonstrating to young people that engineering is a diverse career which is both satisfying and far-reaching. Engineers from all over Ireland engaged with their communities to showcase their profession to primary and secondary students, highlighting the ways Irish engineers are pushing the limits of creativity and ingenuity.
A massive thank you to all of you who got involved in the week, which was supported by SFI, Intel, TII, ESB and Arup.
See the pictures here and also in the picture gallery below.
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Picture gallery featuring Engineers Week activities, 2-8 March
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Pictured on 7 March during Engineers Week is our President, Peter Quinn presenting the President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina, with a copy of Engineering 2019, our new barometer report on the profession in Ireland. President Higgins was attending the formal opening of St Patrick’s Academy, Dungannon. President Higgins also viewed a special careers room in the Academy which had a focus on engineering, marking Engineers Week, 2 - 8 March.
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Pictured on Sunday 3 March during a packed Engineers Week Family Weekend at Engineers Ireland’s
offices is ‘Scientific Sue’ and her excited audience of young engineers.
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Pictured with pupils of St Conleth’s Primary School in Dublin are our STEPS industry leaders
who have formed a strategic partnership with us to inspire and engage future generations
of STEM talent. They are left to right: Donal McDaid, Director and Infrastructure Group Leader at Arup Ireland,
Jill O’Donnell, Telecommunications Engineer and STEPS Committee Leader at ESB,
Ann-Marie Holmes, Vice President of Intel’s Manufacturing and Operations Group
and Factory Manager at Fab24,
Fergal Cahill, Senior Engineer, Structures Engineering & Asset Management at
Transport Infrastructure Ireland, (back row),
Caroline Spillane, Director General of Engineers Ireland
and Joe English, Lithography Department Manager at Intel Ireland.
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Ed Hogan and Roseanne O'Leary meeting young students at the Thomond Region Stand
at the Limerick for Engineering Showcase
held at Shannon Airport during Engineers Week on 7 March.
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Obituary: Max William Abrahamson (1932-2018)
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Engineering models: How they can detect a thousand pictures
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Picture gallery from our Applied AI Forum in Kilkenny
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On 1 March on the eve of Engineers Week, our South East Regional Branch in association with our head office in Dublin organised a very successful Forum and Conference on the theme of Applied Artificial Intelligence in Ireland. The event was also supported by the South East Regional Skills Forum. Delegates attended from around the country with strong numbers of students attending from IT Carlow and Waterford Institute of Technology.
The event covered a range of issues, from current AI applications and commercialisation across several sectors to what it takes to make AI work for small businesses in Ireland. Delegates heard from companies such as LogoGrab, Opening.io, Popertee, Emdalo, IBM Watson, Valeo and Kx Systems.
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Pictured on 1 March addressing delegates at the Engineers Ireland Applied Artificial Intelligence Forum & Conference in Kilkenny is Dr Glen Collins, chartered engineer and member of the South East Regional Branch of Engineers Ireland. Glen Collins was also Conference Director.
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Pictured on 1 March left to right, at the Engineers Ireland Applied Artificial Intelligence Forum
& Conference in Kilkenny are: Mary Doyle-Kent, Vice Chair, South East Regional Branch of Engineers Ireland,
Susan Gallagher, Chair, South East Regional Branch,
Peter Quinn, our President, and three Committee members from the
South East Regional Branch, Dr Glen Collins, Michael McCarthy and Colm Callery.
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Pictured on 1 March left to right, at the Engineers Ireland Applied Artificial Intelligence Forum & Conference
in Kilkenny are: Edmond Connolly, Manager, South East Regional Skills Forum,
Caroline Spillane, Director General, Engineers Ireland,
Marion Acreman, President of Kilkenny Chamber of Commerce,
Peter Quinn, President of Engineers Ireland
and Dr Glen Collins, South East Regional Branch member, Engineers Ireland.
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Pictured on 1 March left to right, at the Engineers Ireland Applied Artificial Intelligence Forum
& Technical Conference are: speaker Conor McCarthy, Machine Learning Engineer at Kx,
Edmond Connolly, Manager, South East Regional Skills Forum,
speaker, Wesley Roddy, Product Designer at LogoGrab,
Susan Gallagher, Chair, South East Regional Branch of Engineers Ireland,
Peter Quinn, President of Engineers Ireland,
Dr Glen Collins, South East Regional Branch member, Engineers Ireland,
Sean Lang, Business Development Executive for Kx systems
and Global Marketing Executive for First Derivatives plc
and Dr Ivan Griffin, Director of Machine Learning and Computer Vision at Emdalo Technologies.
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News from our community
Lecture by Tim Chapman from Arup’s London-based infrastructure design group
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On Tuesday 19 March, at an event jointly hosted by our Geotechnical Society and the Civil Division of Engineers Ireland, Tim Chapman, an Arup Director leading its London-based infrastructure design group will give a free evening lecture entitled ‘The Future of AI in infrastructure and its long-term effects’. Tim has extensive experience in the design of big infrastructure and devising how future infrastructure can best serve and shape society.
Taking place at Trinity College Dublin (Arts Building, Robert Emmet Theatre, 6pm), he will talk about the new technology that will shape and change the careers available in our profession over the next 20 years. In his role as leader of a group of some 400 talented designers for all forms of infrastructure, Tim has a special interest in the development of people at all levels and the promotion of a diverse, happy, effective and motivated workforce.
Tim enjoys thinking about the deep strategic issues of how the construction industry should respond to the wave of change that is happening at this time – probably the biggest inflection in how it has operated since the time of the Brunels. He believes that the potential of this future is currently under-imagined and many of the impacts – both good and bad – haven’t yet been understood.
Also, we are expecting a big turnout at our Geotechnical Society event taking place at 22 Clyde Road, Dublin 4 on 10 April on transport tunnelling. Anyone with an interest in civil engineering, transport, infrastructure or Metrolink is welcome to come, but please register in advance.
Many thanks
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Dr Ciaran Reilly (pictured above)
Chair of the Geotechnical Society of Ireland
Note to all our regions, divisions and societies - we always appreciate receiving content for this community section of Connect at connectnewsletter@engineersireland.ie.
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The future of AI in infrastructure and its long term effects – 19 March
How new technology will shape and change the careers available in our profession.
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Engineers Ireland in numbers
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25,000+ members
32 regions, divisions and societies
1 community
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