Information Evenings about Studying Engineering at College to be held in the Midlands

A series of information evenings about studying engineering at college will take place across the Midlands over the next two weeks.

The “Design, Build, Engineer” event, which will be held in Portlaoise, Ballinsloe, Longford, Tullamore, Roscommon and Mullingar, is an opportunity to learn about the growing range of exciting engineering careers and the various qualifications on offer in third level to enter those professions.

The event, which is organised by the School of Engineering at Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT), will feature experts from Athlone talking about some of the latest developments within engineering, and what to consider when filling out a CAO application.

The Head of School of Engineering at AIT, Dr Austin Hanley, said: “Engineering is a hugely rewarding, exciting and varied profession. There are plentiful job opportunities here in Ireland and overseas – and, in fact, employers, are continually looking for increasing numbers of engineering graduates.

“One of our ambitions for this information evening is to communicate to anyone looking to apply to college – and their families – the huge variety of engineering courses on offer. For instance, in Athlone, we offer everything from mechanical, polymer, software, electronics and civil engineering, and within each of those in turn, there is lots to choose from,” Dr Hanley said.

There is a strong emphasis on practical learning at AIT. According to Dr Hanley, “Our engineering courses are geared to give students the ability to solve real-world problems. Learning theory is complemented with applying that knowledge, so that our students are ideally placed to meet the needs of employers. That practical focus can be seen in the extensive placement opportunities that exist, in the industrial projects, and in the state-of-the-art facilities where we teach.”

New engineering courses offered by AIT through the CAO for intake in September 2014 include a BSc (Hons) in Mechanical and Polymer Engineering, a BEng in Environmental Engineering Science, as well as new common entry programmes to Engineering Informatics and Software Design.

Students choosing Engineering Informatics (Common Entry), CAO code AL701, undertake a common first year, and then chose between one of three specialisms: electronics and wireless communication, network management, and computer engineering.

Similarly, students opting for Software Design (Common Entry), CAO code AL801, undertake a common first year and chose between specialising in game development and cloud computing at the end of their first year.

There are more than one thousand engineering students at AIT, studying programmes ranging from higher certificate through to PhD. The new Engineering and Informatics Building, officially opened in February 2012 at a cost of €36 million, claimed the prize for best educational building at the Irish Architecture Awards.

The information evenings commence at 7pm on the following dates:

25 November – Heritage Hotel, Portlaoise

27 November – Shearwater, Ballinasloe

28 November – Longford Arms

2 December – Bridge House, Tullamore

3 December – Abbey Hotel, Roscommon

4 December – Mullingar Park Hotel

Further information about engineering opportunities at AIT can be accessed online at www.ait.ie.