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vaccine will receive it within the next five weeks, the HSE chief executive has confirmed.
South East industries’ needs inspire new degree with data intelligence
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AS industry transitions towards ‘Industry 4.0’ — and there is an increased need for modern automation engineering that incorporates data intelligence — Waterford Institute of Technology’s (WIT) Department of Engineering Technology has developed a new degree to offset a skills shortage.
The nationwide skills demand for automation and control engineers was also emphasised in the Forfas report: ‘Future Skills Requirements of the Manufacturing Sector to 2020’. According to LinkedIn, presently, in Ireland alone, there are more than 2,000 vacancies in the automation engineering sector.
Explains Programme Leader Dominick O’ Brien:
“WIT is constantly reviewing the content of the courses we deliver to make sure they are up to date and in line with industry needs and trends. Following honest and open discussions with over a dozen industrial partners, who are engaged with technology across the SouthEast region, it was clear and evident that a dedicated Level 8 programme was needed to address the severe skillset shortage in modern Automation and Control engineering.
“Consequently, this course was developed with, and for, our industrial stakeholders to ensure that the appropriate blending of engineering and computer science is applied in order to provide graduates with the skillset to launch an exciting and sustainable career in modern automation engineering,” said Mr O’ Brien.
WIT is the first institute of technology to launch a Level 8 degree in automation engineering: The Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) in Automation Engineering in is available on the CAO for 2021 entry, and has been available as one of five options for students on the institute’s common entry engineering degree since September 2020.
Niall Barry, Senior Principal Automation Engineer, Bausch + Lomb, Waterford and WIT graduate told The Kilkenny Observer: “Modern automation engineering combines elements of electronic engineering, software, robotics, networking, databases and data intelligence, which are highly sought-after skills in sectors such as the medical device, pharmaceutical, and food industries, and indeed beyond.
“This course offers a strong technical background in these fundamentals, coupled with real-world Industry work experience, and will allow graduates to avail of roles in the Automation/Controls/Vision Engineering space.”
Gergo Villanyi, a past pupil of St Augustine’s College, Dungarvan, Co Waterford who will be moving into Year 2 of the BEng (Hons) in Automation Engineering in September said:“The main reason I decided to choose the automation engineering branch was because I have always been very interested in the behind the scenes of how machines work, and the whole idea of automation and robotics has always fascinated me. I also like to think I have the right mind for it as I have a practical sort of thinking, trying to find what’s most efficient in certain situations.
“Another reason is that I like to think ahead and saw where the future of engineering is; with near fully automated production lines, self-driving vehicles, etc. Automation was the clear choice in my eyes,”
The Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) in Automation Engineering is a new degree option being offered to CAO applicants who choose to study Engineering (Common Entry). This increases the total number of specialisms to five available under common entry engineering – which gives students time to choose what they would like to specialise in.
Students experience all five options in semester one and at the beginning of semester two choose between the combined Automation, Electrical and Electronic stream or the combined Sustainable Civil and Sustainable Energy stream with the final choice of their exact specialism made from the chosen stream at the end of Semester Two.
Student Gergo Villanyi: ‘I was always been very interested in the behind the scenes of how machines work’
Lions clubs lend hand to India crisis
LIONS Clubs throughout Ireland have responded to the crisis facing the Indian healthcare system by raising $66,100 as part of a major campaign organised by the Lions Clubs International Foundation.
Lions in Ireland have a long history of providing support when a major disaster strikes. The recent upsurge of Covid-19 cases in India and an increasing death rate, threatened to overwhelm the Health System.
Lions Clubs International has responded by providing funds, which are enabling Lions Clubs throughout India to purchase and distribute critical medical equipment and supplies for local hospitals and clinics. This has been determined to be the greatest need, as community healthcare systems are being overrun.
Lions Clubs in Ireland and the communities that support their work, had been very generous in responding to this appeal, said Ambassador Kumar expressed his personal appreciation for the support and generosity to the people of Ireland in supporting India during its current Covid -19 crisis.
Local Employment Services tender ‘must not put profit over people’
THE Sinn Féin TD for Carlow Kilkenny, Kathleen Funchion, has called on the Government to remove the profit-focused approach set out in a tender for the expansion of Local Employment Services (LES).
The request for tender is open to applications for the rollout of a new model of contracted public employment service in four areas. This is the first of two tenders. The terms included in the tender have caused significant concern about the quality and future of Local Employment Services.
The issue was raised by Sinn Féin spokesperson on Social Protection Claire Kerrane TD with An Tánaiste in the Dáil earlier this month. Ms Funchion said: “Having been kept in the dark about the changes to Local Employment Services for so long, we are finally seeing a Request For Tender which encourages a ruthless shift to ‘services’ which
focus on profit over people. This is unacceptable and must not be allowed to happen. “There had been much concern that the tender would threaten the community-based and not-for-profit ethos of existing services, which have ‘stop putting profit over people’ been very successful and are well-regarded. The reality is much, much worse and is a serious cause for concern.” The TD said the ‘payment by results’ model put forward in the tender told us that the Government were looking to implement employment services which focus on quantity over quality. “Forcing people into a cycle of jobs which are not suitable or sustainable is unacceptable. “This is not the person-centred approach so successfully fostered by the Local Employment Services and will only result in a focus on profit-driven results which leaves those who need these services behind. What we are seeing pro posed i s ‘JobPath 2.0’,” she said. “I recognise that the Local Employment Service is sought-after, but the service is currently unavailable in several Counties. While the extension of employment services to areas which do not currently have them is welcome, commercialisation is not the answer. Instead, we propose the scaling up of the existing model of Local Employment Services to ensure continuity of quality and reputation of these services.” Ms Funchion said people deserved “quality employment services and we know that organisations already working in this area have experience, expertise and ethics at the heart of the work they do”.
She said Sinn Féin were calling on the Minister for Social Protection to withdraw and review this tender immediately. “Existing local employment services must be protected here in [constituency] and across the state. We will oppose any attempt by the Government to profit from the exploitation of people.”
Hidden coeliac affecting 16k. men
THE Coeliac Society of Ireland has warned that an estimated 16,000 men in Ireland have undiagnosed coeliac disease and are ignoring symptoms that could have major impact on their lives.
The society’s chief executive called on men to see their GP immediately if they have any of the symptoms of coeliac disease. These include abdominal pain, recurring mouth-ulcers, weight-loss, vomiting, diarrhoea and fatigue to name but a few.
Left undiagnosed and untreated, coeliac disease can cause infertility, stunted growth, anaemia, osteoporosis, anxiety, depression and other health problems.
Gill Brennan, CEO of the Coeliac Society of Ireland, said: “Coeliac disease in Ireland is diagnosed twice as frequently in females as it is in males. Research shows there is greater prevalence among women, but even allowing for this, diagnosis among men lags that of women – and a significant reason for low diagnosis of coeliac disease in men is the fact that they are less likely to go to the doctor or have regular health check-ups.”
