ICE Northern Ireland: Engineers Week 2010

ICE Northern Ireland are currently gearing up for Engineers Week which runs from 8-13 February.

Engineers Week sees the Institution of Civil Engineers and Engineers Ireland team up to bring a series of engineering related events to over 200 primary and post primary schools children across Northern Ireland.

Engineers Week has been running successfully in the Republic of Ireland for the past four years where it is an important date in the calendar of schools across the country. ICE NI and Engineers Ireland have subsequently utilised the strength of their combined membership within Northern Ireland to encourage industry to open their doors to the school population within the region.

The Northern Ireland Education Minister, Caitriona Ruane, launched Engineers Week 2010 on Monday 1st February at Victoria College Belfast, helping pupils to construct towers made from spaghetti joined by marshmallows, illustrating her hidden civil engineering skills in the process!
Image shows: (l-r) ICE NI Chairman Jonathan Hegan with Victoria College pupil Laura Doran and Education Minister Caitriona Ruane

The Minster greatly acknowledged the importance of STEM (science, engineering, technology and maths) subjects and the societal value of engineering more broadly during the launch, stating: “I am honoured to have been asked to launch Engineers Week 2010. Engineering is at the heart of modern life. That is why my Department is currently working hard to promote careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). The promotion of these subjects cannot be overstated as the STEM agenda is vital for economic regeneration on an all-Ireland basis.”

To see Minister Ruane’s full comments on Engineers Week please follow this link.

Northern Ireland industries involved in Engineers Week events include:

• Northern Ireland Water
• FG Wilson Engineering
• George Best Belfast City Airport
• Queens University
• University of Ulster
• UTV Ulster Television
• Phoenix Gas
• Traffic Control and Information Centre
• NI Science Park and Titanic Pump House

For more information on Engineers Week see http://www.engineersweek.ie/

Sinead Glackin
Sinead is the Communications Executive for ICE Northern Ireland. Sinead is responsible for the planning and execution of the internal and external communication strategy of the Northern Ireland region. Sinead is particularly focused on forging closer links between ICE and Northern Ireland’s devolved administration.