AIT Life Vol 6 No 1, January 2014

AITLife Volume 6 Number 1 1 >

LifeVolume 6 | Number 1 | January 2014

AGE OF THE ENVIRONMENTFrom waste water management through to carbon emissions and energy efficiency, there is little doubt that this is the Age of the Environment

POLYMER DAYS ARE HERE AGAINPolymer and mechanical engineering combine in an exciting new degree, designed to meet industry demand for highly skilled graduates

MAD MEN AND BUSINESS PSYCHOLOGYBusiness psychology is a rapidly developing new area in business strategy, and the focus of a new honours degree

www.ait.ie

> 2 AITLife Volume 6 Number 1

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Bioveterinary science – A niche area for future growth

20Early years care and education

16

Common entry degrees open doors to world of opportunities

3 Welcome from the President

4 AIT News in Brief

6 Bioveterinary Science – A niche area for future growth

9 Age of the Environment

11 Plastics Recycling in Ireland Supported by AIT Research

12 Mixed Plastics Waste as a Valuable Resource

13 Polymer Days are Here Again

15 Poor Network Coverage for Phone Users to be a Thing of the Past

16 Common Entry ICT Degrees Open Doors to World of Opportunities

18 Multi-sensory Multimedia Communication Research

19 From East Timor to Social Care

20 Early Years Care and Education

22 My Mind Matters

23 An Appreciation: Patricia Kearney

24 Divining the Creative

26 Business Psychology

28 “Not Just a Number”

29 Which Computing Course to Choose

30 The AIT Sporting Year in Review

Contents

AITLife, Volume 6 Number 1, January 2014Athlone Institute of Technology, Dublin Road, Athlone, Co Westmeath

Editor: Brian Lynch • + 353 (0)90 644 2595 • [email protected] • @brianmlynch Investing in your future


The astronaut Chris Hadfield has been a regular visitor to these shores since his return to Earth last year. If ever a man captured the popular imagination, it is undoubtedly

this affable Canadian, who has charmed and enchanted audiences in turn, with his fascinating tales of life in space. In his interviews, Chris has spoken of the wonder of observing Earth from outer space, watching it whizz by from that great height, beguiled by its beauty. In listening to him, what struck me was just how vast the universe is, but more particularly, how intimate and interconnected our own planet is. Technology has seen to it, that in many respects, we are living in a global village – which is not to deny, of course, the many differences which exist across cultures and geographic boundaries. This is particularly relevant today, because never before has a global understanding and mindset been so important for our citizens – both individual and corporate. This is a key goal of Athlone Institute of Technology to mould and form graduates who are equipped with global skills and insights, and who will be able to thrive in any situation, wherever life may lead them. For me, this has been a key motivator in the development of our global campus in Athlone. Nearly 12 percent of AIT’s full-time student population comes from outside Ireland, one of the highest percentages of any third level institution in Ireland. What is the significance of this? It says two things, in fact. The first is that AIT is recognised internationally for the quality of the education which it provides. That holds true in Brazil, China, India, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, France, Italy, Spain... the list goes on. The second is that Irish students get to learn in a multicultural

context, where their peers are not just from the same town or parish, but potentially from the far side of the world. That exposure to different ways of thinking, to different ways of working, challenges, provokes, inspires, enlargens and enhances the educational experience. It gives AIT graduates a distinct edge in securing and creating employment. It is a key differentiator of this institution. As you read through the pages of this latest edition of AIT Life, that global focus becomes apparent. It is evident in the degree programmes which AIT offers, whether they be in polymer engineering, ICT or bioveterinary science. Our courses are designed to give students the experience and knowledge to make their mark on the world. It is apparent too in the stories of our research activity in the recycling industry or in multi-sensory multimedia, to name just two. Of course, in order to achieve that global context, it is necessary to invest in a campus worthy of that ambition, which is why we have invested €115 million in our infrastructure and facilities since 2000. That investment has included new academic and R&D resources, as well of course as our sporting campus. We are particularly proud of the new AIT International Arena, which has been lauded since its official opening last February. Let AIT take you on your global journey. Together, we can make history.

Professor Ciarán Ó Catháin

Welcome from the President


In autumn 2013, AIT welcomed 99 students from Brazil to study in Athlone under the Science Without Borders scheme. This was the third largest intake of any institute of technology or university in Ireland of Brazilian students this year. Science Without Borders is an initiative of the Brazilian government to send students overseas to study at the world’s best higher education institutions. The Athlone-based students are undertaking a variety of programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate level, including English language studies, civil engineering, forensic toxicology and psychiatric nursing. During their time in the midlands to date, the students have visited Birr Castle and the Cliffs of Moher. The initiative to attract Brazilian students to study in Irish HEIs is supported by the HEA, Enterprise Ireland, the Embassy of Ireland in Brazil and the Department of Education and Skills. AIT has participated in a number of education exhibitions and events in Brazil with the support of government agencies and departments.

www.ait.ie/sciencewithoutborders

Bem-vindo à Athlone

What’s my name?Research undertaken by Sinéad Bracken, lecturer in the Department of Nursing and Health Science, and presented at the Psychological Society of Ireland conference in November, shows the impact of getting to know all the students’ names in a class.

According to Dale Carnegie, “A person’s name to that person is the sweetest and most important sound in any language”. Sinéad’s action research examined how getting to know all students by name and fostering a relationship based on individual needs impacted on student learning experiences.

Changes implemented during the research included learning and using student names and adopting alternative teaching strategies, based on observation of and reflection on the response to changes.

The relationship between lecturer and students emerged as highly important to students and their learning experience. Being known by name and having the lecturer use their name was unanimously reported as highly valued.

Knowing students and using names is a simple strategy that values the individual and has the effect of improving the learning experience for students.

It’s also a hallmark of the AIT experience.

Smell the FearImagine watching the latest blockbuster movie in the cinema and as you’re gripped by a high-speed car chase, not only do you hear and see the action, but you can smell the tyres burning and feel the fumes in your nostrils. Sound far-fetched?

Well, it may not be too long before multimedia systems – such as cinemas or televisions – will be able to incorporate e-smell, e-taste and e-touch. The rationale of enhancing multimedia applications to stimulate more than audiovisual senses is to increase the user’s quality of experience.

Niall Murray, a PhD candidate at AIT’s Software Research Institute, has just had a paper on this excitring area published in the most prestigious multimedia journal in the world, Transactions on Multimedia Computing Communications and Applications (TOMCCAP).

Niall’s research looks at olfaction-enhanced multimedia content (that is, the sense of smell) and what effect this has on viewers’ quality of experience levels. He also looked at people’s different perceptions of smell depending on whether or not they could hear, as well as see, the video.


Fusion EngineeringFusion, InterTradeIreland’s all-island technology transfer programme, can help businesses bolster their bottom line and get ahead of the competition by partnering with a third-level institution with the specialist expertise and a high calibre science, engineering or technology graduate.

Peter Grant, Fusion coordinator, visited AIT in November to discuss ongoing projects. Currently, the School of Engineering has seven Fusion projects underway, including work with Baxterworld in Newtownabbey, Co Antrim and Meteor Electrical in Cookstown in Co Tyrone.

Peter (centre) is pictured here with (front) Dr Enda Fallon and Dr Austin Hanley, and (back) Shane Banks, Dr Michael Nugent, Dr Seán Lyons, Keith Vaugh and Dr Ronan Flynn.

Up to 50,000 students in Irish higher education institutions are expected to benefit from the new Erasmus+ programme which comes into effect in January 2014. Erasmus is the world’s most successful student exchange programme, established in 1987 and operating now in 34 countries. The European Parliament gave the green light to the €14.7 billion European study/work abroad programme. In total, some

two million higher education students across Europe are expected to benefit from the programme across the 34 participating countries. In the previous programme which covered the period 2007-2013, a total of 30,000 students from Ireland travelled to one of the participating countries (28 EU members plus European Economic Area countries), up from 15,000 in the previous seven year period.

Students at AIT have the opportunity to study at 120 partner colleges around Europe through Erasmus+.

AIT business student, Mark Fitzpatrick, who spent his third year at a university in Germany, described it as an opportunity “too enticing to pass-up” and as “a terrific journey”.

Further details are available from AIT’s International Office.

Caring for a CauseSpa and wellness management students organised their annual Holistic Health Day in November, in the process raising €700 for GROW, the mental health charity.

The event featured mini treatments and demonstrations in massage and bodywork, yoga, physical fitness, beauty, aromatherapy, meditation, herbalism and much more besides.


Bioveterinary Science – A Niche Area for Future GrowthDr Brian Murphy reports on Ireland’s first honours degree in bioveterinary science, due to start in AIT in September 2014

In a high-level Forfás report published in April 2013 by an Expert Group on Future Skill Needs, shortages in life science graduates

were further highlighted, specifically graduates having key technical laboratory skills. One has only to look at recent jobs announcements in the biopharmaceutical and food sectors to see the growth in this sector. The Kerry Group is currently setting up a global technology and innovation centre in Naas, Co Kildare, in a €100m investment that will create up to 900 permanent jobs by 2016. The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD, stated that: “This is the largest single investment in food innovation ever by a company in Ireland, and puts Ireland firmly at the forefront of global food innovation.” The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney TD, also said that this investment is proof that the agri-food sector can be “central to rebuilding the Irish economy”. In another announcement in December 2013, the US biopharmaceutical company, Regeneron, stated that it is building a new production plant in Limerick which will create


300 highly skilled jobs over the next three years. Regeneron is one of the fastest growing biopharmaceutical companies in the US, and develops medicines for a range of illnesses which includes colorectal cancer. The project will involve the construction of a quality control laboratory and the site will be transformed essentially into a biopharmaceutical campus. The company stated that the main reasons it was attracted to establishing a base in Ireland was the highly educated workforce and the strong biopharma industry already located in the country. IDA Ireland’s Barry O’Leary, stated that “Regeneron’s decision to locate this strategically important investment here is a clear endorsement of Ireland’s recognised strengths in the pharma and biopharma field.” The one clear message that emerges from all these announcements is that science graduates of the future need to be multi-disciplinary; and life sciences with its biological base continues to be a growth area in the Irish multinational employment sector.

Bioveterinary science – a niche growth area for the future and part of Ireland’s recovery

As part of its strategy of responding to marketplace demands, the Department of Life and Physical Sciences at AIT, has again identified another niche employment growth area of national and international interest in the biological sciences, allied specifically to the veterinary field. The department has been running the highly successful three-year BSc in Veterinary Nursing for several years, which is accredited by the Veterinary Council of Ireland (VCI). However, up to now, there has not been a bioveterinary science-type degree available in Ireland to students who are interested in working


in the area of biological and animal sciences, and which has a strong emphasis on laboratory techniques and scientific research allowing graduates to pursue careers allied to veterinary science. This degree opens up numerous opportunities for graduates to work in applied areas such as bioveterinary biotechnology, bioveterinary clinical laboratory techniques, biopharmaceutical science, and bioveterinary immunology – all sectors which are highly multidisciplinary in nature and which mirror the new growth areas of employment beginning to dominate Ireland’s recovery. These are all high-end emerging scientific fields and the biopharmaceutical sector and agricultural sectors continue to show immense potential in the Irish employment marketplace going into 2014 and beyond.

What is a degree in bioveterinary science?

This new degree in bioveterinary science can be described as the study of life at all levels of complexity from molecules to populations. While life forms are built from relatively few types of atoms, these are assembled into ever more complex levels of organisation in molecules, cells, tissues and organs, organisms, communities and ecosystems. Bioveterinary science is a family of methods and disciplines grouped around the investigation of life processes and the interrelationships of living organisms. This may involve studies at a variety of levels from molecules to populations. Bioveterinary science is divided into many specialisations such as biology, biological sciences, life sciences and animal sciences. The uniqueness of this degree is that it emphasises specific technologies, interactions and/or systems (e.g. animal behaviour, biochemistry, biotechnology), or

the environments that living organisms inhabit (e.g. ecology, environmental biology).

Why choose a degree in bioveterinary science?

• This degree is at the cutting edge if you are interested in the study of the life sciences, which straddle the biological and medicinal sciences, with an emphasis on the applied veterinary area.

• It is currently the only degree of its kind in Ireland, which makes it unique! Up to this, if you wanted to pursue a degree in bioveterinary science you would have to go to the UK.

• The degree has a unique mix of modules in the biological sciences, veterinary sciences and modules covering bioveterinary scientific research and current trends in bioveterinary sciences.

• The aim of the degree is to provide a multidisciplinary undergraduate education by developing specific expertise and comprehensive training in bioveterinary science which underpins modern veterinary and laboratory practice. This will be achieved through the acquisition of knowledge and skills with the goal of producing qualified and well-rounded bioveterinary scientists capable of working in a range of veterinary-related sectors such as the pharmaceutical, food and agricultural sectors, medical-based industries, biomedical research, animal nutrition or veterinary public health.

Excellent career prospects as a bioveterinary scientist

One of the key questions for a student interesting in pursuing a career in science is

what degree will I choose? This degree is ideally suited to a student who has a strong twin interest in the biological and veterinary areas. The bioveterinary science graduate will be very well qualified to work in scientific laboratories in a wide range of industries. Graduates are well placed to go on to employment in veterinary diagnostics and pharmaceutical research, veterinary, medical and nutritional sales, hospital and forensic laboratory work. Graduates of this programme may apply for positions in allied animal industries such as feed and equipment manufacturers, artificial breeding associations, pharmaceutical firms, breeding and livestock organisations and government agencies. Graduates may also find employment in zoos, kennels, animal clinics, stud farms, animal sanctuaries and similar facilities. Graduates of the BSc (Hons) in Bioveterinary Science will be academically well prepared to enrol on a postgraduate research degree programme at AIT or in other third-level Institutes. On validation with the Teaching Council, graduates may apply for the Postgraduate Diploma in Education for the teaching of second level Biology (subject to approval). The BSc (Hons) in Bioveterinary Science degree does not confer eligibility to register with the Veterinary Council of Ireland as either a veterinary surgeon or a veterinary nurse. The degree programme is not intended as a route to further study in the area of veterinary medicine or veterinary nursing.


It is envisaged that 14,500 environmental employment opportunities could arise within

Ireland over the next five years. The market size for environmental goods and services in this country is estimated at €3.05 billion, which includes approximately 5,000 people working within the energy efficiency sub-sector on the insulation and retro-fitting of homes. Internationally, the German environment ministry anticipate that global environmental goods and services could reach €1,900 billion by 2020. South Korea hopes to create one million new jobs as a result of its “Green New Deal” stimulus plan, while Japan expects to create 1.4 million new jobs in the sector by 2020. Into this space, AIT is launching an exciting new three-year degree, the BSc in Environmental Engineering Science (AL722), which will commence in September 2014, graduates of which

will be excellently placed to secure employment, innovate, shape and lead the Green Revolution nationally and internationally.

Global and Domestic DriversSeveral global and domestic economic, environmental and technological drivers of change are influencing the growth of the green economy in Ireland.

• Environmental and energy concerns: climate change pressures are realigning policy for cleaner technologies and lower carbon economies.

• Environmental directives and regulations: compliance required with IPPC, WEEE, restriction on hazardous substances & Water Framework Directives.

• Economic: major economies have

included green initiatives as part of their stimulus packages.

• Technological convergence: overlapping technologies are producing sustainable building materials, products and energy systems.

• Export market opportunities: first mover competitive advantage for companies developing new clean energy and environmental goods and services.

Renewable Energy and BiomassIreland has been set a mandatory target by the EU of 16 per cent of our energy consumption – broken down into heat, transport and electricity – to come from renewable sources by 2020. Ireland’s National Renewable Action Plan provides that this target will be achieved by 40 per cent of our electricity consumption, 12

Age of theEnvironmentFrom waste water management through to carbon emissions and energy efficiency, there is little doubt that this is the Age of the Environment.

The Green Agenda features prominently not just in the lives of citizens, but is of enormous concern to governments and corporations alike.

And, it’s big business.


per cent of our heat consumption and 10 per cent of our transport consumption coming from renewable sources by 2020. A developed renewables sector is essential for Ireland to comply with its climate change strategy and become a net energy exporter. Compliance requires that greenhouse gas emissions be reduced in the sectors of electricity, heating and cooling, and transport. Ireland must drive this sectoral expansion to fulfil its energy policy objectives, namely to enhance energy security and increase cost-competitiveness in line with other EU members. Of particular note is the forecast for biomass contribution, which sees a growth of nearly six times in terms of megawatt contribution from 2010 levels. This prediction should see a surge in agricultural land under biomass and the associated demand for technical skills in the production of biofuel and operation of biorefineries. The new degree possesses a number of distinct elements, specifically Industrial Ecology and Solid Waste Management, and Plant & Process Design which are aimed at training the learner in biorefinery and waste management design.

Water and Waste Water TreatmentA 2012 report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) highlights the continual negative impact on ecology and chemical status on rivers and

bathing waters in Ireland from 57 waste water works. Inadequate capacity and poor performing treatment plants have not led to the achievement of quality standards required by the Water Framework Directive. The EPA points out that investment, licensing and enforcement will go some way in improving the position, but will not be sufficient in gaining value-for-money from waste water infrastructure. To meet this deficiency in expertise, the new BSc degree contains key scientific modules namely Analytical Techniques, Water Science, Water and Waste Water Treatment, and Toxicology of Pollution. These are underpinned with core scientific modules in order train students in biological and chemical techniques for assessing performance and compliance at water and waste water plants and the management of freshwater, estuarine and marine resources. With a number of drinking water contamination incidents in the last 15 years, current and future demands within this industry require trained professionals who possess qualifications necessary to understand the risks and importance of the treatment plant with respect to

delivery of safe drinking water to the public. It is slowly being recognised that operators in these critical plants need to have a combination of scientific and engineering skills to understand the biology of the discipline and are able to react to deviations in abnormal conditions by taking timely and proactive measures.

Technological ConvergenceTo enhance convergence sub-sea dark fibre optic cable is currently being laid between the United States and Ireland.

The cable will be utilised for data transmission between the USA and Ireland and on towards southern Europe. This investment of €305 million has the potential to develop additional data centres within Ireland. A further example of such convergence comes from technological giant, Microsoft, which has begun the first phase of its ambitious plan to place data centres alongside sources of

renewable energy, creating “data plants”. The company is preparing to deploy a data centre container filled with servers next to a waste water treatment plant in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and power the servers using electricity from a fuel cell running on methane biogas from the plant. With the data plant concept, Microsoft brings computing and energy infrastructure closer together. But it also expands the universe of power sources beyond traditional electric utilities, adding water treatment plants, wind generation farms and solar power facilities as potential power suppliers. This convergence of technology indicates the approach beyond traditional avenues to align resources with demand and is a good example of industrial ecology i.e., utilising a waste product as a valuable resource. The BSc in Environmental Engineering Science mirrors this thinking and style and contains relevant modules to reflect this approach, for example, Renewable Energy, Industrial Ecology, Plant and Process Design, and Environmental Engineering.


The project saw AIT postgraduate research student, Crevan O’Donnell, divide his time between the company and the institute to suit the individual needs of the project. The research was undertaken as part of AIT’s President’s Research Seed Fund. Many issues currently exist with the supply of recycled polymer that deems it unsuitable for use in some commercial product ranges. If the properties of these polymers can be enhanced to bring them into line with those of a virgin material then the recycled material may part or wholly replace the virgin polymer and thus enable the recyclate to be used in a higher value product. The quality of the post-consumer PET is of critical importance as this will determine the end user markets in which it can be used. All the testing and analyses in this project were carried out in accordance with recognised international standards. Principal investigator, Dr Luke Geever stated: “The close working relationship between Shabra and AIT has been key to this project’s success. Crevan O’Donnell has many years of industrial experience and so we were able to hit the ground running with this project. Our team has transferred methods and technologies to Shabra which involved the training of Shabra employees on various high-tech testing methods. This research project has been a major success and we hope to continue working with Shabra on recycling projects for many years to come.” Shabra is a global market leader in integrated plastics recycling, reprocessing, manufacturing and supply of recycled products. Innovation and R&D are a strong focus of Shabra, which is continuously

expanding its range of products and services. The company has established a substantial export business, with sales worldwide – primarily to India, the Far East and Europe. Rita Shah, Managing Director, Shabra Group (below) commented: “We enjoyed very much working with Crevan and the AIT team. AIT is highly responsive and fast in contextualising our requirements with focus and dynamism. We now view AIT as a natural extension to Shabra Group capability. AIT is our Athlone-based lab,” she said.

Employment Potential for GraduatesWith the scope and scale of the Green Economy continually growing, graduates will have enormous opportunities for securing employment, across a broad range of industries and sectors. These can be classified as follows:

Water and Waste ManagementBio-refinery and anaerobic digester operators, water and waste water treatment technicians and managers,

water scientists, water analysts, water treatment chemists and engineers, microbiologists, technical sales people, treatment plant designers, material recovery.

Environmental ConsultancyEnvironmental technicians, environmental engineers, environmental scientists, chemists, pollution modellers, environmental impact assessors, air pollution specialists, soil remediation scientists, waste reduction consultants and regulatory specialists.

Renewable EnergiesBio-fuel scientists and engineers, waste to energy specialists, renewable energy scientists and engineers, environmental engineers, energy managers, energy conservation specialists.

Efficient Energy Use and ManagementEnergy managers, compliance specialists, energy auditors, energy conservation specialists and project managers.

Plastics Recycling in Ireland supported by AIT Research Shabra, a global leader in integrated plastics recycling, is collabrating with AIT’s Material Research Institute on a significant research project, which has led to the opening of a new R&D laboratory and the hiring of new staff


A new research study at AIT into recycling mixed plastics waste could benefit the environment, the economy and create jobs.

The €350,000 study to be undertaken by AIT’s Materials Research Institute and funded by Enterprise Ireland’s Commercialisation Fund Call will involve the upcycling of mixed plastics waste via several unique processing steps. The innovative research study led by principal investigator Dr Luke Geever, senior researcher, MRI, is entitled: “Mixed Plastics Waste as a Valuable Resource: High value – new products from old plastics waste (Eco-MixPlas)”. According to Dr Geever: “The use of plastics waste as a resource has a significant role to play in the recycling sector. In most of Europe, after collection and sortation, mixed plastics waste generally receives no further treatment and is exported at very low cost or is landfilled. This is currently a huge problem in Ireland with the majority of mixed plastics waste being exported at very low cost mainly to China, or landfilled, as is the case in most other European countries. “Both of these options are bad for the economy and bad for the environment, as by shipping this material out of the country or landfilling it, the true value and potential to upcycle the material is being lost. This important material source could instead be used to produce valuable products in Ireland if further separated and upcylced, and this research will strive to do just that.” While recycling barely existed in Europe three decades ago, today this expanding innovative sector has a turnover of about €24 billion. Its 60,000-plus companies, three-quarters of which are small businesses, have created jobs for half a million people. Prof. Clement Higginbotham, MRI Director and collaborator on the current study, commented: “As the mixed plastics waste stream consists of several

different types of plastics, it is not cost effective to further separate/sort this waste stream into individual plastic types. Building on over 20 years of plastics recycling research in AIT, this research will enable the mixed plastics materials to be cost effectively upcylced, which will allow for the development of high value new products from this old plastics waste.” In June 2013, Dr Geever and Prof. Higginbotham received an award for Best AIT Invention Disclosure for this on-going plastic recycling research. Breda Lynch, Industry Programmes Manager and Technology Transfer Officer, AIT said: “Resource efficiency is key to securing growth and jobs for both Ireland and Europe. Indeed environmental considerations and sustainable development are essential for the future success of businesses. Companies that rise to the challenge of becoming more sustainable will be best placed to grow their business.” According to PlasticsEurope, in 2010 the EU-27 plastics industry producers saw an increase in turnover of 17% to €104 billion, while the converting industry achieved a growth of 9.5% to €203 billion, providing jobs to about 1.6 million people across Europe. The plastics industry plays an important role in enabling growth through innovation in a wide range of key European industries. Packaging remains the largest end-use segment representing (39%) of the overall demand, followed by building and construction (20.6%), and automotive (7.5%). Diverting as much plastic waste as possible from landfill and keeping as much in Ireland for reprocessing will not only decrease the carbon footprint associated with exporting and subsequently reduce environmental impacts of that waste, it will provide long-term sustainable employment in Ireland.

Mixed Plastics Waste as a

Valuable Resource


Polymer engineering has long been a differentiating discipline at AIT. Indeed, plastics and polymer

engineering remains synonymous with the college. This reputation for excellence was built on the back of expert lecturers and generations of graduates who achieved extraordinary success in industry. While demand for the discipline dropped in recent years as industrial polymer processing moved to Eastern Europe and to China, today, polymer is reemerging at undergraduate level in the form of a new honours degree in mechanical and polymer engineering. This rebirth is on the back of a strong medical device industry and advanced manufacturing – and already there is significant interest in, and demand for, the new course. Polymer is a key enabling technology platform that supports a wide variety of Irish exports and jobs, including the €2 billion plastics industry in Ireland, which plays a vitally important role in the Irish economy, comprising 200 companies and employing 12,000 people. Products of the plastics and polymer sector are integral to the products of many other large industrial sectors, including medical devices, pharmaceutical, automotive, packaging, renewable energy and construction, which provide combined exports in excess of €30 billion.

Polymer Days are Here Again

Polymer and mechanical engineering combine in an exciting new degree due to commence this September


Engineers with a strong knowledge of polymers are in demand in the medical devices and plastics industries, and across selected domains within other sectors. Firms report a shortage of engineers with strong skills in the area. According to a recent Forfás report (2013), a number of key skills will drive engineering job creation amongst multinationals and SMEs (foreign owned and indigenous) in Ireland, namely:“Engineers with a strong knowledge of polymers are in demand in the medical devices and plastics industries, and in parts of other sectors. Firms report a shortage of engineers with strong skills in the area.” The report is explicit about specific skills shortages in the medical device industry and advanced manufacturing (automation) sector. Polymer engineering is a core skillset for the medical device industry, as is knowledge of mechanical and manufacturing technologies. The medical device industry is strategically important to Ireland and more particularly to the midlands and western region, where leading global multinational companies are located. In more recent years, Ireland has also grown a significant indigenous industrial base in medical devices. The strength of the Irish-based industry in the west and midlands is such that it has developed the characteristics of an industrial cluster, where core skills sets applied to one industry act as a catalyst to supporting the creation and development of non-competing industries. An extensive industrial survey conducted by AIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering highlighted a requirement for skilled mechanical engineering graduates with specific expertise in manufacturing/automation and polymers. Survey participants highlighted a combined knowledge of mechanical/automation and polymer engineering as crucial. Strategically, the School of Engineering is building upon a track record of developing competencies and programmes within mechanical, manufacturing and polymer engineering over many years. The new BEng (Hons) in Mechanical and Polymer Engineering is another step in aligning the department’s programmes to current industrial needs, while offering progression possibilities for graduates

to pursue postgraduate research in polymer engineering. A key differentiator of this new programme is the eight-month industrial placement in the third year. This will give students an extensive opportunity to apply the academic knowledge they will have acquired to that point and utilise it in a real-world setting. The duration of the placement came at the request of employers, who felt that it was the appropriate period of time for students to be able to gain and perfect their workplace knowledge.

Core mechanical engineering skillsThere are two main driving forces behind the need to offer core mechanical engineering skills, while facilitating the formation of the mechanical/polymer engineer. Firstly, there are core mandatory modules that support the formation of a mechanical engineer. Secondly, polymer modules that are offered to the student are identified as appropriate applications through which mechanical engineering core competencies can be expressed. Consequently, the Level 8 mechanical/polymer engineering degree seeks to educate the learner in the fundamentals of engineering, while providing exposure to specific technologies and methods associated with polymer engineering. Those selected technologies and application domains are identified with reference to current industrial needs and trends. The balance between the mechanical and polymer modules in the programme is based on extensive consultation with potential employers. The government’s Action Plan for Jobs outlines both the opportunities and the challenges in polymer and mechanical engineering. In respect of manufacturing, the report points out that there is a continuing need to provide graduates with the latest tools within a sector that requires upskilling. Within the health and life sciences sector, the report notes also that there are skill gaps in aspects of the value chain, in particular, design, innovation, project management and commercialisation skills, and marketing. This new degree seeks to respond to these key points.

Employment opportunitiesIt is expected that graduates from this course will find employment in a wide range of sectors and roles including:• Design engineers • Mechanical engineers – advanced manufacturing, process development and maintenance• Polymer engineers• Medical device and plastics industries

Polymer technicians and engineers are required for the design and production of plastic components, which account for a substantial part of all medical device production in Ireland, both in subcontracting and in many of the main medical device firms. A shortage of polymer technicians and engineers hinders product innovation in terms of mould design for product development, prototype runs, troubleshooting and validating new processes. AIT would expect that graduates will pursue professional status given how polymer and mechanical engineering graduates have and are progressing. The institute expects that graduates from this new programme will be highly skilled and will be capable of attaining senior positions. We also expect that many of the top graduates will progress to research and further study.


Poor network coverage for mobile phone users may soon be a thing of the past, as a result of a major

research project announced between telecommunications company Openet and the Software Research Institute at AIT. The research will deliver improved network coverage, amongst other benefits, for mobile phone companies and for mobile phone and internet users. Funded by Enterprise Ireland through its Innovation Partnership Programme, the Policy and Knowledge Discovery Assisted Network Management System (POLKA) represents an investment of some €570,000. Coupled with a similar collaborative research project between the same partners over the past two years, the total invested by Enterprise Ireland and the company in the AIT research institute stands at over €1.3million. The new research to be undertaken by AIT and Openet will enable telecommunications companies to improve their network coverage, and to adapt quickly to changing subscriber needs and demands. It will also help them understand the commercial implications of changes to their subscription packages. “Openet’s products enable operators to fully realise the commercial potential of their networks as they diversify consumer offerings, enable the “Internet of Things” and explore new business models,” said

Joe Hogan, Chief Technical Officer, who received the European Entrepreneur of the Year award on behalf of Openet last year. “Openet is the worldwide leader in policy management vendor for the telecommunications market. As the policy market is becoming increasingly competitive, Openet aims to maintain this premier position by extending its policy footprint with new products emanating from this new collaborative research project,” Mr Hogan added. According to Anthony Cunningham, Technology Gateway Manager, SRI: “This ground-breaking research supported by the Enterprise Ireland-enabled Innovation Partnership Project will not only increase Openet’s share of the global policy market, it will also increase the overall size of the market. This will create highly skilled jobs in the country and support Ireland’s growing reputation as a national centre of excellence for the telecoms industry. “It will obviously also enhance the reputation of the SRI as a technology gateway, highlighting the technical competence of our research team, generate valuable research income for the institute and strengthen our position as a business partner of choice,” Mr Cunningham stated. Telecommunications service providers’ core networks have become increasingly complex, requiring substantial ongoing investment to configure, deploy and maintain. This complexity is due to the

growing number of devices such as smart phones which use their services and the competitive pressures to create diverse service offerings to address a diverse customer base. Gearóid Mooney, Enterprise Ireland’s Head of Research and Innovation welcomed the announcement saying, “Openet is one of Ireland’s leading software companies with a proven track record internationally for leading edge technology. Enterprise Ireland is delighted to support the company in its continuing partnership with AIT and to continue to work closely with them as they grow their international business. The fact that this is the second Enterprise Ireland Innovation Partnership undertaken by Openet and the SRI in Athlone is indicative of the power of collaborative R&D which Enterprise Ireland supports and encourages for the benefit of Irish industry.” Technology Transfer Officer at AIT, Breda Lynch, noted that: “Openet’s involvement in the collaborative research project centres on its keen exploitation plans for the project outcomes. Paramount to the company is the alignment of its exploitation plans with the institute’s management of the intellectual property (IP). Addressing company concerns in relation to accessing the IP in a practical and time efficient manner, in line with funding guidelines and the national IP protocol was key to finalising the project.”

Poor Network Coverage for Phone Users to be a Thing of the Past


In AIT’s entry in the CAO handbook for 2014, two new programmes feature the words “Common Entry” in their title. Behind

their bracketed status, however, lies a world of opportunities for prospective students that take in some of the most exciting and rewarding disciplines in electronics, computer and software engineering. Engineering Informatics (Common Entry) (AL701) provides the student with access to a three-year degree programme, where all students study the same modules in first year, and then chose between three specialisations in their second year, namely, computer engineering, network management, or electronics and wireless communications. Similarly, students choosing Software Design (Common Entry) (AL801) will study a common set of modules in their first year and choose between game development or cloud computing in their second year. This leads to the award of honours BSc degree after four years’ study. Head of the School of Engineering, Dr Austin Hanley, said that the rationale for introducing the common entry programmes was “to give students sufficient time and experience to come to an informed choice as to which specific electronic, computing or software programme they wish to follow. This broad experience of some of the major areas in electronics, computer and software engineering will better enable the students to carry on to second year, knowing they have an interest and aptitude for a particular field.”


Common Entry

ICT Degrees

Open Doors to

World of Opportunities

Two new programmes from AIT on the CAO, in Engineering Informatics and Software Design lead on to degrees in: • Electronics and Wireless Communications• Network Management• Computer Engineering• Game Development and • Cloud Computing


Engineering Informatics (Common Entry)Students choosing the BEng in Electronics and Wireless Communications option through Engineering Informatics will obtain the skills and knowledge to work in an industry characterised by communication anytime, anywhere, any-media at high data rates. Crucially, this degree incorporates the industry benchmark, CISCO wireless qualifications. One of these qualifications is the CISCO-HP IT Essentials 1: PC Hardware and Software qualification. This is a major stepping stone for the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) A+ certification examination to become a certified computer service technician. Networking is a core function for a majority of organisations, and those choosing the BSc in Network Management will receive a combined education in computer network design, configuration and management. The course incorporates a number of modules which will prepare students to obtain industry accredited certification in addition to the institute award. These include the Cisco CCNA, Wireless, IT Essentials, VoIP and Security certifications. Computer engineers are employed in areas as diverse as the mobile phone industry, gaming, medical devices, cloud technology, smart transport and energy management. Students choosing the BEng in Computer Engineering will receive an education and training necessary for a career in the computer, software and electronics industry. They will develop the necessary theoretical knowledge in areas that are crucial to computer engineering and will develop skills in computer systems administration and problem solving.

Software Design (Common Entry)The Software Design (Common Entry) programme gives students the opportunity to choose between game development and cloud computing. Students on both degrees will undertake a six-month industrial placement in their third year. For those opting for the BSc (Hons) in Software Design (Game Development), they will receive the education and training required to prepare for a career in software design, with a specialisation in game development, one of the fastest growth sectors in the IT industry. There are now 158 companies actively working in the games industry in Ireland, an increase of 300 per cent on one year. Cloud computing can be defined as the unification of devices, operating systems, data and storage into a single system. Students choosing the BSc (Hons) in Software Design (Cloud Computing) specialise in the implementation and testing of web- and cloud-based software solutions using Java and .NET, as well as specialised modules in cloud computing.

Multi-Sensory Multimedia Communication Research

Ongoing research in Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT) is working to develop new kinds of multimedia experiences. Traditional multimedia systems stimulate the senses of sight and sound through typical audiovisual presentations. The research undertaken in AIT is working to extend these experiences by stimulating the sense of smell e.g. imagine watching a TV commercial with the smell of pizza wafting from the TV! In recent years, the multimedia research community has begun to look at various approaches to enhance the user quality of user experience, a task AIT lecturer Niall Murray has undertaken as part of his doctoral studies with the AIT Software Research Institute (SRI). One innovative avenue to increase user’s perception is to enhance audio and visual multimedia with senses of smell, taste and touch. The work in AIT focuses on olfaction or sense of smell as a media with several research challenges being tackled. These include synchronization between audiovisual and olfaction stimuli and the interaction between multiple olfactory stimuli. Subjective testing has been ongoing for the last two years with recent results published in prestigious peer reviewed international conferences and high impact factor journals.

According to Niall: “Multi-sensory multimedia promises to revolutionise user interactions and experiences across a wide range of fields including gaming, health, education, tourism, social networking and telecommunications among others. With olfactory displays now becoming commercially available, the challenge of this work is to understand and model the user perception of olfaction-enhanced multimedia. This is the key aspect to transform this from a research topic into reality”. Niall started his PhD is the SRI in 2010 and has been a lecturer in the Department of Electronics, Computer and Software Engineering since 2012. Prior to this he worked as a design engineer in the telecommunications industry. He teaches on computer networks and telecommunications in AIT. Upon completing his PhD this summer, he hopes to continue teaching and research in the area of multimedia communications.


I left school after my Junior Certificate at the age of 16, with scarcely a qualification to my name. I worked in

many different jobs during my teens, and at the age of 20, I joined the Irish Defence Forces, and stayed there for almost four years. I undertook a trip overseas to East Timor in 2002, where I learned a great deal about what I would like to do with my life. I knew from that experience that I wanted to help people on a full-time basis, but I did not know how to go about it. On my return from overseas, I met my soon-to-be wife Siobhain. We got married in 2006, and have two beautiful children. Siobhain always encouraged me to follow my dreams and go to college, but I felt that I would not be able for third level, as I left school at an early age. My father-in-law Liam Dooley, undertook the Foundation course at AIT in 2005. Liam like myself, left school at an early age – he was only 13-years-old – and had little formal education. We were all very proud of Liam’s achievement, because he was the first of us to take the big plunge back to education. Liam finished the Foundation course, and went on to get a degree in Applied Social Studies in Social Care. Seeing Liam’s success both educationally and what it did for his self-esteem, proved the inspiration for me to take the leap back into education. Still unsure of what to do, Liam directed me towards the Foundation Course, saying how it had helped him choose his career. At the time I applied for the Foundation course, I was 31-years-old and working as a taxi driver, struggling to make a living. I had to make the biggest decision of my life, and give up taxi driving and try education after 15 years. I left the taxi business, and was successful on getting my place in the Foundation course. It was hard at times, as I was so long out of the education system, but by putting in the time and effort, I did really well and surprised myself. The best thing about the Foundation Course is that you get to try a lot of courses available in AIT. Having passed the Foundation course, like Liam, I choose Applied Social Studies as my career. I worked hard balancing college life with family life. While it was tough at times, I have gained the rewards of putting all the time and effort in. I now have a degree in Applied Social Studies. College is not all about academic work, it is also a place where you will make some of your best friends for life. I have made some great friends from the

From East Timorto Social Care

Mature student Gordon Nugent tells of his – and his family’s – experience as mature students at AIT

Foundation course and social studies degree. Completing a hat-trick for our family, my wife Siobhain also did the Foundation course in 2012. Like her dad and myself, she also was out of the education system for some time, and unsure what career path to take. Siobhain completed the Foundation course in 2013, and has started her full-time studies in Applied Social Studies last September. I would encourage people to go back to education, and I would recommend the

Foundation course as a starting point. The Foundation course is a great grounding for anyone who wants to go to college, especially if you have been out of the education system for many years, or if you are unsure on what path to take. The Foundation course gave all three of us a great introductionto third level education and the confidence in ourselves to progress further. I am now working as a social care worker in a secure unit in Dublin. It is a great feeling that all my years of hard work has paid off.


Provision of early years care and education in Ireland is undergoing significant change as it meets the opportunities and challenges of quality provision for all children. Recent revelations of unsafe and distressing practices in a number of crèches have highlighted the need for a professional, qualified workforce to ensure all children

have a “positive, enjoyable and motivating start in life” (NCCA 2004). More recent policy initiatives has focused on the provision of early years care and education in an integrated manner and led to the coordination of policy at government and early childhood providers’ level. The introduction in 2010 of the Early Years Care and Education (ECCE) free preschool year has seen an uptake of approximately 95% of eligible children. In addition, the requirement to implement the frameworks of Aistear, the early childhood curriculum framework, and Síolta, the national quality framework for early childhood education, and the National Strategy to Improve Literacy and Numeracy (2011-2020) has required practitioners to evaluate provision. The appointment of Frances Fitzgerald as Minister for Children in 2011 and her appointment of Norah Gibbons as Chairperson of the Child and Family Agency in 2013 represent a positive focus on the importance of quality provision of support, care and education in young children’s lives. New standards, registration and qualification requirements to be introduced over the next 18 months also highlight the concerted efforts of government and NGOs such as Barnardos and Start Strong to ensure quality care and education is a right of every child. Nevertheless, quality care and education is not available to all families as a key finding from the State of the Nation’s Children report found that only 29 per cent of parents with children under 13 years reported having access to “high quality, affordable childcare in the community” (Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, 2010).

Early Years Careand Education

AIT is introducing a new BA in Early Years Care and Education to meet the changing needs of the childcare sector. Teresa Brown and Anna-Rose Codd report on developments.


The challenge and opportunity is there for current, practicing and potential practitioners to ensure all children have access to quality care and education. Research has found that higher levels of staff training and education are positively linked to positive child outcomes (Childhood Development Initiative, 2013). Having delivered a suite of programmes in childcare management over the past number of years, AIT has now developed a new three-year BA in Early Years Care and Education, which will commence in September 2014. This new programme will prepare existing and potential practitioners to provide appropriate pedagogical approaches and care to meet new standards and regulations. The new programme will focus on key areas such as interactions with parents, preschool intervention, inclusion, child development, health, hygiene, nutrition and safety, education and play, personal

and professional development, management and communication skills in a social environment conducive to positive outcomes for all children and their families. Athlone Institute of Technology offer students practical skills in the care and education of babies and young children in a simulated early years environment, which will enable the student to make direct links with theory and practice – an essential element of professional practice. Teaching hours will be dedicated to preparation of students for practice placement to ensure quality work experience within a supervised framework. The institute also has strong links with providers in the early years sector where a number of students have secured employment. The course is delivered by a multi-disciplinary team with vast practice experience in the early years sector.


Mental health has been described as “the emotional and spiritual resilience which

allows us to enjoy life and to survive pain and disappointment and sadness. It is an underlying belief in our own and others worth.” (WHO 2001) Well-being has been defined as “a positive state of mind and body, feeling safe and able to cope, with a sense of connection with people, communities and the wider environment.” The connection between mental and physical health can never be undermined. Statistically it is now well established that one in four can experience a mental health difficulty, and that one in five under the age of 25 experience mental ill health. This latter statistic calls for vigilance given the age profile of the third level student population. Such a statistic highlights the importance and relevance of AIT’s Healthy Campus Project, which works in close partnership with external agencies such as the HSE and Mental Health Ireland’s Midland Regional Office. Our aim through a varied programme of activities is to encourage understanding around mental health and promote awareness of the many available supports at times of difficulties. Two important dimensions of health are physical and mental well-being. Most people are aware that anxiety, depression, and stress can impact seriously on their mental health if not correctly managed. However people often do not associate their mental health with their physical health and realise how much they are connected. It is a two-way process. Mental health conditions may negatively affect a person’s physical health e.g. anxiety and stress can be associated with headaches, stomach ulcers and hypertension. People who experience

chronic anxiety can be at greater risk of developing heart disease. Similarly, physical illness negatively impact on a person’s mental health. People with chronic physical illness are vulnerable to feelings of anxiety, depression and stress. This awareness implies a strong connection between body and mind. Therefore, being mindful of leading a healthy lifestyle can have a positive impact on both mental and physical health. Making healthy choices such as being physically active, eating healthy foods, not smoking, going for an annual medical checkup, and or developing

appropriate coping strategies can reduce the risk of experiencing physical and mental health conditions. One of the key messages promoted by Mental Health Ireland is building resilience as a cornerstone to good mental health. This theme has been adopted by the Healthy Campus Project, which in partnership with Mental Health Ireland, has developed the Wellness Information Boards, “My Mind Matters”, which are strategically located throughout the institute.

ResilienceWhen something goes wrong, is the tendency to bounce back or fall apart? Having resilience means being able to adapt to setbacks. It can help a person rebound from setbacks,

disappointments or challenges, such as a job loss, an illness, or the death of a loved one. When person lack resilience, they may dwell on problems, experience feelings of being overwhelmed or turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms, such as substance abuse. Resilience offers protection from various mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety, and can help offset factors that increase the risk of mental health conditions, such as lack of social support or being bullied. Being resilient can improve a person’s ability to cope. Suggested tips highlighted in the “My Mind Matters” initiative include talking

about problems, getting help, being active every day, and avoiding binge drinking. The success of the information boards was followed by an initiative involving digital media students. This project, in partnership with Mental Health Ireland, involved a competition resulting in development of eight short clips on the theme of creating awareness

and the importance of seeking help at times of difficulty. The theme of the winning entry theme was “When you are feeling low, ask for help”, while all the media clips entered will be showcased on Mental Health Ireland’s website, www.mentalhealthireland.ie. There is an Indian proverb that says, “that everyone is a house with four rooms, a physical, a mental, an emotional and a spiritual. Most of us tend to live in one room most of the time but, unless we go into every room every day, even if only to keep it aired, we are not a complete person” It is the connection between all these metaphorical rooms that sustains daily mental health Some useful websites include www.mentalhealthireland.ie and www.aisling.ie.

My Mind MattersAnne Cooney, Healthy Campus Coordinator, and Finola Colgan, Development Officer, Mental Health Ireland – Midlands report on a collaborative Healthy Campus-HSE-Mental Health Ireland initiative at AIT


Patricia Kearney, Disability Support Service Coordinator at AIT, was a pioneer in establishing and developing services for students with disabilities. Her sad passing on 27 September 2013 leaves the college community

much the poorer. When the Disability Support Service at AIT was established, there were just 20 students with disabilities registered at AIT. Reflecting the tremendous range of supports devised and provided by the service, today that number stands at 230 students. Patricia championed the introduction of assistive technology (AT) to AIT and the service currently has an AT Centre with 11 computers that host a range of hardware and software solutions to support students in achieving their academic goals. Patricia also pioneered AT outreach activities for schools in the catchment area through the REACH project. She progressed the standardisation of needs assessments through the Ascent project in collaboration with other third level institutions. As a member of the Disability Advisors Working Network (DAWN), she played a key role in the development of national policies on disability in third level education. Notably, AIT was the first institute of technology to implement the Disability Access Route to Education (DARE) scheme, which offers college places at reduced points to students with disabilities. Patricia’s ethos was to treat each student as an individual and focus on them developing their own strengths in pursuit of their studies. She encouraged students to draw on their own abilities and resources to carve out successful academic careers. Her incredible work ethic and commitment to her role inspired both the students who knew her and the staff who worked alongside her, both in AIT and nationally. She will be sadly missed, but her valuable legacy will never be forgotten.

– Bernie Langtry

Patricia Kearney

Patricia KearneyAn Appreciation

An Appreciation


“Success can be a disaster,” David Rooney commented in an address to AIT design students.

A ripple of laughter ran through the captivated audience but Rooney wasn’t joking. The comment referred to the conflict between commercially-driven advertising illustration and the more creative editorial and book illustration work he had built his early reputation on. He worked for Microsoft in Seattle for a period in the early 1990s and Porsche driving, returned to Ireland where fuelled by an “over-dependence on advertising work,” he “made good money but produced too much mediocre, client-led, commercial work. It was an artistically unfulfilling period of maybe four or five years which was thankfully broken by a call from The Irish Times to produce a weekly comment illustration on the business matters of the week”, a role he fulfilled weekly for over a decade until the demise of the Celtic Tiger in 2008. “Ironically the advertising in the newspaper dried up … so no ads, no Rooneys! It’s a fine balance.” He enjoys a far more fulfilling kind of success these days. Ninety-two illustrations for The Story of Ireland

tv documentary commissioned by the BBC in 2011 led to a string of museum projects including Titanic Experience, Belfast, Dungannon’s Ranfurly House Museum, King John’s Castle interpretative centre Limerick, Lindesfarne Gospels at Durham Cathedral and the new Stonehenge Interpretation Centre. Druid Theatre work on the Tom Murphy season and a set of Bram Stoker stamps for An Post rounded off a “bumper run of culturally orientated work” and recently he scooped the Institute of Designers in Ireland award for illustrating Rogue Male for the Folio Society. Illustrations for same publisher’s edition of the classic Lorna Doone, won the UK Association of Illustrators’ Silver award. A select number of design students in AIT got a hint of that success when the designs they worked on with the master illustrator were published in Hotpress magazine, to which he himself is a regular contributor since leaving art college. Rooney’s links with AIT go back to the school days at La Sainte Union Convent in Banagher, where AIT design lecturer Sheila Hough – then a young Crawford graduate – nurtured his

drawing and painting ability. “I was almost like an apprentice. To this day if I’m painting, which I don’t get to do very often, I can hear Sheila telling me how to hold the brush.” Part of the reason he comes to AIT is to continue that relationship with Sheila. Having attended a number of “unsympathetic” schools that sought only to stifle his artistic talent, he flourished under the caring attitude in Banagher, where also he met another AIT design staff member in his final year, Aileen Kilroy Glynn. Caring is a tradition, he notes, that Sheila, Aileen and their colleagues in the design department continue in AIT. “I still get a sense of that school experience here and I see it in students, that caring element to it, and as a result personalities are supported, and I can see that in the end result in students.’ He finds that AIT students strive to achieve. “And I know this from Hotpress. The typical AIT design student performs better in an interview situation, they seem to be more personable, seem to be more interested in trying to improve.” He himself found the years after school frustrating because his own college did not have that mentoring pedagogy. His talent was noted soon after graduating by the then Taoiseach Charles Haughey, who whatever his shortcomings, had an eye for art. Rooney’s illustration of the sinking of Haughey’s boat in the Sunday Tribune impressed the Taoiseach so much that he summoned him to discuss purchasing the original. Rooney first thought he would charge £50; a chat with Niall Stokes of Hotpress upped that to £150; going through the opulent antechambers to the Taoiseach’s office drove it to £250. When he finally met the Taoiseach he asked for £300, and Haughey looked up at Rooney, who is over six feet tall, and called him “an awful man” but didn’t baulk. He told him to come

Design students at AIT were treated recently to a series of workshops with internationally renowned and prize-winning scraperboard illustrator David Rooney. He took time out to talk to Carmel Joyce.

Divining the Creative


back the following night and collect it from the garda on duty. The next evening he received a brown envelope. He waited until he reached the corner of the Shelbourne Hotel before opening. The £300 was there in used notes and at the bottom were little grains of earth. “I should have kept it and had tested it to see where he’d dug it up from,” he grins. He sometimes finds it difficult to adjust from practice to teaching, because of the pace at which students work. The professional world is deadline driven and does not afford the luxury of changing the direction of a piece. Students, however, often go off on tangents rather that sticking to the coordinates he has given them. “That comes with time and confidence and experience. You know the direction you should be going in and you cannot second guess yourself all through the creative process because at any one moment there are multiple ways to solving the problem but they can’t be entertained.” He feels passionately about the art/design college experience and the part complementary studies now plays in his own work environment. He didn’t appreciate its value as a student 30 or so years ago, “What seemed very tangential to the course, film appreciation, film theory – at the time, you say what’s film theory to do with print – has got everything to do with it now.” An example of what he means is the production discussions for the Story of Ireland, which were “a real eye opener”. Cultural references, music, art history and film were the shortcuts, the common language, used by the creative team to explain what was envisaged. “If a director says well it’s like a Wim Wenders film, if you don’t know who Wim Wenders is then you’re out of the conversation.” Cinema has always been a main inspiration. He remembers as a four-year-old being very frustrated that he could not capture Spencer Tracy in “The Old Man and the Sea”, despite having a clear mental picture of the scene. “I had painted it in colour and I’d watched in in black and white and I didn’t know what was wrong. I’d painted the sea blue from the blue pot, and the boat black and the sky more blue, and the oars were red because I couldn’t make brown. I didn’t know that painting in black and white was a possibility. But I remember the frustration.” Despite

the four-year-old’s misgivings that it was terrible it won his first competition. He points out that part of the difficulty now is that Irish students often won’t know the cultural references, (unlike their Eastern European peers) or will have a hazy notion based on a flattened form, “which is a distance too far”. “It’s like looking at the illustration annual instead of fine art, it’s interpretations of interpretations of interpretations – it’s like bad photocopies of photocopies.” The consequence of not being conversant in cultural elements is severe. “If you’re not familiar with that culture, well then you’re just going to be a Mac operator, who implements formulated design structures created by someone else.” The depth of Rooney’s cultural well is revealed in his illustrations of the famine for The Story of Ireland series. Rooney’s genius comes through in each of the anguished figures. There is no ornament, no embellishment, just a haunting truth and an extraordinary, palpable empathy. It is no surprise that of all his work, the Famine images are his personal favourite. “I’m reluctant to use the idea of race, race memory and transference of experience through generations, but you kind of feel it’s there, there’s something in that experience, in that trauma, that leaks through, in odd signals, maybe, that comes through from your parents and grandparents.” The famine period resonated with him, in particular. He points out that Irish history is a litany of disasters with every field being fought over at some stage. The famine, for him, echoes through the generations to the 1950s when people lived in cottage dwellings mostly between 15 and 30 acres, and every family lost children to disease, brought on by poverty and malnourishment. His mother’s family had a shop

in Galway and she told him of poor women coming in from Connemara, who could not speak English, asking could they write a note to Boston or wherever. “You really don’t have to go back very far, so when it came to creating those images they just came out of nowhere, I barely did a sketch. I knew exactly what the people should look like, as if I had been there. I don’t want to get too deep about it, but the people literally just came out of the darkness of the scraperboard and were there.” Guitar playing and singing are among his other talents. His remaining ambitions include writing a sound track to a film or documentary. “Film has always been important and the music is such an integral part; it colours the images to such an extent and it’s not performance dependent.” Whatever comes from this quiet-spoken, unassuming artist be assured that, like his illustrations, it will take us on a mesmeric journey and unleash our imagination. www.davidrooney.com

The winning piece by Conor English which was published in the Hot Press annual 2013


BUSINESS PSYCHOLOGYOwen Ross, Head of Department of Business, discusses an innovative new degree in business psychology, which will commence in September 2014 at AIT.


“The use of mass psychoanalysis to guide campaigns of persuasion has become the basis of a multimillion-

dollar industry… This depth approach to influencing our behaviour is being used in many fields and is employing a variety of ingenuious techniques. It is being used most extensively to affect our daily acts of consumption.” These insights into the use of psychology in a business context come not from any contemporary management guru, but rather from Vance Packard’s book The Hidden Persuaders, which was published in 1957. Business psychology, however, is not restricted to the classic Mad Men era – or indeed to Manhattan. If you want to understand what business psychology is, it is imperative to first consider what business itself is all about. Ultimately business is about people. Making products for people, to sell to them, to be used by them. The focus of business psychology relates to understanding the role that people play in business, how they behave, work, purchase, motivate – and are themsleves motivated. People play multiple roles in business as sellers, buyers, manufacturers, marketers, managers, etc. – and business psychology offers insights into those various contexts and roles. Business psychology is a fascinating field, but can be experienced and understood in in simple everyday situations that we are all familiar with. Did you ever consider the influence other people when you go to make a purchase?

To truly consider the importance that business psychology can have, it is good exercise to consider the worse purchase you ever made. Did you need it? Why did you buy it? What influenced you? The post-Christmas sales are just over but many will have been influenced by business psychology techniques in the form of the price of the product, the size of the price reduction, how the product is presented in the shop, the attitude and the demeanour of the sales assistant. All of these and many more factors will have influenced our minds to make that purchase. Business psychology is more than just marketing and advertising, however. Understanding people is the cornerstone of leadership. Tomorrow’s leaders must have an array of competencies, many associated with the business psychology field, such as:

• Communication – effective, using both formal and informal procedures, and providing specific data to back up observations and conclusions.

• Organisation – assigning objectives and tasks to the most suitable people, and monitoring task fulfilment.

• Empathy – paying attention to people’s concerns, and respecting their feelings.

• Delegation – ensuring that the members of the team have the decision making capacity and resources they need to meet their objectives.

• Coaching – helping collaborators to discover areas for improvement and to develop their skills and professional capabilities

• Teamwork – fostering an atmosphere of collaboration, communication and trust among the members of the team, and stimulateing them towards the achievement of common goals.

• Conceptual/thinking skills – collecting and organising information, problem solving, planning and organising, learning to learn skills, innovation and creative skills.

Many individuals who want to influence others in the business world can do so through the medium of business psychology. People can learn techniques to influence others to lead, to purchase, to sell, to innovate, to work harder and to hope! AIT’s new honours degree in business psychology represents an investment in the future of business education. We envisage that graduates of this programme will find employment in a wide range of sectors, including business, community, social, media and cultural organisations, education, NGOs, local government and local development agencies. Within these sectors, graduates will perform roles in human resources, marketing, general management, customer relations, and business analysis.


BD Bronagh, tell me about your career to date and why you decided to follow a programme in accounting.

BK I always liked working with numbers in school, and was good at maths and accounting. Problem solving was also something I liked. Still, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do when I finished school, so I went to my local IT, Letterkenny, to study law. After one year of this, I knew it wasn’t for me, so I began exploring other options. Accounting was the one that appealed most to me.

BD So why did you pick Athlone IT, as I know you are from Donegal?

BK I spoke to the careers officer in Letterkenny IT several times, and she went through all my options with me. I wanted an excellent college, and as I am from a rural background, I didn’t want to go to Dublin. My advisor suggested

Athlone as a centre of excellence for accounting in Ireland. She told me AIT has the best reputation in Ireland for accounting. I researched AIT and Athlone and both ticked all the boxes for me. I also liked that there was a two-year Accounting Technicians Ireland (ATI) programme, so if I changed my mind again, at least I would have a qualification after two years.

BD So you started on the Accounting Technician Programme. You obtained a distinction in that I believe?

BK I was fortunate enough to do well. The lecturers were excellent, and I knew I had found a subject I wanted to spend my life at. The practical focus of this programme was a great introduction to the subject area.

BD Where did you go after the two-year ATI programme?

BK AIT also has a three year level 8

BA (Hons) in Accounting which I applied for and gained a place on. Graduates of the Technician programme can enter year two of the BA. This then gave me nine exemptions from ACCA exams, with only the finals left to do. This is the fastest way to get ACCA exams.

BD How did you find the BA in comparison?

BK The material being studied was at a much higher level, and there were more assessments, group projects and presentations. I found it a great preparation for the workplace as well as a rewarding academic challenge. I loved that there were students from several nationalities in the class. This gave me the opportunity to learn about different cultures and make friends with people from many countries. One of the most important advantages of the college experience is the

“Not Just a Number”Bronagh Kearney graduated from AIT with an MA in Accounting in 2013 and is currently working as a trainee accountant with Russell Brennan Keane, Athlone. Brendan Doyle, Acting Head of Department of Accounting and Business Computing, met with her recently to talk about accounting, college and her career ambitions.


network of contacts one builds. In an increasingly globalised world, it is very advantageous to have a global network.

BD After the BA, you then did the Master of Arts in Accounting. Tell me your thinking on this decision.

BK Having completed the BA, I felt that chartered accountancy was the route I wanted to take. The MA gave excellent exemption from the exams of Chartered Accountants Ireland, up to CAP 2 level entirely. I also wanted to keep the door open for a career in teaching or possibly lecturing. A master’s degree is very advantageous for this. Also, a master’s gives one an advantage in the jobs market. The fact that I knew the college and was very comfortable with the staff made the decision an easy one.

BD What do you mean “comfortable with the staff”?

BK My five years at AIT were very enjoyable for me, despite the hard work I put in. An important reason for this was the professionalism of all the staff, but especially the teaching staff. They treat students as adults, and give us great respect. We use first names all the time, and have the banter. This makes learning very easy, as you feel you can approach them at any time and ask questions. If they see you are working and trying they will be very generous with their time. They also teach and examine for the professional accountancy bodies so they are very familiar with the requirements of these bodies. I loved that as a student in AIT you are not just a number.

BD So what advice would you give a Leaving Certificate student reading this?

BK There are several things I would

suggest. First, if you know exactly

what you want to do, don’t delay and go for the quickest route. However if you are unsure, there are several ways of trying things out, and changing direction if needed. Do a more general course if you are unsure – Level 6 programmes are great for this.

If you realise you are on the wrong course, it is possible to go back and start again. It may cost some money and time, but a year lost is nothing out of a whole career.

Look closely at exemptions if choosing an accounting course. Not all colleges are equal.

Maintain a good balance between work and leisure. Meet as many people as possible and maintain connections, both personal and professional.

Students making their CAO choices at this time who are interested in studying computing are sometimes confused about which computing course to pick. AIT itself has a number of different courses ranging from computing for business through to computer engineering. This does not even include the many courses that have a heavy computing element. In general, there is a difference between business computing programmes and engineering computing programmes. In general, the business approach tends to look at the role of IT within a business context, while the engineering approach tends to focus more on the technical aspects of computing. Regardless of which type of computing degree a student chooses, one area that is common across all such courses is programming. It is widely recognised that nationally and internationally there is a shortage of graduates with programming skills. For example, the recruitment firm, Hays, released a job creation report in June 2011 stating that there is a skills shortage in candidates with knowledge of Java, NET and C++, as well as IT skills specific to individual industries. Typical modules in AIT’s business computing programmes include: Programming Concepts, Computer Applications, Database Applications, Data Communications, Social Media Applications, Object Oriented Programming, Systems Analysis Techniques, Computer Networks, Operating Systems, E-business and Information Systems, Computer Forensics, E-business, Database Systems, Systems Development, Business Management and Enterprise Development, and Network Programming.

Which computing course to choose


The AITSporting Year in Review



AIT: Educating for Career SuccessSituated in the heart of Ireland, Athlone Institute of Technology delivers an education that equips students for career and life success. AIT graduates lead companies around the world, conduct life-altering research, design new ways of doing things, and work for societal benefit.

AL 854 BA (Hons) in Business PsychologyAL 764 BA in Early Years Care and eEducationAL 722 BSc in Environmental Engineering ScienceAL 701 Engineering Informatics (incorporating Electronics & Wireless Communications, Network Management and Computer Engineering)AL 801 Software Design (incorporating Game Development and Cloud Computing)AL 820 BEng (Hons) in Mechanical and Polymer EngineeringAL 842 BSc (Hons) in Bioveterinary Science

[email protected] www.ait.ie/cao

New to the

CAOin 2014

Documents

AIT Life Vol 6 No 1, January 2014