Engineers Ireland is delighted to announce that today’s Irish Times features a special report on the Institution’s conferring of professional of titles.

This celebration of Irish engineering includes coverage and photographs of all seven conferring and volunteer recognition ceremonies in Belfast, Cork, Dublin, Galway, Limerick, London, and Mullingar, as well as commentary from Engineers Ireland President Dr. Edmond Harty, Vice-President Laura Burke, and Director General Damien Owens on the importance of registered professional titles to driving standards of excellence within the profession.

Also featured is an examination of the vital role that Engineers Ireland’s Regions play in promoting networking and professional development for engineers throughout Ireland. What sets Engineers Ireland apart from many of its international counterparts is that much of the Institution, including its 12 Regions, operate on a cross-discipline basis, bringing engineering professionals of all disciplines together, providing members with opportunities to see exemplary performance in action through events and seminars.

A spotlight is also shone on each of the four professional titles offered by Engineers Ireland: Fellow, Chartered Engineer, Associate Engineer, and Engineering Technician and the Special Report interviews a recipient of each of these titles: Edith Blennerhassett, David Purcell, Fabrice Shikayi, and John O’Brien, respectively, as they describe their careers and what their professional title means to them and their careers.

Lastly, the Special Report recognises the 16 individuals that received a Presidential Invitation to receive the title of Fellow or Honorary Fellow for significant contributions to the engineering profession in Ireland. The awarding of the title of Fellow by Presidential invitation is a unique honour, in recognition of individuals’ contribution and ability in shaping, influencing and inspiring engineers and the future of the engineering industry. Those receiving the honour this year are: John Coleman, Lecturer in Industrial Maintenance Systems at the Technological University of the Shannon; John Cunningham, Senior Engineer at Offaly County Council; Joe English, Factory Manager at Intel Ireland; Diarmaid Fleming, Programme Editor at Al Jazeera; John Fleming, Engineer at Cork County Council; Dominic Forbes, Portfolio Director at the UK Parliament; Joseph Gibbs, General Manager at Lero; Philip Glover, Managing Director at Lakeland Civil Engineering; Declan Hughes, Secretary General at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment; Jess Kelly, Technology Correspondent at Newstalk; Barry Kennedy, CEO at Irish Manufacturing Research; Richard Manton, Director of Sustainability at the University of Galway; Pat McCormick, Head of Department of Engineering Trades and Civil Engineering at Dundalk Institute of Technology; Sinéad O’Sullivan, Professor of Aerospace Engineering at Illinois Institute of Technology; Robert Simpson, former Assistant Head of School of Mechanical and Design Engineering at Dublin Institute of Technology; and Joe Walsh, Head of the School of STEM at Munster Technological University.

Director General of Engineers Ireland, Damien Owens, said,

“This excellent Special Report demonstrates the achievement of our members in attaining registered professional titles, a landmark moment in any engineer’s career, to the whole country.

“Our Institution is vital to the health of the engineering profession in this country and, thanks to the breadth and scope of our Regions, its impact can be felt internationally.

“Our role as an organisation is, not only to educate, regulate, and advocate for the profession, but to drive engineering excellence and innovation. All engineers conferred with professional titles stand as exemplars of our profession and will act as industry leaders at a time when Ireland needs engineers more than ever.”

To celebrate the publication of this Special Report, The Irish Times is delighted to offer Engineers Ireland members an exclusive Irish Times Premium Digital subscription offer. This discount entitles members to 50% off The Irish Times Premium Digital subscription for six months. Members must be logged on to the Engineers Ireland membership dashboard to avail of this offer, which can be viewed at: https://www.engineersireland.ie/Professionals/Membership/Members/Make-the-most-of-your-membership/Member-affinity-schemes