COLLEGE CHOICE/Brian Mooney: The ability to create, distribute and exploit knowledge has become a major source of competitive advantage and has led to a massive improvement in the quality of our life.
Ireland can only be successful, in the years to come, if we continue to position ourselves as a knowledge-rich, innovative and creative country.
The Irish economy depends on 65,000 engineers. They are the experts in technology. They design and produce machines, computer programmes and chemical processes.
Civil/structural engineers are the key personnel in the building and construction industry, working alongside other professions as mentioned in my article last week.
Engineers are also employed in various industries throughout this island, including electronics, chemical & pharmaceutical, telecommunications, software, healthcare, manufacturing, infrastructure and the public services.
Other areas where engineers may find employment include business & finance while others work in law.
These are the branches of engineering available: aeronautical (UL); biomedical (UCG, UL); chemical (UCC, UCD, CIT); electrical/electronic (All Colleges); agricultural and food (UCD); civil/structural (TCD; UCC, UCD, UCG, CIT, DIT); computer/software (TCD, DCU; UL, Maynooth, DIT); IT (UCG); environmental (TCD); mechanical (TCD, UCD, UCG, UL, CIT, DIT); food process (UCC); manufacturing/building services/transport (DIT, UL); and telecommunications (DCU).
Students interested in any of the branches of engineering at degree level must have a minimum of one science subject, plus a minimum of at least a grade C higher-level maths in their Leaving Certificate.
Physics is obviously the most suitable of the science subjects for engineering. In recent years most engineering faculties have moved from general degrees to specific disciplines.
Students who select an area of engineering and find that they wish to change courses, may often be facilitated, provided they originally had the points for the course they wish to change to. For those students who do not fulfil the higher maths requirement, there are numerous certificate/diploma courses in engineering which can lead on to degree level.
This process takes a further two years of study, over and above a degree programme.
Degree programmes in engineering are available from the seven Irish universities plus the Institutes of Technology in Athlone (Polymer Technology), Cork, Dublin and Tallaght (manufacturing technology).
Diploma and certificate programmes, across the entire range of engineering disciplines, are available through every Institute of Technology.
From 2004, NUI Maynooth has dropped the requirement for students to have a third language, for entry to their engineering degrees.
UCD has reintroduced the omnibus entry programme, as well as retaining the existing individual engineering disciplines.
Omnibus degrees, which allow the student to decide on their area of interest at the end of year one or two, are also available in TCD, DIT and NUI Galway.
UCD have also introduced a new biosystems degree, which marries the disciplines of biology and engineering.
The average points requirement for an engineering degree course in 2003 was in the 400-480 range. For a comprehensive insight to courses and careers in engineering, consult the Institute of Engineers website at www.steps.ie/engineeringasacareer/ or acquire a copy of Prof Gerry Byrne's excellent recent book, Engineering as a Career, available from the Institute of Engineers.
Information Technology
In the information technology arena, key areas for future growth will include semiconductor design and fabrication; systems design, development and support; software development, and high- value service activities such as business process, e-procurement and supply chain management.
Intel's Fab 24, which will start production in 2004, is one of the most advanced facilities of its kind in the world and is testament to Ireland's ability to continue to win high-technology manufacturing investments. During 2003 the IDA succeeded in winning important projects from internet services companies such as Google, eBay/PayPal and Yahoo, which are setting up key European centres in Ireland.
Prof Ronan G. Reilly, Department of Computer Science, NUI Maynooth, when asked about the prospects for IT graduates at the moment, stated: "In 2002 we were unable to place all of our 3rd year computer science and software engineering students. The situation improved substantially in 2003, and early indications are even more positive for this year."
He firmly believes that a dedicated degree in computer science is still the best option for a job in the IT sector, especially if it has a work placement option.
He believes that another career strategy that should be considered is to combine computer science with another discipline.
"Many universities, NUI Maynooth among them, offer computer science as part of a general science or arts degree programme. IT is not going to go away and will continue to spread its influence into other areas. Consequently, I expect to see in the long term an increase in demand for students with degrees that combine computer science with other subjects."
Degree programmes in computer science are available through the CAO from DIT, TCD, UCC, NUI Maynooth, UCD and Griffith College.
Degrees in information systems are available from UL, NUI Galway, DIT, DCU and CIT. In the area of software development programmes are available from ITs in Letterkenny, Cork, Limerick, Athlone and Carlow, and UL, NUI Maynooth, TCD, National College of Ireland and DCU.
Brian Mooney's column on CAO options will appear daily in the run-up to the February 1st deadline.
You can email Brian Mooney on bmooney@irish-times.ie
Are you confident you will secure your CAO option? Join the discussion forum on Skoool.ie, the award-winning education website developed by The Irish Times, AIB and Intel.