Student & Community Outreach

Outreach with the community, and primary and second level students are an important aspect of the REEdI Project. Not only do these activities raise awareness for the project but also for engineering, the wider STEM disciplines, and Munster Technological University.

Througout the year the team are involved with and host a number of outreach activities including Kerry Science Festival, MTU Open Days, TY Taster Week, School Visits and the National Ploughing Championships.

Kerry Science Festival

Munster Technological University, through the School of STEM and IMaR Research Centre at Kerry North Campus, presented an exciting lineup for the 2024 Kerry Science Festival (www.kerryscience.ie). Sponsored by Research Ireland as part of National Science Week, this popular festival hosts a range of engaging outreach events across Kerry throughout the month, culminating in National Science Week from 10th-17th November 2024.

During this vibrant celebration, REEdI staff and student engineers took part in interactive activities designed to make engineering fun and accessible. The STEM at Kerry North Campus open day was a standout event, attracting over 1,000 visitors who were able to engage in hands-on engineering games, explore robotics, and take part in problem-solving challenges. REEdI’s involvement in school visits and workshops further sparked curiosity, with students enjoying playful, engineering-based activities that brought STEM to life. The events provided REEdI students with the opportunity to develop professionally and perfectly aligned with the Kerry Science Festival’s mission to provide an inspiring and creative way for young people to discover the innovative world of engineering.

RegenHERate

REEdI, in partnership the Health and Leisure Department at MTU Kerry Campus and ACE, were delighted to host RegenHERate, a unqiue event focused on women’s health, fitness and the science of regeneration as part of Kerry Science Festival and Science Week. Over 100 people attended the sold out event featuring topics such as nutrition, mental health, strength and conditioning and perimenopause and menopause.

Keynote speakers, Laura Dowling, Fabulous Pharmacist, brought her talk ‘Viva la Vulva’ to Kerry and Dr Sara Morrissey Tucker shared her recent TedX talk ‘Exhilaration: Is Happiness Worth the Risk?’.

We were delighted to welcome sessions speakers Catriona Courtney, Sports & Exercise Nutritionist, Tara Timlin, Women’s Physiotherapist, Dr Niamh O’Donnell, GP and Aoife Gibbons, Coaching & Sports Performance to discuss specialised topics to the attendees.

MTU Autumn Open Day

The MTU Open Days are an imporant date in the REEdI diary. The autumn open day was held in October and was a great opportunity to showcase the BEng in Mechanical and Manufaturing Engineering with potential students.

Some of our second year Student Engineers were also on hand to share their knowledge and experience of the programme and answer any questions from the people that stopped by the stand.

Transition Year Taster Week

REEdI and the School of STEM held a taster week for TY Students from various schools around Kerry. The students participated in STEM lectures, Robotics Labs, Mechanical & Civil Engineering labs. They also got to experience the AR and VR Technologies in the ACE Suite and visited Reamda Ltd. for a tour of their facilities and showcasing their cutting-edge solutions. Their week culminated in the Engineering Taster Day at MTU Kerry Campus. We hope experiences like this will inspire students to consider pursuing a career in STEM in the future.

CanSat Competition

REEdI were delighted to help judge the CanSat Competition facilitated by IMAR Research Centre. Teams of second level students (Transitions Year and upwards) compete to design, build and test a mini-satellite or CanSat. The competition gives students a feeling of excitement and technological achievement by launching their own satellite and gives them their first practical experience of a real space project.

We were delighted to present students from Mercy Mounthawk Secondary School with the award for winning the Kerry CanSat competition. The team went on to compete at the national finals and won this year’s competition, a huge achievement competing against all other regional winners.

The winning students were invited to attend the celebratory event, ‘Space Engineer for a Day’, at the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in The Netherlands.

National Ploughing Championships

REEdI attended this year’s National Ploughing Championships alongside the MTU Kerry Campus School of STEM. We were excited to showcase the BEng in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, provide information on the programme and univeristy and share our knowledge with attendees.

Ireland AM

Dr Fiona Boyle, REEdI Director, was honoured to appear in Ireland AM to discuss the importance of encouraging more women to pursue engineering courses and careers. We are grateful to Network Ireland for the opportunity to shine a light on women in STEM and talk about the REEdI Project and the impact it is having on the talent pipeline for Ireland’s manufacturing sector.