Engineering

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Davitt College Code and Drive at the VEX IQ Robotics Competition!

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🤖 STEM & Robotics • ATU Galway Competition Davitt College Code and Drive at the VEX IQ Robotics Competition! 13 January 2026 Five brilliant first-year students from our Robotics & Coding Club proudly represented Davitt College at the VEX IQ Robotics Competition in ATU Galway today! It was an action-packed day filled with competitive coding, precision driving, and intense real-time problem-solving, where our students showcased outstanding teamwork and engineering skills on the big stage. The dedication, focus, and technical adaptability displayed by our junior team throughout the event were highly commended by the regional judges. Building the Future of Technology Activities like VEX IQ bridge classroom theory with hands-on mechanical and computational challenges, encouraging our first-years to tackle complex logic under pressure. The future of STEM at Davitt College is looking very bright indeed! A huge well done to all our first-year competitors. ×

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Fifty Senior Graphics Students Awarded University Level 6 Certificates in 21st Century STEM Skills

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🎓 Academic Excellence • STEM & University Certification Fifty Senior Graphics Students Awarded University Level 6 Certificates in 21st Century STEM Skills 5 November 2024 The entire Davitt College community is incredibly proud of fifty of our Senior students who were officially awarded their Certificate in 21st Century STEM Skills from the Atlantic Technological University (ATU) Sligo. Our students successfully completed three intensive “STEM Passport for Inclusion” workshops facilitated by industry experts and academic mentors during their Transition Year cycle. Having submitted their high-level technical assignments, they have now officially qualified with an NFQ Level 6 Certificate in STEM Skills, fully recognised by the National Framework of Qualifications. Pioneering STEM Inclusion & Industry Pathways This national initiative, led by Dr Katriona O’Sullivan at Maynooth University and jointly backed by Microsoft Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland, directly addresses gender inequalities in technical fields. By combining a formal university qualification with structured mentoring from industry role models, the programme provides an elite pathway for students to progress to third-level education and secure high-value STEM qualifications. We wish to extend our sincere thanks to Mr David Nevin (TY Co-ordinator) and our Career Guidance Department for supporting and encouraging our engineering and graphics students on this prestigious academic journey. Comhghairdeas le gach duine! 🎓📐💻✨ ×

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Robotics Workshop Sparks New After-School Engineering Initiatives

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🤖 STEM Innovation • Robotics & Engineering Robotics Workshop Sparks New After-School Engineering Initiatives 21 October 2024 A sincere thank you to Mr Hassan Dabbagh from ATU MakerSpace and the ATU Innovation Hubs team for facilitating an outstanding Robotics Workshop with a group of our enthusiastic Junior Cycle students this week. The interactive, hands-on session focused on mechatronics, circuit assembly, and basic automation logic, giving students an authentic taste of real-world design engineering. Armed with their new skills, our students and department mentors Mr Moylette and Mr Newcombe are officially ready to kick off the new Davitt College Robotics Club, which will begin running immediately after the midterm break. Thank you again to ATU for opening up new STEM pathways for our junior students! 🤖🔧💡✨ ×

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SDS Design Engineers Outline Civil and Structural Engineering Pathways for DCG Students

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📐 STEM & Careers • DCG Industry Pathways SDS Design Engineers Outline Civil and Structural Engineering Pathways for DCG Students 28 February 2024 We wish to extend our sincere thanks to Mr Brian Hope of SDS Design Engineers, who delivered a highly informative technical presentation to our Leaving Certificate Design & Communication Graphics (DCG) students this week. Mr Hope demonstrated how the exact geometric principles studied in class—specifically descriptive line coordinates, plane intersections, and geologic map contours—are applied directly to map out major national infrastructure projects. He also briefed our classes on the exciting structural engineering apprenticeship pathways available through ATU Sligo, showing how spatial reasoning on the drawing board translates straight into a professional career. A fantastic, eye-opening session that brought Leaving Certificate theory straight into real-world industry practice. Sincere thanks again to Brian and SDS Design Engineers! 📐🏗️✏️💡 ×

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Precision Workshop Fabrication: Junior Cycle Phone Stands & Festive Projects

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⚙️ STEM & Technology • Junior Cycle Engineering Precision Workshop Fabrication: Junior Cycle Phone Stands & Festive Projects 30 January 2024 Our second-year engineering classes have been working with fantastic focus in the metalwork labs, turning raw technical drawings into beautifully finished physical products. As part of the Junior Cycle Engineering specification, students have been developing essential metal-processing, drilling, and surface-finishing skills. Their practical portfolios include custom-fabricated steel and acrylic phone stands, alongside precision-engineered brass and aluminium Christmas decorations. These projects display fantastic manual dexterity, an excellent grasp of mechanical dimensioning, and a patient, resilient approach to workshop craft. Well done to all our junior engineers! ⚙️📐🛠️✨ ×

Academic & Curriculum, Core News & Information, DCG, Engineering, School News, STEM

Women in Engineering Teams Undertake Technical Briefings at AbbVie Research Facility

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⚙️ STEM & Industry Pathways • Women in Engineering Women in Engineering Teams Undertake Technical Briefings at AbbVie Research Facility 4 October 2023 • AbbVie R&D Facility, Westport Our Engineering Department was delighted to accept an exclusive invitation to visit the AbbVie Pharmaceutical Research & Development facility in Westport. Organised by the visionary Women Leaders in Action (WLA) team at AbbVie, the initiative targeted twenty female students currently studying Engineering at either Junior or Senior Cycle who have demonstrated a high aptitude for advanced technical careers. Our engineering groups spent an incredibly insightful day tracking automated pharmaceutical processing lines, examining chemical engineering systems, and engaging in technical briefings with senior facility engineers. A sincere thank you to the entire team at AbbVie for facilitating such a motivating and thorough exposure to industrial engineering pathways! ⚙️🔬💡👩‍🔬👏 ×

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Past Pupil Paul Mitchell Launches Mitchell McDermott STEM Scholarship for Senior DCG Classes

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🏗️ STEM & Careers • Industry Scholarship Past Pupil Paul Mitchell Launches Mitchell McDermott STEM Scholarship for Senior DCG Classes 12 September 2023 We were delighted to welcome back past student Paul Mitchell of Mitchell McDermott Construction Consultants to speak to our Senior Engineering, Construction, and DCG classes. Paul delivered a fantastic presentation detailing his professional journey and outlined the modern, technology-driven career paths available in infrastructure project management, structural cost-analysis, and engineering consultancy. During the session, he officially opened applications for the prestigious Mitchell McDermott Construction Industry Scholarship—an exclusive financial and mentoring initiative now in its second run uniquely for Davitt College students. Thank you to Paul for your continued commitment to backing the next generation of technological leaders at our school! 🎓👏 ×

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Davitt College Selected for EA Robot Games Competition 2018

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🤖 STEM & Robotics • EA Robot Games Davitt College Selected for EA Robot Games Competition 2018 16 May 2018 • Transition Year Technology Davitt College first introduced Sumo Robots to the Transition Year Programme back in 2013, and the initiative has grown from strength to strength ever since! 🤖 Building the Future Sumo Robots is an exciting Engineering and Technology module designed to introduce students to the rapidly emerging fields of robotics and electronics. The students learn an incredible amount during the hands-on process of building their projects—from studying the history of robotics right through to the intricate 3D printing of their very own custom-designed robots. 🏆 The EA Robot Games Following months of preparation, Davitt College was incredibly proud to have seven teams selected to enter the highly competitive EA Robot Games, which were held in Galway on Wednesday, 9th May 2018. “The competition at the end of all this hard work is a great reward for them. They have so much fun on the day of the finals that it feels more like a celebration of their effort than a competition. It’s also satisfying as their teacher to see students having so much fun learning. This competition really shows the students the real-life applications of STEM subjects and how they might enjoy studying them in their future.” — Mr. Padraic McTaibheis, Engineering Teacher ×

Academic & Curriculum, Awards, Core News & Information, Engineering, Extra-Curricular, School Life, School Life, Culture & Achievements, School News, STEM

Davitt College Students Find Success at National SciFest Competition 2018

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🔬 STEM • National SciFest Awards 2018 Davitt College Students Find Success at National SciFest Competition 2018 15 May 2018 • Science Department It was an outstanding day for the students of Davitt College at this year’s SciFest Competition, held at the Sligo Institute of Technology on Wednesday, 9th May 2018. The school had six brilliant projects entered into the competition and took home three Major Awards on the day, including a Special Award. The aim of SciFest is to encourage a love of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths through active, collaborative, and inquiry-based learning. The event is generously funded by the Science Foundation Ireland Discover Programme, Intel Ireland, and Boston Scientific. 🏆 Award-Winning Innovations Our students performed exceptionally well, showcasing their creativity and scientific knowledge under the expert mentorship of Davitt College Science Teacher, Ms. Fiona O’Connor. Transition Year student Michael Fleming attracted much attention from the judges, successfully winning the Intermediate Technology Category with his highly innovative project, “Talking Robots”. Fellow Transition Year students Keith Mulchrone, Shane Dyra, and Olivia Fahey won the coveted SciFest BioPharmaChem Ireland Chemistry Award for their collaborative project, “Water, A Fuel of the Future”. To top it off, the talented trio also took First Place in the Intermediate Physical Science Category. 👩‍🏫 Teacher Recognition The success did not stop with the students. Mrs. O’Connor was officially recognised by the judging panel for her absolute excellence in science education and was proudly awarded the RSC School Chemistry Award by the Royal Society of Chemistry Education Division. Congratulations to all the students and teachers involved! 🧪🤖💡🌟👏 ×

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EA Robot Games Selection

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🤖 Engineering • EA Robot Games Selection Davitt College Selected for EA Robot Games Competition 14 May 2018 • Engineering & Technology Department Davitt College, Castlebar first introduced Sumo Robots to the Transition Year Programme in 2013, and the initiative has grown from strength to strength since. Sumo Robots is an Engineering and Technology module designed to introduce students to the emerging field of robotics and electronics. During the process of building their machines, students cover everything from the history of automation to the 3D printing of their very own custom-designed components. Following months of design fabrication, Davitt College achieved a major milestone with seven independent student teams selected to compete at the national EA Robot Games held in Galway. “The competition at the end of all this hard work is a great reward for them. They have so much fun on the day of the finals that it feels more like a celebration of their effort than a competition. It’s also deeply satisfying as their teacher to see students having so much fun learning. This competition really shows the students the real-life applications of STEM subjects and how they might enjoy studying them in their future.” — Mr. Padraic McTaibheis, Engineering Teacher ×

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