A £1M-PLUS investment by the University of Ulster will grow Northern Ireland’s national and international skills base in renewable energy engineering.
Its new Centre for Renewable Energy Engineering at the Magee campus will accept its first intake of 50 students this autumn.
Director of the new centre is Dr Justin Quinn, whose background is in mechanical engineering and composites technology. He has previously worked with international firms such as Bombardier and Airbus, as well as leading Northern Ireland firms including Powerscreen and Terex.
“I see our new developments in engineering at Magee as servicing the industry in the north west, providing well-qualified graduates who are familiar with the techniques and needs of the kind of engineering that is currently carried on in the region,” he said.
“Mechanical engineering in the north west area is very strong, and in terms of renewable energy engineering we have a fantastic resource on this island for wind, wave, tidal and hydro power, as well as a very healthy biomass sector, with a number of indigenous biomass machinery manufacturers.
“In the first instance, we will provide graduates who will be immediately valuable to local industry — but we can’t stop there. Local industry must aim for export growth, so we will want our students to be able to function at a global level.
“We have to lay the foundations for that international skill level, to ensure that we have a solid base of engineering fundamentals to build on.”
Dr Quinn plans to work with local schools to ensure that Ulster’s engagement with the STEM agenda reaches the next generation of engineers.
He added: “That’s why our engineering work at Magee will also have a research focus. We want to ensure that our engineering students develop the level of skills needed to work with in multi-disciplinary teams.” Meanwhile the Minister for Employment and Learning, Dr Stephen Farry, has commended Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Northern Ireland following the published results of a student survey.
The 2013 National Student Survey (NSS) indicates that students at HE institutions in Northern Ireland are more satisfied with their experience at university than at any time since the NSS was launched nine years ago.
Responses to the UK-wide survey show that student satisfaction at the NI HEIs ranked above the UK benchmark for similar HEIs. The Northern Ireland average for overall satisfaction is 89%; this is a 2% increase on 2012 and higher than the overall UK average of 85%.
Minister Farry said: “I commend Queen’s University Belfast, University of Ulster, St Mary’s University College and Stranmillis University College for exceeding the benchmark student satisfaction figure for their specific institutions.
“With Northern Ireland exceeding the UK average these results are an excellent indicator of the quality and standards of the student experience currently available at all Northern Ireland Higher Education Institutions.”