Sligo IT and DIT students win Engineers Ireland student innovation awards 2010

John Kelly and Declan McGovern from IT Sligo have won first prize in the Level 7 ‘Engineers Ireland Student Innovation Awards 2010’, for their innovative design for a multi-purpose farm machine.  James O’Meara from DIT won the same prize in the Level 8 category for another farming invention. The Engineers Ireland awards, sponsored by Siemens, are now in their 12th year and celebrate the importance of innovation and its relevance to the Smart Economy framework. 
 
John Kelly and Declan McGovern, final year engineering students at IT Sligo, have designed and built a new and innovative farm machine called ‘Quick Cut’.  It is a multifunctional machine fitted to the back of a tractor which uses its three point linkage with the purpose of accomplishing a number of tasks in one smart design.  James O’Meara from DIT developed a 3 point quick attach mechanism for agricultural tractors which allows the driver to safely couple implements to tractors and adjust them without leaving the seat.
 
Speaking at the announcement of the winners, John Power praised the winners as worthy recipients of their respective awards and their contribution towards helping Ireland become a genuine home-grown innovation economy that can compete in the global market again. “I strongly believe that the long-term growth in Ireland will be fuelled by innovative companies so it is very encouraging to see such home-grown engineering creativity among our students today.  It is imperative we can bring new techniques, processes and skills across all sectors so that we can compete on a global stage with our competitors.  I would like to congratulate all of the participants in this year’s awards which embodied the creativity that will underpin Ireland’s recovery and sustainable economic success.”
 
Runners up in the Level 7 Engineers Ireland Student Innovation Awards 2010 was Sean O'Herlihy from DIT for his project which designed a joystick controlled training car for young disabled children. The purpose of Sean’s project is to develop an attractive training device that will assist a young disabled child to master the concept of manoeuvring a powered wheelchair. John Caplice, Ciaran Connolly and David Irwin from Cork IT were also runners up.  Their project  involved the design, development and manufacture of a portable sheet lifting station to allow one operator to safely load a sheet of steel weighing up to 80kg onto his/her station.
 
According to Michael O’Connor, Marketing Manager, Siemens Limited, integral to Ireland fulfilling its potential as a knowledge economy fuelled by innovation will be the supply of qualified and skilled science and technology graduates. “A higher level of engagement of science and technology subjects at primary and secondary school level is now critical in helping to increase the level of graduates in the area. I am delighted to see that 12 years on, the standard of submissions for the Engineers Ireland Student Innovation Awards 2010 shows that there is no shortage of talent in this country. I’d like to congratulate all of the finalists and particularly his year’s winners.”

Runners up in the Level 8 Engineers Ireland Student Innovation Awards 2010 were Eimear Dolan from NUIG for her project around stabilising the matrix with natural components. David Kelleher from DIT for developing Bovine 3D teat sensing system for disinfection purposes. Laurence Barry from CIT for his design which enables people to extract heat from the chimney flue and Sean Mulligan from IT Sligo for his Vortex Hydropower project.

To see photos from the awards night please visit our Facebook page.
 
The Engineers Ireland Student Innovation Awards took place on the 21st June in Engineers Ireland HQ, Clyde Road, Dublin 2.