'Engineering in a changing world: COVID-19, Brexit and Beyond' will be the theme of Engineers Ireland Maurice Buckley's presidential address, which will be delivered online on Friday, September 25, at 6.30pm. 

Building on his chosen themes for his presidential year, Buckley will use his address to initiate a debate on the role of engineers and Engineers Ireland in the changed Ireland we will find ourselves in, post COVID-19 and post-Brexit:

  • Can the profession of engineering deliver the solutions needed to reboot the economy with effective infrastructural investment, advanced manufacturing and new supply chains and logistics?  
  • How can engineers best live up to society’s expectations in applying modern technology to new forms of sustainable transport, housing, energy and water management?  
  • How has the thinking of engineers, as the inventors of the coal-fired power station and the diesel car, evolved to present ourselves credibly as the champions of sustainability and climate action?   

Adapt role

In addition, Buckley will discuss how Engineers Ireland can increase its presence and adapt its role to best serve the profession in this new paradigm. 

One way is to strengthen its Sectors (i.e. the Regional branches, Engineering divisions and Societies) and embrace engineers from a broader range of specialisms and backgrounds. 

Another is to gain competitive advantage for companies and individuals in Ireland through a more active role in standardisation. Can Engineers Ireland be a melting pot for innovation and idea exchange between engineers and other business experts? 

Can we set and nurture high professional standards while encouraging the ‘rebel talent’ that is so important to entrepreneurial success?

The working title for the address has been, 'The Engineer and the Dishwasher'. He intends to illustrate many of the above concepts using the analogy of the humble kitchen dishwasher. Expect this analogy and more on Friday, September 25, at 6.30pm.

Register today

Please log your interest in viewing the Address by our President here and the link to this online Address will be made available to you closer to the time. It will also be present on this webpage.

We will warmly welcome your online presence that evening.

To comply with current strict social distancing measures for indoor gatherings, the presidential address will be offered online this year and webcast live from 22 Clyde Road. The Officers of Engineers Ireland and a small number of invited guests will be present in Clyde Road’s auditorium that evening. 

Biography of Maurice Buckley

Maurice Buckley is an electrical engineering graduate from University College Dublin and is the executive chairman of the Office of Public Works (OPW) where he is leading large-scale investment programmes to improve Ireland’s flood defences and public buildings, both modern and heritage.

He comes from an engineering background with his late father, Denis Buckley, president of Engineers Ireland’s Western Region in the 1970s.

Buckley, a Chartered Engineer, has worked for the Boston Consulting Group in Munich, held senior management roles in Industry, and was also the chief executive of the NSAI with responsibility for the country’s standardisation, certification and metrology activities. He holds an MBA from INSEAD, France, and is a chartered director. He was elected vice-president of Engineers Ireland in 2018 and became its president in June 2020.