Leading employers of engineers and representatives from third-level educational institutions will publicly debate the competences required by Ireland’s future engineering graduates at the profession’s annual conference. Speakers include representatives from IDA Ireland, Siemens Ltd, AbbVie, Horizon, IT Sligo and President of NUI Galway, Dr Jim Browne. Hosted by the north-west regional branch, Gearing Up For The Future – Aligning Education with Industry Needs is just one of the breakout sessions scheduled for the second day of the Engineers Ireland annual conference, which takes place on Thursday 15 and Friday 16 May in the Sligo Park Hotel. John Power, director general of Engineers Ireland, said the issue was of particular importance to education providers given the number of employers of graduate engineers based in the locality. “The north west and west regions are populated by a range of public and private sector employers of engineers, particularly in the mechanical, manufacturing and biomedical disciplines," he said. "Guaranteeing a pipeline of engineering graduates who fit the skills required by existing employers and to attract multi-nationals in the future is key to ensuring Ireland’s economic success. Without a suitably qualified engineering profession, Ireland’s global competitiveness will suffer.” Entitled Collaborating to Engineer a Better Society, the Engineers Ireland annual conference in association with Bord Gáis Éireann, takes place over two days next month in Sligo. The conference aims to bring together a variety of opinion leaders across all disciplines of engineering to reflect the profession’s key role in improving the world we live in. On Thursday 15 May, the plenary session will feature, among others, the current president of Engineers Ireland,Dr John O’Dea; Mark Gelfand, a US electrical engineer whose medical device innovations include renal denervation; and George Mullan, a Sligo native who will talk about his company SIS Pitches, which supplies sports surfaces to the likes of Manchester United, Barcelona and Real Madrid. The following day, delegates will have the option to attend two breakout sessions. Details regarding the speakers scheduled for the second session will be announced shortly. The conference is a national event that attracts a multitude of engineers from both the public and private sector. For information on the full speaker line-up, sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities and to register for the conference, visit www.engineersirelandconference.ie.