Ireland’s National Volunteering Week takes place nationwide from Monday, 21 September through to Sunday, 27 September.
In Engineers Ireland, we recognise that our volunteer-engineers are the lifeblood of our organisation. The scale and reach of our work is only possible through the enormous contribution of our volunteers who give so much to Engineers Ireland.
Throughout National Volunteering Week, we will be celebrating the work of our volunteer engineers and the positive impact and contribution they have made to our engineering community. As part our celebration we will also profile fourteen volunteers who have been nominated by Engineer’s Ireland’s staff.
Today, we celebrate John Higgins and Saorlaith Ní Shuibhne.
John Higgins
As a long-standing member of Engineers Ireland, John Higgins has been integral in supporting our members, and enhancing and promoting the standing of the profession and its practitioners through his involvement as a volunteer member of the Benevolent Fund Committee and the Ethics & Disciplinary Board.
The Benevolent Fund of Engineers Ireland is a charitable fund to help members in need. The fund is run by the Benevolent Fund Committee, a committee of Engineers Ireland members, for the benefit of engineers and their dependents regardless of whether or not the recipients are themselves members of Engineers Ireland. A Past Chair of the Committee and Treasurer, John is a dedicated member of the Benevolent Fund Committee and has played an active role in supporting our members and their families.
Through his work on the Ethics & Disciplinary Board, a standing committee of Council responsible for promoting, monitoring and enforcing the Code of Ethics, John has worked diligently to help ensure members remain aware of their responsibilities as Engineers and strive to maintain the highest levels of competence in their respective technical disciplines.
Saorlaith Ní Shuibhne
Saorlaith Ní Shuibhne is a Transport Engineer with Jacobs Engineering and has generously donated her time as STEPS Volunteer Engineer for over four years.
As a STEPS Volunteer Engineer, Saorlaith has helped to inspire children to consider the limitless opportunities a career in engineering offers. At the beginning of her volunteering journey, Saorlaith participated in school visits for Engineers Week and encouraged her colleagues to also take part by co-ordinating volunteers and utilising a buddy system. More recently, Saorlaith has participated in the STEPS Young Engineers Award, as both a judge and by visiting classrooms to help students work on their projects. She has also brought her volunteering spirit to the workplace by working with Engineers Ireland to introduce the STEPS Young Engineers Award Company Partner programme. Saorlaith has championed the STEPS Young Engineers Award in her workplace, encouraging several colleagues in Jacobs Engineering to become STEPS volunteers and running training sessions for Volunteer Engineers. She has also helped to plan Engineers Week events hosted by Jacobs Engineering.