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 commence our National Volunteering Week celebration by recognising the work of Majella Henchion and Dr. Juan Pablo Osorio.
Majella Henchion
Majella Henchion is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of Engineers Ireland. She is a senior manager at ESB, currently in the role of Network Assets Programme Owner.
As a long-standing member of Engineers Ireland, Majella has made a significant impact on our engineering community. She is currently Chair of the Benevolent Fund committee, where she plays an active role in supporting our members and their families. Her application and adherence to strict governance and oversight ensures that the fund is well managed and in a good position to work hard for members who need assistance. Majella is also Chair of the Diversity Group, where she has driven of issue of gender balance in the profession, having established the group in 2019 to examine diversity among our members. Under her leadership, the group now plans to broaden their focus into other areas of diversity.
Majella has also played an active role on Engineers Ireland’s Council and Executive. She was a member of the Membership and Qualifications Board from 2011-2017, serving as Chair for the last two years, during which time she oversaw a comprehensive review and streamlining of our non-standard applications routes to titles. She is a regular assessor and interviewer for our prestigious Chartered Engineer qualification and has been a long term supporter of Engineers Ireland’s STEPS programme including setting up ESB’s own STEPS Volunteer group in 2013 and leading the development in 2017 of ESB’s Engineering Your Future Transition Year Programme, the first industry programme added to the very successful third level initiative.
Dr Juan Pablo Osorio
Dr Juan Pablo Osorio is a Lecturer at the School of Civil & Structural Engineering at Technological University Dublin and is a committed STEPS Volunteer Engineer.
As a STEPS Volunteer Engineer, Juan Pablo has helped to inspire children to consider the limitless opportunities a career in engineering offers by participating in the STEPS Young Engineers Award. As part of the September 2019 call to get schools and students involved in the competition, Juan Pablo recruited St. Fiachra’s Senior National School to participate in the competition. In addition to getting the school principal and teachers involved, Juan Pablo visited each fourth-class within the school, encouraging over 195 students to consider a career in the profession through presentations and assistance with their engineering projects.
Juan Pablo also brought the world of engineering to life during Engineers Week 2020 and engaged each second- class pupil at St. Fiachra’s Junior National School.
In November of this year, Juan Pablo hopes to visit each third class at St. Fiachra’s Senior National School, helping to once again inspire Ireland’s future engineers.