|
McInerney Contracting honours WIT Construction Management & Engineering students
Posted: Fri, April 23, 2010 |
Three final year students from the BSc (Hons) in Construction Management & Engineering at Waterford Institute of Technology have been recognised by McInerney Contracting for their successful work placements during the degree programme.
The overall winner of the McInerney Award for Excellence in Industrial Placement was Brendan Kealy from Ballylinan, Co Laois who worked with the PM Group, Ireland’s largest project management company with 1,700 personnel at offices in Dublin and Cork as well as Warsaw, Singapore, Sofia, Moscow and Rugby, England. He received his award from Hugh Mullaney, Contracts Manager, McInerney Contracting.
During his time with the PM Group, Brendan assisted in the design and construction planning for the €137 million Carranstown municipal waste to energy facility in Co Meath, the largest waste to energy project in the State and a net contributor of 18MW to the national electricity grid.
Runners-up were Shane Wallace, Lismore Park, Waterford and Derek Nolan from Kilkenny. They both worked for global leaders Turner Construction on the US$490m East River Science Park in New York.
In all, 32 students completed the WIT-arranged seven month paid placements from February to September 2009. The students worked as project coordinators and assistant construction engineers on diverse projects including T2 Dublin Airport; the Biosciences building at Trinity College Dublin; Aviva Stadium; the new criminal courts complex in Dublin; the Bézier project, London and the convent and retirement home for the Little Sisters of the Poor in Ferrybank, Waterford, together with motorway and bridge projects around Ireland.
Eugene O’Sullivan, programme director, BSc (Hons) in Construction Management & Engineering at Waterford Institute of Technology said that although there is a severe downturn in construction activity, the Institute has managed, with the goodwill built up over many years with leading Irish and international engineering and construction companies, to place almost all of the current third year class in paid industrial placement. Two are in New York, five in the UK and the remaining 20 in Ireland.
“The continued generous support by McInerney Contracting to WIT’s construction and engineering programmes is particularly appreciated in the current difficult economic environment,” he added.
