SPOTLIGHT NEWS - DEVELOPMENTS Continuing success for LIT Engineering Week Our annual Engineering Week showcase continues to attract students in large numbers; over 600 students from 30 schools attended Engineering workshops at Moylish Campus in December. LIT Engineering Week is designed to assist students undertaking Engineering as a Leaving Certificate subject and who may be interested in Engineering as a future career. made the live video call from LIT’s Millennium Theatre to European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Pesquet at the International Space Station (ISS). The event took place as part of the European Space Education Resource Office (ESERO) programme in Ireland, which is co-funded by Science Foundation Ireland and ESA. The in-flight call gave students and teachers the opportunity to ask Thomas questions such as how we use space in our daily lives and how the many applications from space research have changed the way we live today. The video link-up, which also included participants from Portugal and Romania is believed to have been the first time a live video call has been made in Ireland with a European astronaut on the ISS. The event is part of a vast range of educational activities delivered by ESERO Ireland, to help support teachers in using space as a rich and inspiring context to teach science. Strong demand for LIT programmes from international markets Workshops and information sessions took place across the week where students received a presentation on the Leaving Certificate Engineering Specialised Topic (Principles and Applications of Robotic Control in Motor Vehicle Manufacture), as well as tours of LIT’s Engineering workshops and facilities. Places are limited at the events each year; if your school is interested in attending Engineering Week 2017 or for further information on the event, contact the Department of Engineering at 061 293261. For schools that may be interested in the Engineering Week presentations, but cannot attend, it may be possible for a member of the Engineering team to visit your school and make a presentation to students on the specialised topic (subject to availability/location). Limerick calling space! 300 primary school students visit LIT and make live video call to the International Space Station In January, primary school students from across the country reached for the stars when they made a once in a lifetime video-call to space. The 300 students and 50 teachers from Limerick, Tipperary and Kildare During our recent International Development Week, we were delighted to welcome academics from many of our partner institutions in Canada. With Canadian students now making up the largest single international group attending LIT, the initiative was designed for our overseas partners to see LIT’s practical learning philosophy in practice. Over the week, visitors attended presentations and lectures with LIT staff and guest speakers, in tandem with site visits to industry locations in Hospitality, Event Management, Culinary Arts and Sports Strength and Conditioning allowing for exchange of information and the sharing of best practices. The International Office rounded off the week with a Gala Dinner hosted by Professor Cunnane and attended by the Mayor of Limerick. Our campuses continue to be popular choices for international students seeking to experience education and culture in Ireland and our community of international students has grown considerably in recent times. Our philosophy of ‘active learning’ which combines the best in academic teaching with practical hands-on learning has seen a rapid increase in demand for our programmes among international students from Europe, Canada, China and the Middle East. There are also great opportunities for LIT students to spend a semester studying abroad through the Erasmus+ Exchange Programme.
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