From running a company to designing an industrial plant, from working in a multinational like Google to creating African irrigation systems, the opportunities available to UCD engineering graduates are as wide as they are varied. After successfully completing a common first year, students are offered unrestricted choice from a huge range of specialisations at undergraduate level.
In addition to the long established Bachelor of Engineering (BE) programmes in Civil Engineering, Electrical or Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Biosystems, and Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering, students now have the option to specialise in Energy Systems Engineering or Biomedical Engineering
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Focus on biomedical engineering
Peadar Grant is an Electrical and Electronic Engineering graduate, now doing a Biomedical Engineering PhD.
Peadar Grant, UCD Biomedical Engineering student
“As far back as I can remember I was fascinated by machines: cars, trains, buses, escalators, steam engines as well as anything electronic. .. Electronic Engineering at UCD was really a natural fit for me – the highlight being my final year project in Robotics.
I am currently in the final stages of full-time postgraduate study in Biomedical Engineering at UCD. My research involves building computer models to better understand how to treat Parkinson’s Disease using implanted electrodes in the brain.
The UCD Engineering Degree is recognised all over the world, as it’s fully accredited by Engineers Ireland and the IEEE. Many of the lecturers have experience either studying or working abroad and are keen to share their experiences. Employers know that the UCD degree is of high standard, and that our graduates will make a great hire.
Because of the high number of contact hours in engineering, the class tends to get to know one another very well. We had a great mix of people from the country and from Dublin along with a number students from all over the world. Engineers tend to have a lot in common with one another so I have made good friends who will, I believe, be friends for life. Engineers find career opportunities as creative problem solvers in industry and business in Ireland and internationally.”
Dr Madeleine Lowery is one of the biomedical engineering experts who teaches undergraduates. After finishing her PhD, Dr Lowery took up a research position in the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago where she worked in the Neural Engineering Center for Artificial Limbs.
Dr Lowery was involved in research into developing new means of controlling artificial arms by connecting nerves from amputated limbs to remaining muscles and recording the electrical signals generated by these new nerve-muscle systems. These electrical signals, known as EMG signals, are then used to control a multifunction prosthetic arm, allowing it to move with many more degrees of freedom than conventional artificial arms.
Focus on energy systems
Professor Chen-Ching Liu is an internationally-distinguished leader in developing advanced computer methods to enhance the reliability and resilience of electric energy systems. In addition to teaching UCD energy systems engineers, Professor Liu has developed an innovative project concerned with cyber security of the computer and communication systems that power grids rely upon for monitoring and control functions. As the power plants, distributed renewable sources, substations and control devices of the grid become more and more “wired”, new cyber security technologies are needed to protect the integrity of the complex and dynamic power grids. Professor Liu and his team are developing new methods for monitoring, anomaly detection and mitigation of cyber intrusions.
David Kavanagh, current energy systems engineering PhD candidate says, “Studying Engineering at UCD has opened up so many doors for me that I never expected…
I am currently studying for a PhD with the Electricity Research Centre in UCD under the supervision of Dr Damian Flynn. My work focuses on the integration of ocean energy devices with our power system, and figuring out the implications for the other energy sources we use to generate electricity. Harnessing the power of the oceans to generate electricity is a cutting edge area of research in both Ireland and around the world. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland estimates that the accessible ocean energy resources around Ireland would total approximately 90% of Ireland’s electrical energy demand in 2008.
Studying an energy-related field at UCD will leave you well placed to be at the forefront of the industries that will be tasked with solving these challenges, and will give you a long and fulfilling career in an area that is becoming ever more relevant.”
To enable more advanced study (to a level consistent with modern European standards), students will have the option to progress through to taught Masters programmes in the areas of Biomedical Engineering, Biosystems Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electronic and Computer Engineering, Energy Systems Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Engineering with Business. Students also have the option of specialising in many different research areas at both Master and PhD level.
The Structural Engineering with Architecture Programme (DN140) is based on the five-year education model and is accessed via a separate direct entry route. This will suit those students who have a love of design and the built environment, and a passion for architecture.
Read more about engineering entry requirements and about the world of engineering at UCD.
This article was previously published in UCD Today, the magazine of University College Dublin produced by UCD University Relations