South East Technological University (SETU) has launched a multi-company automation scholarship designed to retain engineering talent in the southeast region. This initiative is in collaboration with the Engineering the South East Cluster (ESE) and aims to address the outflow of engineering students from the area.
A recent report by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) highlighted that 62% of engineering students from the southeast tend to leave to pursue their studies elsewhere, leading to a detrimental effect on the local workforce.
The Autom8 scholarship focuses on attracting and supporting students who are interested in careers in automation and robotics engineering. The scholarship is intended to bolster local career opportunities, mitigate the brain drain, and enhance collaboration between industry and academia.
Stephen Rooney, Cluster Manager at SETU, remarked that the scholarship program supports the university's mission to promote regional economic growth by nurturing a stream of skilled graduates who can contribute to technological advancements in the southeast.
The Autom8 scholarship includes contributions from several leading manufacturing and automation companies such as MSD Ireland, Integer, Teva, Sanofi, and Bausch + Lomb. Each company will provide a €2,000 annual contribution to help cover students' educational costs, along with opportunities for paid summer work, a third-year industrial placement, and guidance from industry mentors.
The scholarship is open to students enrolled in SETU’s Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng.) in Automation Engineering at the Waterford campus and the Bachelor of Robotics and Automated Systems at the Carlow campus.
Edmond Connolly, Manager of the South East Regional Skills Forum, encouraged interested second-level students to apply for the scholarship and to take advantage of this opportunity to further their careers in automation engineering within a growing local industry.