Events
Celebrations for Belfast student as he takes first prize at award ceremony for his work in Japan!
Every year IAESTE Northern Ireland holds a Trainee of the Year award ceremony for students who have recently returned from their placements. All trainees are asked to write an essay entitled ‘How I Benefited from my International Training’ and the top eight essays are chosen by a panel of judges. These top eight finalists then go on to give presentations at the awards ceremony where they are in with a chance to win £500, £350 and £100 respectively.
This year the title of the IAESTE Northern Ireland Trainee of the Year 2010 has been awarded to Gareth Robinson, an Electrical Engineering student at Queen’s University Belfast. At the awards final on 17 November, Gareth told the assembled audience about his summer placement with the University of Tokyo in Japan. During his placement, Gareth was working on experiments using new skills and equipment in the areas of surface activated bonding of bulk aluminium and thin film capacitor formation. Gareth describes his placement in Japan as "…nothing short of amazing. It’s certainly made me reflect on my own culture and attitudes. Without a doubt, it has been one of my greatest experiences to date and one that I feel will be almost impossible to improve upon."
Second prize was awarded to Colin Hill, an undergraduate at Queen’s University Belfast, studying Physics and Astrophysics. His IAESTE placement took place in Slovenia. Third prize went to Emma Dalzell, an Electrical Engineering student also at Queen’s University, who spent her placement in the Colorado State University, USA.
Judging took place by four external guests, one of whom is very well known in the IAESTE world, Pauline Ferguson. Pauline worked on the IAESTE programme in Northern Ireland from 1989 – 2003. She then became General Secretary of the Association in 2004 and stayed in this role until 2010. She is currently Advisor to the IAESTE A.s.b.I Board and is still playing a large part in trying to bring the General Conference to Northern Ireland in 2013.
Other judges included Brian Hanna, Chair of the British Council Northern Ireland Advisory Committee, Philip Maguire, Director of Finance for the Northern Ireland Science Park and last years Trainee of the Year winner Paul McNulty.
The prizes were sponsored by some of our employers in Northern Ireland; Queen’s University Belfast, Armagh Observatory, CDE Ireland and the University of Ulster.
In the UK, the British Council administers the IAESTE programme. The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations, which builds engagement and trust for the UK through the exchange of knowledge and ideas between people worldwide.
Shona McCarthy Director, British Council said: "We would like to congratulate Gareth whose placement in Japan not only demonstrated the importance of learning new technical skills and working with new equipment but also the value of intercultural dialogue in action as through the friendships he made and exposure to different cultures, Gareth himself developed personally embracing new cultures and ways of life. The international experience which Gareth and the other students obtained together with their new connections are vital for Northern Ireland as it continues to position itself to compete on the world stage."
