Taoiseach opens €36m Engineering Building at AIT

In front of several hundred invited guests on Monday, Taoiseach Enda Kenny officially opened the latest addition to the AIT campus - an impressive €36 million Engineering and Informatics building. Among those who attended the opening were former Taoiseach Brian Cowen, who laid the foundation stone for the building back in 2008, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Ireland, Abdulaziz Aldriss, former ministers Mary O'Rourke and Paddy Cooney, along with a large representation of politicians and members of the Oireachtas from all over the region with staff, students and other local dignitaries. Blessing the new building prior to the official opening, AIT Chaplain Fr Shay Casey said we should be mindful that the building lay in the shadow of another ancient centre of learning, Clonmacnoie, the spirit of which lives on in Athlone IT. He said engineering students knew the importance of structure and support which must change and flex with time before aptly summing up the importance of the opening with a quote from poet John O'Donoghue: "We shape our buildings and then let them shape us". Thanking the Taoiseach for coming to Athlone for the official opening of the state-of-the-art 11,000 square-metre premises, President of AIT Professor Ciarán " Catháin said that engineering education was "written into the DNA of this institute; it's part of the source code. Since the foundation of the college, there has been a commitment in Athlone to the education and training of engineers. While the initial vision was for the training of technicians, today's engineering students also have the opportunity of undertaking a PhD and post-doctoral work on campus." More than 1,000 students and researchers in mechanical, renewable and sustainable engineering, electronics and software engineering, polymer engineering, as well as civil and construction engineering all use the new building, already the recipient of architecture awards. Prof " Catháin, said the building was a landmark on campus, not just in terms of its physical presence, the technology it embodied, but the partnerships it was helping to build and develop. The relationship between AIT, employers and industry is key, he stated. "As an academic community, we listen closely to what they are saying about their needs, responding to the requirements for particular skills, such as the need for graduates in cloud computing and network management, for polymer technologists for the medical device industry, for environmental engineering scientists, for green technologists. The fruits of this deep and sustained conversation is an industry-academy engagement that produces real world-informed teaching and learning, and top calibre graduates." Receiving a very warm reception where surprisingly there were no protesters present on any issue, Taoiseach Enda Kenny proclaimed it a great day for AIT in a very relaxed speech where he went off the script on many occasions. He said the college had taken its place among the third-level institutions since the foundation back in 1970. The world was changing rapidly and in a decade there would be further advances in robotics, cloud computing, data storage, the internet, genetics, all of these areas were going to grow, he said citing cloud computing in particular, as an area in which there would be major investment over the next 10 to 15 years, and AIT with the new facilities would be ideally placed to take advantage. Speaking directly to the students lining the upstairs part of the entrance hall looking down on him, the Taoiseach told them they were going to carry the responsibility and reputation of the country forward in their chosen field, stressing that their education was comparable to the best the world could offer. "The future is one of enormous promise and potential and it is up to us to harness that," he added. "Engineers are the people at the front line who always see the evolution of the product. That's what has been a major asset to the German economy to where they are... Engineers are people who do see potential for innovation, change, research, commercialisation and so on and that's where the future lies," he highlighted. On the issue of the technological university, the Taoiseach gave a veiled approval to moves by AIT to join with the other institutes in the West in a bid to secure the status mentioning their shared history of over 20 years involvement. He called for a rational debate on the issue which he said had enormous potential for the future. He also heaped praise on the college "putting its money where its mouth is" in terms of the construction of the new indoor arena, earlier described by the President of the college as a "game changer for the Midlands" which will bring world class facilities to the region and additional visitors. AIT is currently in discussions with the department in terms of facilitating borrowing through part of the education act, something he told the crowd had his full support. "I hope it will become a beacon for national and international competition in the future while adding to the country, the Taoiseach said before turning his attention to speak directly to the student body present on their future prospects in Ireland. "This is your country, I hope many of you, the vast majority of you will have the opportunity to live and work in this country. If you for some reason you decide to go I hope it is on the basis of getting experience to enhance your professional qualifications to come back," he commented, quoting Gandhi that "you can be the person you want to be". It's the start for a whole new future, not just for AIT but for the country, the Taoiseach concluded positively. "I want to by 2016 prove this is the best country in the world in which to do business and you are part of that."