Coláiste Chiaráin, Summerhill, Athlone, had a very busy and exciting recent College Awareness Week. There were numerous presentations made to several different year cohorts

and a large number of progression routes through college, work and training were covered in the many presentations given.

Very importantly, the week started off with a presentation from the Citizens Information Bureau on the Higher Education Grants available through SUSI and the many levels of eligibility and payments that apply. All of this was very relevant and very welcome for the students. Ms. Deborah Dwyer (left) gave this very informative presentation on behalf of the Citizen’s Information Bureau. Students and parents were encouraged to make an appointment for their excellent service in assisting with HEAR / SUSI queries.

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Mr Oliver Hegarty (left), Head of Department of Social Science & Design in AIT, gave a presentation about their new degrees in: Psychology, Design Innovation &Technology and Animation, in addition to their staples in Social Care, Early Years Education and Graphic Design. It is wonderful to see these new market-led courses starting in AIT, especially when the cost of studying in Dublin and other cities has gotten so expensive

In addition to the above the Head of Department of Nursing and Health Science Dr Pearse Murphy also attended and gave a very good talk on the nursing courses available in AIT and their partner hospitals in Tullamore, Mullingar and Portlaoise. There was a lot of interest in this and the many varied and progressive careers available today through nursing.

In addition to the above talks Dr. Kieran Dowd, Physical Activity & Health Programme Coordinator AIT, Made a presentation on courses in Sport and Nutrition. Joe Lawless (below), Head of Department of Polymer, Mechanical, Civil Engineering & Trades, gave an excellent presentation on the courses and career paths available through the college’s engineering and apprenticeship routes.

Jennifer Ryan, School Engagement Officer, of the University of Limerick comprehensively covered their many excellent courses and the numerous scholarships available to lucky students. In recent years the university has gone from strength to strength.

Ms. Terri Clarke (left) of Solas also gave a very informative presentation on the many traditional apprenticeship choices available through Solas and she also covered many of the 30 or so new employer-led apprenticeships that are now available and that go all the way to degree level. These cover a wide variety of areas: finance, accountancy, engineering and

many more. It’s a great way to earn while you study and at the same time build up your professional experience. For those who don’t want to do the poor student routine and are ambitious to progress fast this is an ideal career path!

Sligo IT also sent a representative, Karina Monaghan (below), who gave a great talk on all

the excellent courses available through the Institute and she traced the types of careers these graduates progressed to. She was very happy in particular that their B.Sc. (Hons) (SG448) and B.Sc. (Ord) (SG437) in Forensic Investigation & Analysis programme has been accredited by The Chartered Society of Forensic Science, UK, since 2014 and was reapproved in December 2016. The B.Sc. (Hons) programme has sufficient Chemistry content to be accepted by Teaching Council of Ireland for teaching Chemistry to Leaving Certificate and Science to Junior Certificate level. Several of their graduates have been accepted for teacher training with the NUI colleges.

In the past our students have visited Medtronic in Athlone, which is part of a global company with more than 80,000 employees worldwide. To show their support for College Awareness Week the company sent two of its employees to present to our students on the work they do and the many and varied jobs on offer in the plant. Below is Declan Kelly, Engineer and

Edel Molloy, Training Instructor. Covidien Medtronic in Athlone manufactures airway management products used during surgical operations and post operation care throughout the world. These products are sold both throughout the world and in Ireland. There are many opportunities at home and abroad for its employees. The students

were fascinated by the presentation and very impressed with the cutting edge medical technology they create. They were also surprised to learn that they don’t just employ scientists and engineers; they also employ software, finance, business and marketing graduates in addition to many more. Also, they are quite involved in volunteer work in the community. This was a very informative and interesting presentation.

The above are just some of the many workshop / presentations arranged for our students by our busy Guidance Counsellors: Mary Egan and Liz Kennedy. It was a very successful week and a number of presentations had to be arranged for later as the week was so packed but the students are looking forward to hearing from the Gardai, the Army, DIT, DCU, TCD and many more before they make their final decisions. Planning for next year has already begun!