A LIMERICK hi-tech engineering company has developed a novel way of encouraging young people to consider engineering and science careers by offering a scholarship and internship to third level undergraduate students.
Emutex Ltd., an embedded software solutions firm based in Raheen, says the aim of its Software Innovator of the Year Scholarship is to encourage young people to consider a career in computing in light of the significant shortfall in Engineering and Science graduates in Ireland.
“During the past year, we have had to look overseas to fill 7 out of 10 job vacancies due to a shortage of suitably qualified professionals in Ireland. The skill level required is just not available here at present,” explained Mr. John Twomey, managing director, Emutex.
Under the programme, students are being invited to apply their expertise in software and innovation to create an application using the popular Raspberry Pi embedded device. The winning idea will be selected from a shortlist of 10 entries, which will be showcased on www.emutex.com.
Mr Twomey added: “There is a clear need in this country to encourage young people to pursue “Engineering and Science” in secondary and third level education to enable them for successful careers in electronic and computer software engineering. For this reason, we have launched the first annual Scholarship programme aimed at Third Level undergraduate students in software/computing disciplines. We will cover the winning undergraduate student’s Third Level fees for one year, as well as offer them an internship within the company.”
Mr. Twomey said he hopes the launch of the Scholarship programme will encourage other companies to offer similar programs.
“At a time of high unemployment in Ireland, it comes as a surprise to many that software companies throughout the country are forced to look abroad for people to fill job vacancies. This is simply a result of the low numbers of Secondary School students applying for college places in computing disciplines. There seems to be a genuine disinterest among young people to pursue a career in computing. Technology is everywhere in today’s world but learning about how these technologies work in a hands-on way is what will get young people excited about computing.
Visit www.emutex.com for further information.
