Sustainability, environmental science and engineering were areas of interest to the Danish ambassador on a visit to Waterford Institute of Technology
WIT recently welcomed His Excellency, Uffe Balslev, ambassador to Ireland from Denmark.
The Ambassador was on a fact-finding mission to Waterford and expressed a particular interest in visiting WIT to find out more about work the Institute is doing in sustainability, environmental science and engineering.
The Ambassador was welcomed by Vice President for Strategy, Dr Richard Hayes, Sinead Day, WIT’s International Affairs Manager, Dr Peter McLoughlin, Head of the School of Science and Computing, Dr Derek Sinnott, Head of the Department of Built Environment, and Mr Tom O’Brien, lecturer in sustainability in the School of Engineering.
Research fields
Dr McLoughlin gave the Ambassador an overview of activities in research and teaching in the areas of environmental science, agricultural science, food science, horticulture and forestry, with a particular emphasis on the cutting-edge work WIT’s research community is engaged in to address sustainability across Irish Agri-food, forestry and horticulture. WIT works closely with Teagasc and other State agencies in this domain.
WIT’s courses in Agriculture, Agricultural Science, Forestry, Horticulture and Food Science continue to contribute highly-skilled, forward-thinking graduates into the Irish land sciences industry.
Sustainable futures
Dr Sinnott and Mr O’Brien outlined WIT’s programmes and research work in sustainable energy engineering with a focus on sustainable buildings. Mr O’Brien also spoke to the Ambassador about WIT’s own attempts to manage its buildings in a more sustainable manner, resulting in demonstrable improvements in recent years in efficiency across the campuses. WIT also works with the 3 Counties Energy Agency and Council in Waterford on a number of projects in sustainability and on a pilot EcoZone project led by Waterford Chamber that looks to improve building efficiency in a block of buildings in the city centre. WIT offers both undergraduate and postgraduate opportunities in Sustainable Energy Engineering and Nearly Zero Energy Building (NZEB) Design.
The Ambassador also met with some Danish exchange students while visiting the campus. WIT partners with a number of universities on student exchange programmes. These include KEA Copenhagen School of Design and Technology, VIA University College (Architecture), ZIBAT - Zealand Institute of Business & Technology, and USD Southern Denmark University. Typically WIT welcomes around 10 students from Denmark every year.
Related Courses
- Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) in Sustainable Civil Engineering
- Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) in Sustainable Energy Engineering
- Master of Science in Sustainable Energy Engineering
- Master of Science in Sustainable Energy Engineering
- Certificate in Sustainable Food Production
- Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Land Management in Horticulture
- Bachelor of Science in Horticulture (Kildalton College)
- Bachelor of Science in Horticulture (National Botanic Gardens)
- Bachelor of Science in Agriculture
- Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Land Management in Agriculture
- Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Agricultural Science
- Bachelor of Science in Food Science & Innovation
- Bachelor of Science in Food Science with Business
- Bachelor of Science in Science (General)
- Certificate in Science in Introduction to Dairy Science
- Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Science (Common Entry)
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