WIT Science Careers Day

WIT’s Science Careers Day was held on March 8 2019 and proved to be a huge success. For the first time, the "lab" and "land" sides of the house came together to make one big event, and we were delighted to welcome over 70 companies to the event from a range of industries including agri-food, pharmaceutical, forestry, physics, and horticulture, as well as recruitment agencies in these areas. Many of the companies who attended also contributed to the event through much appreciated sponsorship. 

The day kicked off with an excellent keynote address by Jim Bergin, CEO of Glanbia Ireland, who encouraged students to be passionate about their career journey. He gave an insight into his own career path and passed on some useful hints and tips to the WIT final year students. This was followed by breakout sessions for each of seven disciplines (Agriculture and Agricultural Science, Biology, Food Science, Pharmaceutical Science, Horticulture, Physics and Forestry), with talks given by individuals working in these fields. The speakers, who ranged from entrepreneurs to lab scientists to teachers, really gave the students a flavour of the wide variety of options open to them as they graduate with a science degree. 

The remainder of the day was devoted to a networking session, allowing representatives from industry employers to engage directly with graduates from our full portfolio of science programmes. The graduates and employers really enjoyed their exchanges, and many valuable links were made. Each employer also received a WIT Science Careers Day Graduate Handbook containing information on over 280 students, including a short biography and contact details, allowing for easy recruitment.  

A lovely addition to the event this year was the inaugural presentation of an award which recognises a person who has made a particularly valuable contribution to science. The family of the late Una McDermott, WIT lecturer in Horticulture, were presented with the Inaugural “Una McDermott Award for Contribution to Science”; more information at this link. 

We would like to thank everyone involved in making the day such a success, most of all the industry speakers and representatives for engaging, and in particular our sponsors, without whom the day could not have happened. We would also like to thank our student committee for all their hard work getting the booklet together, and the staff committee for their help in organising the event. Huge thanks as well to the AV and Arena staff for their assistance. We look forward to next year’s event!