Profile: Méabh Hourigan, Renewable Energy Engineer

My secondary school education took place in an all-female institution where engineering subjects were non-existent. Nonetheless, I always had an ambition to enrol at TUS due to their provision of an electrical engineering course.

Now, I find myself in my final year of an extremely practical-oriented course, benefiting from hands-on learning experiences in compact-sized classes, with no more than 60 students per class. This setting’s advantages are multifold, the high-impact being the close rapport we build with our lecturers which isn’t feasible in a sizeable university atmosphere.

Over the past four years, we’ve delved into renewable energy, wind and solar farms, biomass, and automation engineering, coupled with coding and graphics.

In my penultimate year, I undertook an internship at H&MV, an electrical establishment in Limerick. This insightful exposure bridged the gap between the theoretical world of my course and the practical realities of the industry, proving to be extremely beneficial. My final-year assignment focuses on using industry-appropriate software to plan solar farms and their electrical connectivity, contributing towards Ireland’s sustainability objectives and energy goals. This project is in collaboration with H&MV.

In fact, my final academic year is being funded by H&MV, and I am utilising their software for my project execution. They have even extended a job offer to me, to start following the completion of my course and a J1 summer experience.

I am excited about gaining further expertise in this field, which is replete with growth and potential.

Tipperary is my hometown, from where Limerick campus is merely 40 minutes drive. When I commenced, it was LIT and during my tenure, it integrated into a technological university. This provided me with the boon of an internationally recognised university degree, a step above an institute of technology qualification.

Written by Ireland.la Staff

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