More than 2,000 students from across the Midwest descended upon Shannon Airport for the Explore Engineering Showcase 2025. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the event brought together students, educators, and engineering professionals to highlight innovation, creativity, and problem-solving within the field.
A Hub for World-Class Manufacturing
Over 60 leading engineering companies from the region showcased their latest technologies and innovations, reinforcing the area’s reputation as a hub for world-class manufacturing. The showcase offered a dynamic mix of interactive displays, live demonstrations, and hands-on experiences, allowing attendees to explore a wide range of engineering fields, from robotic automation and electronics to environmental technologies and artificial intelligence experiments.
Fiona Murphy from Modulacc, a member of the Explore Engineering organizing committee, commented on the event’s success: “We are thrilled to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Explore Engineering Showcase. Over the past decade, this event has grown tremendously, and we are proud to continue inspiring the next generation of engineers. Our goal is to provide students with the resources and connections they need to pursue successful careers in engineering.”
The benefits of the showcase have been significant; in the past seven years, the region’s two primary educational institutions have experienced a 70% increase in engineering graduates.
Mary Considine, CEO of the Shannon Airport Group, noted the event’s significance: “This event not only showcases the incredible talent in the Midwest but also emphasizes the importance of fostering innovation and creativity in engineering. We are committed to supporting initiatives that contribute to the growth and development of our region, and this unique event allows students to directly engage with companies and see first-hand the amazing work they do. Given the intrinsic link between engineering and aviation, this event represents a perfect partnership for us.”
Eimear Brophy, representing the Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board and chair of Explore Engineering, emphasized the event’s role in the global engineering landscape: “The event emphasizes the region’s pivotal role in the global engineering landscape and serves as a platform for inspiring the next generation of engineers. With hands-on opportunities to interact with the latest technologies and meet industry leaders, the Explore Engineering Showcase 2025 reinforced the endless possibilities within the engineering sector.”
Demystifying Engineering Careers
Jean McAdam, marketing director at Analog Devices, highlighted the event’s aim, saying, “We are trying to demystify the career, and to show the students and their parents, who are big decision makers in this as well, about how promising a career it is, how active it is in the Midwest, what they can study, but also the employment opportunities that are there when they graduate.”
Colin McNamara, Modulacc’s managing director, explained his company’s presence at the showcase: “We need people across the engineering spectrum; designers, architects, engineers to manufacturing operators, industrial specialists and construction, so really this is the future talent pool.”
Increased Engineering Graduates
Figures from the Higher Education Authority show a 70% increase in engineering graduates from the University of Limerick and Technological University of the Shannon over the last seven years. Organizers suggest a direct link to the Explore Engineering Showcase. Brophy noted, “We’ve seen growth in the figures in those taking up engineering. The figures over the last few years have gone from 1,200 to more than 2,000. That is showing us that there is an increase. It’s small steps but it’s going in the right direction.”
Brophy added that engineering accounts for 16% of jobs across the Midwest region. “It’s a real treat for us to be able to show a pipeline of students from the next generation, the careers and pathways that are available to them. It is hugely important to have visibility on women in engineering, the apprenticeship route into engineering, the higher education route into engineering and to promote all of those. We think we are making a difference and the research is bearing that out.”
