Technological University Dublin students Samuel Berry (originally from Kilpedder, Co Wicklow), Pierce Blackmore (Portobello), Jake Rogers (Walkinstown) and Sanchit Aggarwall (New Delhi) will represent Ireland at the international engineering and commerce competition ENGCOMM 2020 in Montreal after their team won the ESB Inter-Colleges Challenge 2019. The TU Dublin team pulled ahead by a small margin in the grand final against stiff competition from UCC and DCU to emerge victorious for the second year in a row. They were presented with the prestigious McLoughlin perpetual trophy.
Forty students from ten colleges across Ireland participated in the competition to develop a metropolitan transport system for 2040 which would substantially reduce traffic in cities, improve air quality and the quality of life for citizens. The competition took place in a high pressure setting at the Irish Management Institute (IMI) over the course of Thursday 31st October and Friday 1st November, with each team designing, costing and building a proposal for Cork, Limerick, Belfast or Galway to pitch to an expert panel.
Presenting the winning prizes, Marguerite Sayers ESB Executive Director commented: “The quality of analysis undertaken by each of the teams over the past two days demonstrates their ability to think critically and creatively about the challenges facing the country and the energy sector in the transition to a low carbon future. “I was impressed by the novel approaches to the challenge that each team presented. I also look forward to welcoming students from the top three teams to ESB for internships next summer where this experience will stand to them in a dynamic real-life working environment.”
Pictured at the IMI Sandyford with Marguerite Sayers, Executive Director Customer Solutions ESB and President of Engineers Ireland, with overall winner from TU Dublin, Samuel Berry, Pierce Blackmore, Jake Rogers and Sanchit Aggarwal. Picture Colm Mahady / Fennells
