BACKGROUND
The Advanced Manufacturing Pathways Schools Project is a pioneering programme providing an opportunity for students to learn about developing career opportunities in advanced manufacturing. The programme provided students and teachers with opportunities to gain hands-on experience with cutting edge technologies in their own school, the Queen’s University-led Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre, and in the Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre of Excellence Dundalk.
AMIC hosted schools in Belfast as part of the Belfast Unemployed Resource Centre’s Advanced Manufacturing Pathways School Project, funded by the International Fund for Ireland. Pupils from Belfast Boys' Model School, Mercy College Belfast, Dundonald High School, and St Louise's Comprehensive School participated in this project, with the project delivered by cross border partners - Louth and Meath Enterprise Training Board.
During the visits, pupils from Louth and Meath joined the four Belfast schools for a tour of the Northern Ireland Advanced Composites and Engineering Centre (NIACE) building alongside staff from AMIC's Sustainable Polymers and Composites group. They witnessed demonstrations of cutting-edge technologies, including 3D printing and composites, as well as other high-end manufacturing equipment. Additionally, aerospace engineers and chemical engineers provided career talks to the visiting students. As part of the programme, teachers from the four Belfast schools received training from Queen's on advanced technologies, including the use of 3D printers. This initiative aims to equip both students and educators with the skills needed for the future of manufacturing and technology.
The project will be running again this year with 12 schools involved.
