Last week I taught two evening classes of Research Methods with my BSc in BIM (Digital Construction) students–and I have another starting at 6PM tonight. The students are earning “honors-level” bachelor’s degrees in just one year at TU Dublin. It’s an action-packed year, and they complete 60 ECTS (a full-time academic load, equivalent to 30 credits in the US university system) over 12 continuous months. It’s a great credential to earn and they learn so many new skills. “Honors-level” means they need to write a research paper, and I teach them the basics of that in Research Methods. So, last Tuesday, I welcomed them back from summer (where they completed their Work-Based Learning module) via an online class I taught from a hotel room in Athlone.
And just why was I in Athlone, halfway across Irland, on a school night?
I was lucky enough to attend the 2023 CitA BIM Gathering as an observer. CitA is the Construction IT Alliance in Ireland, and its BIM Gathering is held every second year.
This year the Gathering had a great innovation. The first two days (Monday and Tuesday) were online for a manageable two hours each day. The third (Wednesday) we had a full day in person, in the midlands of Ireland, along the Shannon River.
I really appreciated CitA’s multi-type conference format as we got to hear from speakers who couldn’t travel to Athlone. This format used travel resources more wisely, and the rhythm suited me as a participant. I particularly valued the online presentations by lawyer May Winfield of Buro Happold, Lèon van Berlo from buildingSMART International, Johnthan Reinhard from TU Dublin, and Carolina Soto Oguerta from Chile.
Because I had a class to teach on Tuesday night, I bolted from home to Heusten Station as soon as the Tuesday Gathering events ended, to settle into my hotel room and make sure the wifi connection was sound.
I thoroughly enjoyed traveling with Irish Rail, and I worked on a review for the European Journal of Engineering Education on the way. Sooooo much preferable to driving!
Here’s a map comparing Europe’s train network with the USA’s. Whereas I can’t get outside Ireland by rail, it’s a pleasure when I can use the train domestically.
Athlone is home to the new Technological University of the Shannon (TUS), and I am hoping this increased exposure of the name “Shannon” helps Irish people learn my name 🙂 as they never seem to understand my pronunciation of it. It just doesn’t fit many people’s schema for a woman’s first name here, and they revert to calling me Sharon shortly into almost any conversation.
View from the conference room at the Radisson Blu in Athlone.
CitA is headed by Dr. Alan Hore, who will soon retire from TU Dublin. I’m not happy to learn that bit of news, but I am sure Alan has new plans for doing something big and meaningful!
In-person attendance from TU Dublin was strong, and many students presented really impressive research during the conference. I was particularly impressed with the presentations by students, including Sadaf Dalirazar from UCD, Léa Laurent (affiliated with Munster University of Technology, but presenting on behalf of her firm O’Connell Mahon), and TU Dubin’s Peshawa Mohammed, Ryan Dempsey, and Jennifer McAuley. Sadaf was nominated for an award (at her first-ever conference, for her first-ever conference paper). Léa won for best industry paper and Jennifer won for best academic paper, so I must have picked my sessions well! I also found Ryan’s presentation–though high speed!–to be very enlightening. I applaud them all for their fabulous work.
Presentations pictured by Sadaz Dalirazar, Ryan Dempsey, Léa Laurent, and Jennifer McAuley.
I also got to chat with graduates of our BSc from the first three cohorts, Divia Chadwa and Martin King, as well as one student currently completing the course, Bronte Kavanagh, and my co-teachers from TU Dublin, Davitt Lamon, Kevin Furlong MA, MSc, Dr. Malachy Mathews, and more!
I was also happy to hear from the Mayor of Athlone, who is an architect; Louise Heavin delivered a thought-provoking address and is enhancing the sustainability and livability of her small city. David Philip‘s presentation was also very interesting, “The Unexpected Road, from Premise to Prediction”, and I had the pleasure of chatting with David over lunch.
Main stage presentations by Louise Heavin, David Philips, and Jonathan Reinhard (this time speaking on behalf of Diatec).
Following a summer of intense curriculum design, a relaxing holiday in Greece, and the Dublin Maker fair, I dove right into the new academic year, voicing my perspectives at various meetings and workshops with colleagues at TU Dublin and–last week–attending and throwing myself into the annual conference of SEFI, the European Society for Engineering Education which was held just ten minutes walk from my apartment in Dublin.
Incidentally, SEFI is an acronym for our organization’s French name, Société Européenne pour la Formation des Ingénieurs, in case that wasn’t clear….
We kicked off on Sunday with a full-day pre-conference Doctoral Symposium, that I organized alongside Jonte Bernhard, Tinne De Laet, and Kristina Edström. It was, in all honesty, a highlight of the overall week, and each participant shared insights at the end of the day. “I found my village” exclaimed one of the PhD students to resounding applause. Indeed this annual symposium, where experienced researchers provide one-to-one advice to doctoral students helps bring our research community together. Everyone participating learns and grows, and we grow stronger as a group and also as individuals. With 37 students, 24 seniors, and 4 organizers present, we had plenty of others to learn from and with!
Favorite moments from the 2023 SEFI Doc Symposium include small group coaching, the extremely popular “speed dating” event, and the sharing of take-home messages.
All the photos on this post are by the talented photographer Conor Mulhern <conor@eyeon.ie>, hired to document the event.
Running straight from the Doc Symposium to Temple Bar that Sunday, I hosted my second event of the day — a new-to-SEFI pre-conference welcome for anyone feeling like they’d like a sense of community before the big event started. We had nearly 30 participants for our “Birds of a (Different) Feather” event, organized by Inês Direito, Predrag Pale, and I.
The main conference kicked off Monday morning. It was the 51st conference for SEFI, an organization that just reached 50 years of age, and a record number of people attended. Our TU Dublin East Quad was busting at the seams with 575 participants fully engaged.
I was a member of our Local Organizing Committee and I witnessed first-hand the heroic efforts and calm resolve of a truly outstanding member of our TU Dublin community, Ger Reilly, who led the cause.
Recognizing Ger Reilly for all his amazing work organizing SEFI 2023!
Monday morning started with a plenary on our new International Handbook of Engineering Education Research, organized by Aditya Jordi and Diana Adela Martin, with Bill Williams, Kristina Edström, John Mitchell, and Diana Adela Martin as panelists. Each panelist shared intriguing new insights on the current state of engineering education and thoughts and advice on where we’re headed as a field. I’ve worked closely with each of these scholars and feel a deep connection to each of them.
The opening plenary on the future of engineering education research. With Aditya Johri, Bill Williams, Diana Martin, John Mitchell, and Kristina Edström.
To tell the truth, I could not be prouder of Diana Adela Martin and her outstanding contributions to this year’s conference. She had asked me, when she completed her Ph.D., to mentor her (e.g., to learn about reviewing and editing for journals and books). That was just a few short years ago. And then, here she was–center stage–presenting ideas born from her work as an author and Associate Editor of our International Handbook of Engineering Education Research! At SEFI, she also led workshops, the Special Interest Group on Ethics that she co-chairs with Helena Kovacs, presented research, attended our EJEE editors’ dinner in her new capacity as Associate Editor of EJEE, and served as a senior advisor at the Doc Symposium, mingling with her new colleagues from UCL’s Centre for Engineering Education where she will soon start working as a Senior Research Associate.
Diana Martin in action (and leading an Ethics SIF workshop with Helena Kovacs, above).
After the panel, paper presentation sessions and workshop sessions swung into full gear.
My fabulous PhD supervisee, Sandra Cruz, presented a paper on one facet of her research. Her paper is titled “Exploring Women’s Teamwork Experiences in Engineering Education: A Phenomenological Analysis”.
TU Dublin Ph.D. student Sandra Cruz, a joy and an inspiration to supervise!
Just before Sandra’s presentation, I myself presented a paper co-authored with Barry McAuley of a “Preliminary mapping of bachelors’ research to enhance digital construction in Ireland”. Afterward, I joined two really fun Special Interest Group workshops (Ethics, and Engineering Education Research).
I really enjoyed the paper presentations and workshops, as evident in the photos below that Conor captured, and I helped lead two of the workshops.
Fun at workshops and paper sessions.
During the opening reception, a number of energetic colleagues were honored: Kristina Edström, Pieter de Vries, Yolande Berbers, and Maartje van den Bogaard have given so much to SEFi over the years and it wouldn’t be the organization it is today without their efforts. They we all named Fellows of SEFI, and Maartje even thanked me for being a mentor and role model during her acceptance speech–that was a big surprise to hear!
Moments from the open reception. Here Mike Murphy congratulates Yolande Berbers following her award as SEFI Fellow.
I must acknowledge all the exceptional work done to support this conference by SEFI staff Klara Ferdova over the year we’ve been planning this event.
My dear colleagues Klara Ferdova and Jonte Bernhard.
Aongus and I joined friends at Oscar’s Cafe after the reception.
On Tuesday, afternoon, Jye Benjamin O’Sullivan presented our co-authored paper “Drawing from SEFI Ethics Knowledge to Support Eco-ethics Education within the European University of Technology”.
Jye Benjamin O’Sullivan presenting our paper. (My smartphone photo, not Conor’s, or it would be much clearer!)
During SEFI, I helped lead workshops for new authors (Tuesday) and reviewers (Wednesday). I attended breakout meetings such as the EJEE Editorial Board meeting, EERN-UK & Ireland, and a celebration of our dear friend John Heywood, and Emeritus Professor from Trinity College Dublin, who at 92 years young is still working away, publishing research.
My university president, David FitzPatrick, and dean, James Curtain, and TU Dublin did a tip-top job representing our institution at this event. They’ve really grown into their roles over the past few years and their short speeches at the conference opening and closing were informative and engaging. Their support for the conference was important in so many ways, including having so many TU Dublin staff members present as volunteers and participants.
Dean Jame Curtain, President David FiztPatrick, and the amazing Ger Reilly, leaders at TU Dublin.
I attended SEFI’s General Assembly meeting to support my fabulous collaborators in taking on new leadership roles. For instance:
Emanuela Tilley was elected Vice President of SEFI for the coming two years. She and I work closely together to design a new curriculum for NewGiza University.
Emanuela Tilley in action, delivering awards and assuming the role of SEFI vice president.
Inês Direito joined the SEFI Board of Directors. She is also my mentee, and it brings such joy to my heart to see her flourish as a scholar, leader, and truly amazing friend and collaborator. I actually didn’t see much of Inês at SEFI this year… we were both so busy spreading our wings. To say I’m proud of the scholar she is and the leader she’s becoming is an understatement!
Inês Direito assumed a new role on the SEDI Board of Directors during the conference.
At the EJEE Editorial Board meeting, Kristina Edström, our Editor in Chief shared statistics showing that our journal is rising in stature. I’m very pleased to serve as Deputy Editor, alongside Jonte Bernhard, and look forward to helping lead this journal forward in the coming years.
Our superb leader, and EJEE editor-in-chief, Kristina Edström.
Special guests joined us from far and wide. Even though this is the annual European conference, dozens upon dozens of researchers in engineering education joined us from Africa, Australia, and North America.
Two very intriguing keynotes were delivered in the last two days of the conference, and I was delighted since our Local Organizing Committee had nominated them as keynote speakers.
Anette Kolmos, from the Aalborg University UNESCO Center for Problem-Based Learning, put enormous energy into preparing and delivering her keynote–developing incredibly helpful new graphics and descriptions of extremely advanced concepts regarding transdisciplinary team challenge-based learning and the like. She pulled together ideas that she’s been sharing for years into an extremely effective presentation that brought these ideas to life.
Anette Kolmos’ keynote at SEFI 2023.
Anette also won top honors at our gala banquet on the final night, taking home SEFI’s coveted Leonardo DaVinci Award, an honor long overdue I’d say. She’s in great company as Santiago Calatrava is one of many illustrious past winners of this award.
Tinne De Laet won SEFI’s Maffioli award for all she does to support engineering students at her university—not forgetting that she also delivers the Doc Symposium each year!
Tinne De Laet coming up to accept the 2023 Maffioli awardSEFI past and current presidents awarding Anette Kolmos the 2023 Da Vinci medal.
The award was given at the “gala dinner” out at a banquet hall of Dublin’s RDS. The food was lovely and I enjoyed the evening alongside my colleagues from Univesity College London, where I serve as Honorary Professor. The banquet was a hoot, our colleague Gavin Duffy‘s daughter was one of the musicians entertaining the crowd. There was also Irish Céilí dancing (think “River Dance”) on stage.
UCL’s Centre for Engineering Education enjoying the gala dinner and its entertainment.
Our past SEFI president Mike Murphy even finally got a photo with the three Fulbright fellows who most recently came to TU Dublin during his tenure as Dean of Engineering and Built Environment: me (Shannon Chance), Sheryl Sorby, and Stephanie Farrell. Sheryl and Stephanie have both served as presidents of the mega-sized organization ASEE (American Society of Engineering Education), whose conference I attended in June.
Mike Murphy with his last three Fulbright scholars: Shannon Chance, Sheryl Sorby, and Stephanie Farrell.
For the final keynote of the conference, Ed Byrne, a sustainability leader from Cork, Ireland did not disappoint! I count on Ed for up-to-date reports on changes to engineering accreditation in Ireland. Like Anette, Ed had crafted a presentation chock full of cutting-edge research on educational issues and pedagogies to improve sustainability. I enjoyed his info-packed presentation, and meeting him in person afterward. I’d previously attended and presented at the Engineering Education for Sustainable Development (EESD2021) online conference he organized.
I really enjoyed the main stage events this year!
Enjoying the full house and engaging with plenary speakers. To the right, I’m sitting beside former SEFI president Yolande Berbers.
During the conference, a couple people, including Klara Kövesi, stopped me to say they follow this blog. That inspired me to get new content posted (thank you!).
All in all, it was a very satisfying week. By Friday, I’d discovered the trove of brilliant photos captured by Conor Mulhern <conor@eyeon.ie>. Conor, the official conference photographer, was with us every minute of the week. Starting at 9 AM Sunday morning and sticking it out until the very last moments Thursday afternoon. Conor seemed to be in all places at once!
Conor captured us so skillfully. I had to dash off an email:
Dear Conor,
I just got my hands on the Dropbox link, and I am stunned with your astonishing ability to capture us as individuals and as a community. Thank you so very much for being part of our event. You saw us not as outsiders but captured our hearts and souls.
Your Doc Symposium photos exude the joy I felt. I’ve not yet viewed the other folders, but I am full of pride, happiness and satisfaction, thanks to the memories you’ve so aptly captured.
Warm Regards,
Shannon
And he replied:
Hi Shannon,
Ah you’re very kind to say so!
It was my pleasure. Everyone seemed very happy to be there which made my job much easier, and even in the sessions with faces in deepest concentration, you in particular always had a smile to make a good photo! 🙂
Well done all-round on making it all happen.
All the best,
Conor
An enthusiastic round of applause for Conor, our photographer! Here are my great colleagues Emanuela Tilley, Sarah Junaid, John Mitchell, and Klara Ferdova in the front row, with Klara Kövesi in green behind them.
Ultimately, I agree with our Doc Symposium participant who said she’s found her village. I found this village in 2012, at the SEFI conference in Thessaloniki that I attended alongside Mike Murphy, Brian Bowe, and Gavin Duffy. I met new colleagues, like Bill Williams, who welcomed me warmly and with whom I collaborate frequently today. I began to cherish the SEFI community at my first conference, and I also thoroughly enjoyed my time before and after that conference exploring Thessaloniki. The city stuck in my memory long after I left. I hope SEFI 2023 and Dublin live long in the hearts of those who attended this year!
I haven’t been blogging much these days, as I’m so embroiled in research publication activities (mostly in the roles of editor and peer reviewer) that I rarely spend time at the computer for recreational activities like blogging. That said, I feel compelled to report how rewarding it has been to work with the Bachelor’s level Building Construction Modeellign/Digital Construction students at TU Dublin. I coordinate the BSc (honors level) degree program, lead its Research Methods and Work Based Learning modules, and support its Dissertation module.
One of our recent students, Anne Grego, has presented her bachelor’s level work at two conferences. The one presented last month at the EU BIM conference has been published. You can download the paper, “USING BIM TO INCREASE THE EFFICIENCY OF ENERGY-DRIVEN RETROFITTING PROJECTS” by Anne Grego, Shannon Chance and Barry McAuley from https://arrow.tudublin.ie/surconcon/2/
Aongus and I enjoyed an amazingly warm and sunny Bank Holiday weekend, the start of June. We travelled by car with bikes on a rack, cycled parts of the Greenway along the Wild Atlantic Way, and enjoyed beaches and restaurants along the way.
We also found posters for the following weekend’s Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival, so we booked train tickets and accommodation and headed back out West just four days after motoring home.
And boy, did we enjoy the music festival! We felt part of this small group of folks—a hundred or so musicians and enthusiasts, for the past three days.
The folk and bluegrass tunes from Appalachia sang to my heart and had me longing for days of old, attending Statler Brothers concerts in the park every Fourth of July.
During the country sets this weekend, I relived Saturday nights, sprawled across my grandparents’ den, watching Hee Haw with all its slapstick humor, surrounded by a happy extended family.
This morning’s gospel set, presented aside prayers at Westport’s magestic Anglican (Church of Ireland) church was a highlight. It was standing room only and people also flowed out past the doors. Aongus and I had arrived mare than an hour early, thankfully. So, we enjoyed second-row seats to hear the Kody Norris Show quartet for the second time. They also played at last night’s show, and boy, are they a hit!
I also loved the Derryberries, from Tennessee, Bill and the Bells, Melody Walker & Jacob Groopman, Lunch Special, and Tim Rodger’s gig, among others.
We sat very front at the main stage Friday night, and very back there on Saturday. Westport’s Town Hall Theater has fabulous acoustics and great sight lines throughout.
This intimate three-day music festival is organized by a gent with an amazing Mayo accent, named Uri, who moved to Ireland 19 years ago, I’m told, from Israel. He is clearly now a cornerstone of the community, bringing this annual event to Westport since 2007.
Aongus and I loved both weekends—cycling along the seaside and swaying with the tunes. We’ve already booked to come back again next year. We think Westport is the prettiest town in Ireland and the hospitality can’t be beat. My favorite publican, Tom Mulligan says it’s Ireland’s only panned town. I think Derry, up in Northern Ireland (UK), is another in this island.
All in all, being surrounds by folks with such a passion for music is a treat. And Westport is a gem in Ireland’s green, green crown.
My colleague and co-Deputy Editor of the European Journal of Engineering Education, Professor Jonte Bernhard, came to visit for the weekend. Jonte was on his way to a PhD viva in Limerick where he is serving today as External Examiner.
Here’s a favorite picture from the summer, taken with Jonte, at a dinner in Stockholm that was hosted by our chief editor, Kristina Edström.
A jolly bunch of engineering education research editors! Drs. Inês Direito, Jonte Bernhard, Shannon Chance, Jenni Case, and Kristina Edström after the EARLI SIG9 conference in August 2022.
This past weekend, Aongus cooked up a lovely dinner for Jonte and me on Saturday. We were joined by a PhD student named Urša — she had attended the Doctoral Symposium that Jonte and I organized at the SEFI conference in September.
On Sunday, Jonte, Aongus, and I enjoyed brunch at Oscar’s on Smithfield Plaza. Aongus and I had hoped to show Jonte several of Dublin’s sites, but the rain put us off. We did make it over, between downpours and hail, to tour the Jameson Distillery on Bow Street.
Aongus had never been on the Jameson’s tour, and I hadn’t since 2003, so it was a rare treat despite it being just a block from our flat.
Jameson Distillery tour.
For me, the work week started with attending an online conference. Then, I did a bit of peer reviewing before heading off to teach Tech Graphics 2-6 PM.
My co-teacher, Marina, and Rachel (who teaches physics lab down the hall at the same time as us) both came over for dinner to celebrate the semester coming to a close.
As both Marina and Rachel are working on PhDs (in BIM and spatial perception, respectively), we’ll be sure to get them reviewing papers for our journals soon!
Following a Saturday morning visit to the gym—weights, pool and spa for Aongus, yoga for me—we mulled over our breakfast of porridge and fruit at home before heading out by bike to the National Gallery on Merrion Square.
We wanted to catch the opening weekend of the National portrait prize exhibition.
A day at the National Gallery.
We enjoyed the architecture, too, of course. The Gallery has historic old and sleek modern wings.
Nested somewhere between floors is a room full of portraits by emerging artists that includes a portrait painted by Aongus’ sister, Aisling Coughlan, of their late dad.
Admiring Aisling’s work.
You may recall a prior post, where all four Coughlan siblings were assembled around the portrait while it hung in the Royal Hibernian Society. Since that time, Aisling retired from her job and enrolled full time at the National College for Art and Design to hone her skills even further.
I think I also blogged when she was on the television competition for portrait painting, which was filmed in London.
Leaving the Gallery, we pushed our bike through the throngs of holiday shoppers on Grafton street.
The very festive Grafton Street.
And since Aongus has been asking Santa for Five Guys, his dream of American burgers and fries under fluorescent lights finally came true.
Calling the day.
Our tummies filled, we settled into a cozy table on Fade Street where we could people-watch to our hearts’ content… but we still made it home safely by bike before 8PM.
Thanksgiving here in Ireland is usually just another ordinary Thursday. But this year I made a point to celebrate. I registered for a conference held at the Royal Irish Academy on Dawson Street, so I could learn about “Next Generation Construction in Ireland” while soaking in old-school Irish ambiance, and I bought tickets for an American Thanksgiving feast.
I love visiting the stately old RIA building, with its floors of well worn books. There was an interesting exhibition on display, and lovely architectural details to treat the eyes and soothe the soul.
The Royal Irish Academy bridges science and humanities.
Despite heavy rain falling before my cycle over, I was inspired to wear my favorite Irish sweater and the “BIM Hero” lapel pin I received earlier in the year. (I am hoping the pin will provide the good karma I need to get my current manuscript on the Hero’s Journey polished up to final form to submit this coming week!)
Delighted to have been named a “BIM Hero” at the BIM Coordinators Summit.
During this one-day conference, I learned more than a few new things about Modern Methods of Construction, Irish strategies and policies, and education programs and plans to up-skill the Irish workforce.
Dr. Tara Brooks from Queens University in Belfast presented fascinating research and I’ve included images since I really enjoyed the graphic devices she used to situate her contributions to the body of knowledge in BIM and digital construction.
The graphically rich presentation by Tara Brooks.
My own university, TU Dublin, was very well represented among attendees, presenters, panelists, organizers, and session chairs. I’ve pictured Joseph Mady, a part time lecturer who delivered an interesting talk.
TU Dublin’s Joseph Mady presenting.
Our conference ended promptly at 5, as Ireland’s Prime Minister was scheduled to speak in the same room at 7, and there was setting up to do.
With the conference concluded, I headed across Dawson Street to Cafe en Seine for a cocktail with Aongus.
Then we cycled together over to the Hilton near Lock C6 on the south side canal. We met up with a merry group of Americans (most with Irish in tow) to share a feast of turkey will most all the trimmings.
From Cafe en Seine to the Hilton’s Restaurant Charlemont.
It was Aongus’ first sweet potato casserole with marshmallows and he’s still raving about his new find. It’s fun to see the delight he takes in root veg… he also loved the glazed carrots. Such a healthy boy! My favorite were the green beans sautéed with bacon.
We made some new friends and had a ball sharing stories in a familiar twang. Until next year:
It’s been a great week! In the past seven days, Aongus and I have hosted my former PhD supervisor, Professor Pamela Eddy for a stay at our place in Dublin. I got to meet her nephew, Michael, over a meal at Damascus Gate. Here are photos with Aongus, Pam, and Pam’s nephew:
Fun with Pam Eddy
Just after Pam flew home, Aongus and I hosted my Uncle Harry and his friend Andi for a tasty home-cooked meal that Aongus whipped up. Afterward, we trotted over to the Cobblestone pub to meet Andi’s family, Linda and Steve. A couple days later, we assembled again at Oscar’s for some lovely seafood chowder. Here are photos of merriment with Harry and the gang:
I am glad they visited while Dublin is sparkling! The holiday lights go on at the end of Daylight Savings, to make our early evenings more bearable. The sparkle combined with having visitors makes life feel so much more worthwhile.
In fact, I’ve gotten inspired to add a new genre of exercise to my routine: ariel yoga. Two lessons in and I’m doing pretty well!
I also recently received copies of William and Mary’s World Minded magazine.
Pam is featured highly in an interview the editor of World Minded conducted with me over the summer. She asked me many questions about my career journey and my roots back to W&M. You can read the interview here:
World Minded article.
A positive outcome of the World Minded feature was getting to meet a young alumna named Emma. She came across the article and wanted to chat about internationalizing her career. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting online with Emma as she’s from my home state and is full of zest and ambition. I look forward to seeing what steps she takes in her twenties and thirties. Thank you, Emma, for giving me a reason to break from work for an hour to chat about designing your life!
I look forward to reconnecting with many more family and friends from back home as the world reawakens following the pandemic.
I’m finally coming out of laptop-induced hibernation. I’m ready to move between in-person and online realms, and hoping this will ensue rather seamlessly. It’s been hard to muster enthusiasm for blogging after working behind the laptop all day, every day. Maybe spending time outside will provide inspiration to blog, as it has today.
This morning, I delivered a seminar (7-8 AM) to the Center for Research on Engineering Education (CREE) at the University of Cape Town. The topic was writing research proposals for publication and securing grants and fellowships. I delivered a similar session earlier in the year as part of a workshop series conducted by the Research in Engineering Education Network (REEN), and CREE asked me to bring it to their group.
A really enthusiastic group attended and I received several follow-up emails. I really appreciate hearing what attendees valued and how we might connect more in the future. I met most of these folks in delivering Master Classes in South Africa when I was working at UCL, and also when attending the Research in Engineering Education Symposium in Cape Town in 2019. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know them better through regular meetings, online during Covid. I’m currently developing a special focus journal issue with one of them, Anita Campbell. We had a meeting about that project yesterday that was so exciting I had trouble sleeping last night!?
Cover slide for the talk I gave today, virtually in Cape Town.
Logging off the Cape Town session, I headed over to Bolton Street TU Dublin to help lead a field trip for Transition Year (high school) students to visit sites in Dublin.
One-half of the students toured the “waste to energy” facility in Dublin (which they don’t call an incinerator, as that word seems politically incorrect here but is easy-to-envision thanks to Toy Story). The other half of the students came with Kevin Gaughan and me to see a construction site downtown. I included two photos of our site visit below, but you can see more about the visit, including a full gallery of images, at https://roboslam.wordpress.com/2022/05/12/engineering-your-future-at-tu-dublin-2022/.
A new office reception space.The Eir telecom center that runs my home broadband!
While I was busy on the tour, some of my colleagues were preparing for tomorrow’s activity for the same students, a BioSlam. You can view the instructions for making little blood flow monitors on our RoboSlam site, at https://roboslam.wordpress.com/bioslam-ppg/.
I’ll have to step out of the BioSlam for a while to attend an online Meeting on engineering ethics — I hope earbuds do the job and I can attend from the corridor outside the electronics lab.
At the moment, I am taking a breather, listening to an online talk by a leading expert in the history of Grangegorman. The speaker, Brian Donnely, Senior Archivist in the National Archives, is currently talking about Richmond Surgical Hospital (a block from my flat) and as well as TU Dublin’s campus site at Grangegorman, which was used as an “insane asylum” with a prison placed between the two in the past.
And, I’m multi-tasking (a rarity for me) and posting a blog (also very rare these days).
Online lecture by Brian Donnely, Senior Archivist in the National Archives.
In just over two hours, I’ll be teaching an online evening class on Research Methods for my BSc students in BIM/Digital Construction. Before then, I’ll read the peer reviews I’ve just received for the European Journal for Engineering Education, so that I can recommend tomorrow to the Editor in Cheif how to move forward toward publication of the manuscript.
The pandemic closed life down on our little island just days after Christmas.
After a long winter’s hibernation, Ireland has just started to lift the lid. For months, I’ve rarely left home. Aongus got Covid the week his worksite opened back up, just after Easter. But despite staying right by his side, I didn’t contract the illness. I actually tested negative twice, but had to isolate (for what seemed like forever) nonetheless.
I did, though, get a wave of something while Aongus was sick. I felt drained, although not to the same extent as Aongus was.
It hasn’t helped that the big volunteer/publication project I’m currently wrapping up has taken five-times the effort it should have. I couldn’t be happier to see the backside of this lockdown. Or this project….
Fortunate for my sanity, things are gradually opening back up in Dublin, and the sun sometimes shines. My flat is still a nice sun trap which makes life bearable.
In the past couple weeks, Aongus and I have had a few nice outings.
We had a lovely coffee and pasta last weekend sitting outside the Clayton Hotel in Ballsbridge on our cycle ride to Dun Laoghaire. I’ve always admired this majestic Victorian building but had never ventured onto the grounds.
Last weekend, visiting friends’ back gardens was finally allowed again. We had an absolute ball visiting our friends Diana, Stefan, and Diana’s mum on Sunday evening. We’re looking forward to the day we can welcome them to our place for a meal. (Inside visits are off limits until one of the two families is fully vaccinated or recovered from Covid. We’re well in our way to meeting the criteria!)
Yesterday we ventured out again, taking the local commuter train down the coast to Bray—the town where Aongus and I met over five years ago—and this time we hiked to the top of Bray Head.
We enjoyed snacks along the boardwalk of this Victorian period seaside resort town before hiking to the “Eagles Nest” at the top. It is behind Aongus’s head. I zoomed way in so you can see the tiny cross in the distance.
I thought I’d been to the summit before, but I’m now sure I remembered wrong. It’s a surprisingly steep and rugged path. Back in the 50s and 60s, there was a chair lift, seen as necessary since it’s so steep.
We chose the climb since part of the Bray to Greystones cliff walk had collapsed, and that favorite path wasn’t an option yesterday.
There’s a spectacular view from the summit, and I’m glad we’ve had that experience. It’s not likely I’ll have it again!
I can’t wait to get fit again. The gym opens tomorrow and I’ll be in the pool bright and early!
Although tomorrow is a bank holiday here, Aongus and I working so we can take off Friday for a new adventure on wheels! We’re going to re-live a favorite itinerary from last summer. Stay tuned!
Ireland by Chance 