Sarah O’ Sullivan – Causeway Comprehensive School, Kerry
Hi, my name is Sarah and I am a Transition Year student from Co. Kerry. I go to Causeway Comprehensive School which is located in North Kerry. I decided to apply for a place on the CONFIRM work experience programme as I wanted to get an insight into what a career in smart manufacturing and STEM science might entail.
The week so far has been a really enjoyable experience and I have learned so much. I have found the researcher sessions really informative and they gave me a good idea of the different careers that are part of smart manufacturing. I have also really liked learning about how the CONFIRM centre operates and what work they do.
I have gained a great amount of knowledge from taking part in the week. I have learned about artificial intelligence, the internet of things and robots. Before the course started I had no idea about any of this stuff but now I know the basics and have a brief understanding of these topics.
We were each assigned a topic to research and to make a poster on with our findings. I got tasked with researching what a digital twin is. We did a group survey and not many people know what a digital twin is so I will tell you what it is. A digital twin is when a virtual replica is created of a physical product like a car or a bridge. Digital twins have many benefits such as improved productivity, faster production times and improved reliability of equipment and production times.
For anyone thinking about doing this course next year, I would definitely recommend it. It is a really valuable learning experience and you gain lots of new knowledge and skills. From doing this course I have learnt about the different careers available in smart manufacturing and STEM and it has helped me decide what I want to do in the future.
