Skyware Global teams up with UCD graduates

IRISH THIRD-level students are being offered the chance to gain valuable industry experience as part of a new agreement between UCD and satellite equipment provider Skyware Global.

The partnership will allow engineering and technology students in UCD’s School of Electrical, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering gain applied experience in mechanical and RF engineering in various departments of the multinational company as part of an internship programme.

Skyware Global designs and manufactures leading-edge solutions for satellite broadband antennas and electronic components. Teams based in Britain, Germany and the US will take on the interns.

Skyware Global chief executive David McCourt said UCD’s approach to training its graduates is unique. “UCD unlike most universities, aspires to train engineers in a more holistic way, with a deep understanding of other disciplines beside engineering. That way of approaching it, where graduates are not only engineers but businessmen and scientists, is very attractive to us. That’s what Skyware is all about. We don’t just design, we try to solve business problems,” he said.

“We haven’t seen anyone who is approaching this way of training engineers.”

Mr McCourt said because of competition from low-cost countries, Ireland has to offer something else in terms of skills to firms.

“As a technology company, it’s very difficult to compete when you can go to Asia and get a worker with a PhD for $1,000 per month. It hard to compete unless you think about products differently,” he said.

Not only is that the way I would look at Skyware Global, in my opinion it’s the way Ireland has to look at the world if they want to compete. Ireland is not going to be able to produce a PhD and have someone hire them at $1,000 a month. If they’re going to compete with countries where that is the case, they’re going to have to look at problems differently from the rest of the world.”

The company is currently exploring further collaborations in research and development with UCD.

“Through this partnership our students will be able to work with Skyware Global’s engineering teams based in the UK, Germany and the US on cutting edge satellite technology, gaining valuable industry experience and potentially changing how people around the world communicate,” said UCD’s head of electronic engineering Prof Tom Brazil.

“This partnership is an excellent industry fit with our strong Science Foundation Ireland-funded research activity in RF and microwave engineering.”

In the past, Skyware Global has worked with the University of Liverpool, Edinburgh University and Lairdside Laser Engineering Centre.

The company is planning to visit UCD next month to meet prospective interns and discuss the upcoming projects. Recent graduates will also be considered for full-time positions with Skyware Global.