This year marked the Cockrell School’s first-ever study abroad Maymester course on the island of Ireland. A group of 14 adventurous students spent four weeks in the Irish capital, where they not only completed ME 302: Engineering Design and Graphics at the University College Dublin but also packed in as many cultural tours and field trips as possible.
Students learned about Ireland’s unique sports — Gaelic football, hurling and handball — and visited the country’s largest stadium, Croke Park, which seats over 80,000 people. They also visited Howth Castle, where “Gulliver’s Travels” author Jonathan Swift was a frequent visitor, and traveled to Belfast for a day, where they stopped by the Titanic Belfast museum located on the site of the former shipyard where the famous ocean liner was built.
It might be difficult for the students to agree on the best highlight during their trip, but one thing is certain — they all want to go back.
“It was a fantastic trip for our young engineers, and the learning experience was truly invaluable,” said Billy Wood, senior lecturer in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the course’s instructor. “Dublin has etched a place in the hearts of all of us. Every student has vowed to return.”
