NMCI graduates look forward to increased opportunities in the maritime sector
Wednesday 13 February 2008
Speaking at the Spring Conferring of degree awards at the NMCI, Associate Head NMCI, Cdr. Mark Mellet, highlighted how the development of the Maritime Campus of Ireland (MCI) would spearhead a "competitive and sustainable maritime sector" in Ireland. He said that MCI will provide future opportunities for NMCI graduates to apply “apply their professional maritime seafaring knowledge” and for “Masters and PhD students to engage in Research and Development”.
Sixteen students were conferred with degrees at the annual spring conferring ceremony on Tuesday 12th February. Fifteen students were conferred with a Bachelor of Science in Nautical Science and one student received a Bachelor of Engineering in Marine & Plant Engineering. Dr. Brendan Murphy President of CIT, congratulated all the graduates on their achievements and wished them well with their future careers. He said that 'meeting the needs of the maritime industry is a strategic objective of the NMCI' and the college would cater for the continuing professional development requirements of the graduates in the future.
Two graduates received special recognition for their efforts in the course of their studies. BSc graduate Donna O'Sullivan achieved the most improvement over the course and was presented with the Clyde Marine Trophy by Mr. Rod MacKenzie of Clyde Marine Training. Conor Moynihan, Best Electronic Navigation Student, was presented the GPS Ireland trophy by Mr. David Halley of GPS Ireland.
Conor from Carrigaline, Cork is the son of a Ship’s Radio Officer and achieved the highest results in Electronic Navigation during his final year at the NMCI. His interest in going to sea was fostered in secondary school when he joined the Naval Reserve and as a result he enrolled in the Nautical Science Course at the NMCI in September 2004. During his placement year, he served as a trainee deck officer with a number of companies including the Commissioner of Irish Lights and British Petroleum (BP). He is looking forward to returning to sea with BP and a career he really enjoys and hopes to devote more time to music and playing his guitar now that his studies are finished.
