Because of the growth of the software industry, there has been a corresponding growth in the hardware industry and more and more things are made from plastic.
About 300 companies in the State convert imported plastic granules into everyday products such as keyboards on computers, television monitors, drainpipes, CDs and a whole range of medical devices. Athlone IT is the only college in the State to offer an undergraduate course in polymer technology (AL032), where students are given an in-depth knowledge of the plastics materials, the properties and their processing characteristics.
Paul Blackie, senior lecturer of polymer engineering at Athlone IT, says that the points are low because the course can't get the numbers in. Ironically, Blackie believes that this is because there is a preponderance of software courses. The course can cater for 30 or 40 first-years, he explains, "but the numbers are dropping to 11 or 12 and that's a source of worry for us". In the past there would have been a total first-year intake of 60; now that is down to fewer than 20 between the certificate and degree course.
There are two polymer technology options open to students - the four-year degree and the national certificate which can lead on to a national diploma. Students who do the two-year certificate course in polymer technology and get a merit can transfer to the diploma, and can then transfer into the third year of the degree and get their degree in five years instead of four.
He says there is a dropout rate of about 10 per cent, which is usually because students realise in first year that they are in the wrong course. Female candidates do not seem to be attracted the course, either. According to Blackie, there is just one girl in a class of 20 in fourth year, none in third year, and one or two in first and second year. "It's not deemed to be a very attractive course in that respect, although there is a crying demand for women in the industry."
If students like the practical approach, they will be suited to the course. It's an applied engineering and an applied technology, he says. Students have the hands-on practical skills in terms of the processing to monitor the sophisticated and expensive equipment used in the industry.
In first year, students study subjects such as chemistry, electric principles, engineering drawing and computer-aided design (CAD), maths, mechanics, physics, and technology. Although subjects with titles such as physics and chemistry crop up, Blackie insists it is not a science course, that it is very much applied and more like technology.
In the third year of the degree there is a compulsory placement programme where students are placed in industries anywhere in Europe for five months. Blackie lists Finland, Holland, Germany and France as well as Ireland as places that his students have gone on work placement.
In their final year, advanced polymer systems, polymer engineering, polymer physics, polymer product technology and production management all feature as the core subjects in the course.
"There is a reasonable amount of practical work involved in terms of polymer physics, polymer processing, polymer chemistry, testing, project work and so on. That's why we always felt that those that came through the course always did very well out of it because they had good practical skills as well."
All graduates from the class of 2000 are in employment now. Blackie says: "The majority of the degree holders now start off as process or project engineers in big companies. They would work their way up the ladder fairly quickly to supervisors and then junior management."
By last May, eight of his students had been offered employment, even before they had done their final exams. Prospects are good for polymer technology graduates - the plastics healthcare and plastics processing sectors are projected to increase significantly over the next five years.
Blackie and his colleagues are trying to make potential students aware "that it's not just plastic bags. There is a big, big, big, high-tech business out there."
