International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) with Design ID

To celebrate International Women in Engineering Day we were invited to an engineering workshop with Design ID in Hillsborough. This was a fantastic opportunity for the 15 pupils and Mrs Turner to hear about engineering pathways, particularly in the field of civil engineering. This feeds into what we promote in the school about STEM and the value of Technology and Design and Engineering. This was an interactive workshop where they had to work with other schools to design the future civil development of Hillsborough. Design ID is an engineering consultancy known for its innovation in structural and civil engineering. They are committed to fostering diversity and inclusion in STEM and have actively supported initiatives that encourage women to pursue careers in engineering. Please see below the experiences from some of the pupils who took part:

“We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Design ID. We learnt about / expanded our knowledge on civil engineering and the different pathways that lead to being a civil engineer. We also learnt a lot about the village of Hillsborough and about the work being done to advance and modernise it. We enjoyed ranking the requests of locals and deciding which ones were best for the budget. We also liked working in groups.”

By Niamh Crawford and Sofia McLaughlin-Millen

“We went to Design ID studios to learn about civil engineering and the jobs that are involved in STEM. We learned all about what it takes to become an engineer and the qualifications that are required. A lot of the people working there had experience through university, but also through apprenticeship. They made us contribute to an activity to rank civilians’ concerns the future development of Hillsborough. We firstly ranked the concerns, then we got given a budget where we solved the problems by economic and environmental standards. We were shown a video by ICE (Institution of Civil Engineers), where they explained what civil engineers do and the importance of the job. They need more women to be engineers and they encouraged it exponentially.”

-Elijah Mohan & Niamh McParland

“Today we visited Design ID in Hillsborough to take part in a Civil Engineering workshop to help promote women in engineering. We got to learn that Civil Engineering is the design, construction, and maintenance of the built environment and natural surroundings. We got to experience what it is like for civil engineers when making hard decisions about what direction to take in developing and what to prioritise. We played games to see what we thought was most important and give solutions on how to improve them. We also made decisions on what we would improve and build while on a tight budget, and what how to adapt when that budget in lowered. We got to work with other schools, particularly, Fort hill Integrated College and made new friends. It was a very enjoyable day, and we got to see the warehouse that was designed by the workers. We got to hear from Aimee, Sophie, Jamie and Ciara who are all Civil Engineering and work for Design ID. Their speeches were very inspiring and would make me consider a job in that profession.”

-Theo Adams and Cara Weatherall

“This trip was amazing, and I would recommend it to anybody considering a career in engineering, or anybody unsure of what they want to do. The people were very friendly and helpful, as they were open to questions and informed us about the many opportunities offered here. We received tasks that showed some of the issues that civil engineers face daily along with teaching us how to overcome them, overall these problem-solving exercises were very interesting and made this a memorable day.”

-Sarah Duffy

“…For our activities we got into groups of 5, the first activity was about the positives and negatives of the development in Hillsborough. We put them in order from most efficient to the least efficient and after we shared our answers to the other groups and compared them with each other…. Overall, I enjoyed learning about Civil Engineers, and I believe it was inspirational for young people and will promote more women to get a job in engineering.”

-Aoibheann Fallon

“Design ID, located in Hillsborough, is a multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy firm, which me and my class from St Dominic’s had the opportunity to visit on 24th June 2025. Upon arrival we were greeted by Kathy Tyndall, a Marketing Assistant who was more than happy to guide us to our seats and briefly explain what our day was going to entail. I was content with this as it helped me and my class understand the schedule, preventing confusion which may arise throughout the day. After, we sat down in one of the neatly organised tables before we started watching multiple presentations, all led by Amy Dillon, Principal Engineer, Ciara Conlon and Jamie Graham, both Civil Engineers. Following these insightful presentations, we began a series of problem-solving exercises where we organised the residents’ concerns from most important to least, which truly helped me understand the trials and issues they want to fix, and how engineers play a huge part in fixing them. Next, we chose suggestions which have their own benefits and issues in fixing Hillsborough economically, socially and environmentally, receiving help from Sophie Hughes and Judith Lynn throughout. Overall, today was very fun and intuitive as now I understand how engineering plays a huge part in our day-to-day life, and the concerns solved from this career.”

-Joudi Almohamad

“We went to Design ID, located in Hillsborough. We got to meet Design ID’s amazing team and were warmly welcomed in by Cathy Tyndall. We were introduced to civil engineering at the start, and then we played a problem-solving game about Hillsborough, identifying the key problems, and what changes and establishments would bring about the greatest benefits. It was a lot of fun and educated us on economic, social and environmental benefits.”

-Laura Rytko