In celebration of International Women’s Day, Roughan & O’Donovan is running a week-long series profiling just some of the inspiring female engineers working in the company.

Over the next 5 days, Roughan & O'Donovan will introduce:

  • Ciara Rooney, intern
  • Elisa Longo, graduate engineer
  • Caitríona de Paor, PhD, senior research manager
  • Claire Dempsey, senior engineer
  • Deirdre Neff, chartered engineer

Meet Ciara Rooney, Intern

For the past two months, Ciara has been working as an intern with Roughan & O’Donovan. Her internship is part of a master’s degree in civil engineering she is undertaking at University College Dublin.

An advocate for women in sport as well as in STEM, Ciara is currently the Ladies Captain of UCD Athletics Club.

What inspired you to become an engineer?

As a child, I was always interested in figuring out how things worked. I enjoyed maths, physics and technical drawing in secondary school, so studying engineering seemed like a logical route to explore.

Where are you on the track to becoming an engineer?

I am currently in my first year of a two-year taught master’s in civil, structural and environmental engineering (ME) in University College Dublin. I hope to have completed my master’s degree in May 2019.

What kind of work do you do as an intern?

Since joining Roughan & O’Donovan, I have worked on a variety of projects, predominantly in the transportation sector. I have been involved in a range of tasks, from engineering design and tender assessments to report preparation.

What skills do you need to become a good engineer?

An interest in maths and physics is important, as is the ability to think logically and communicate ideas effectively.

What can be done to encourage more young women to explore careers in engineering?

In my experience, many girls in second level education are unaware of what a career in engineering involves, never mind the opportunities it can offer.

I think it is important for females already working in the industry to get involved in school initiatives, such as Engineers Ireland’s STEPS programme, to demonstrate that it is entirely possible to be female and an engineer!