Donegal civil engineering graduate Noel Lafferty has won this year’s EirGrid Prize for UCC’s top Master’s in sustainable energy student.
Lafferty achieved a final overall mark of 82pc in the MEngSc in sustainable energy, which was the highest in the graduate class of 20.
His minor thesis looks at how Ireland can meet its ambitious renewable energy heating target by the year 2020.
UCC’s Faculty of Engineering-taught Masters (MEngSc) Programme in Sustainable Energy is now in its sixth year and continues to attract considerable interest, both from applicants wishing to participate and from employers looking for suitably trained staff.
A core element of the programme is industry involvement, both in terms of guest lectures to the programme (including Eirgrid, Bord Gáis Éireann, ESB International, Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI)) and joint supervision of minor theses.
Commenting on the awards ceremony, programme co-ordinator of UCC’s Sustainable Energy MEngSc Programme, Brian Ó Gallachóir, said, “I congratulate Noel who is very deserving of this prize. He performed consistently well in our programme, excelling both in exams and in his research work. I commend Eirgrid for continuing to recognise excellence by awarding a prize each year to our top graduate.”
Lafferty is now working in the energy sector with ESB International.
