Matrix’s panel members and secretariat team attended The 2024 Airshow in Portrush, accompanied by Sam Dodds, a Student Placement in the Department For the Economy. Sam has documented his thoughts of the weekend below:
Recently I had the opportunity to attend the NI International Airshow in Portrush as part of the Matrix team. Throughout the day I was able to listen to speakers from across Northern Ireland’s aerospace industry and learn about the rich history of Northern Ireland in aerospace, from the first planes being manufactured by the Short Brothers in Belfast, to Northern Ireland’s current success in composite manufacture of aeroplane wings.
As part of the event, Matrix was the key sponsor of the ‘STEM village’ which was an opportunity for attendees to meet many of the companies and organisations at the forefront of the scientific and advanced manufacturing industries in Northern Ireland. As a student with a humanities background, I had little knowledge of the STEM sector, but was able to learn a great deal from speaking to the various organisations.
Of particular interest was Creative Composites, the UK’s most advanced composites manufacturer based in Lisburn. They were able to talk about the importance of developing a large skills base within Northern Ireland through training and apprenticeship schemes, as well as the exciting applications of digital twinning in advanced manufacturing and product design. Led by Digital Catapult, the UK Digital Twin Centre will open in Belfast later this year, which has committed to creating 230 new jobs in the manufacturing sector and to generate £61m for the local economy in Northern Ireland by 2033.
Among the other companies I spoke to were Collins Aerospace, who specialize in the manufacture of aeroplane seating, and currently offer a range of graduate programmes for students entering the engineering sector. Meanwhile, Spirit AeroSystems spoke about working with schools from across Northern Ireland to generate excitement around the aerospace industry among schoolchildren. They are currently working on a project in conjunction with other industry members to get schools involved in the manufacture of an aeroplane, which they then hope to fly over all the schools involved in creating it. Clearly the industry is actively engaged in involving the younger generation, evidenced in part by the large number of families and university students present at the airshow.
Engineering and aerospace were not the only sectors that featured, there was also a strong presence from the Health and life sciences sector. The Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences from Queens University Belfast were particularly interesting to talk to. They discussed the exciting applications of photonics within healthcare, which includes both the diagnosis and the treatment of diseases. Photonics is starting to be used in cancer treatments, by combining artificial intelligence and photonics to distinguish between malignant and normal cell tissues. The applications of photonics in healthcare and other industries within Northern Ireland has been supercharged by Digital Catapult’s Futurescope Photonics accelerator programme, which aimed to educate businesses on how adopting the technology could help drive efficiency and expansion. Matrix will soon start working on a report to further explore the applications of photonics in Northern Ireland, which exceed the healthcare sector and involve the manufacturing, construction, and agritech industries.
Overall, the event was incredibly eye-opening for me, helping to demonstrate much of the exciting innovation taking place within Northern Irish industry. As someone with no background in STEM, I was made aware of whole new emerging industries and technologies that have the potential to drive huge growth within the region. In addition, I was able to visit the northern coast of Ireland for the first time, which I found to be a beautiful backdrop for the various airshow demonstrations. This was especially the case with the beautiful weather that we experienced! (Which I’m told is a rarity here)
A huge thanks to Eoin McFadden and the rest of the matrix team for providing me with the opportunity to attend.
Bio: My name is Samuel Dodd and I am currently undergoing a year-long student placement with the Department for Economy in Belfast. I am studying Politics, Philosophy, and Economics at Lancaster University.