The organisation was founded by Zach Sims and Ryan Bubinski who were frustrated by their efforts to learn programming from textbooks and other conventional learning materials.

They set up Codeacademy to offer members of the public a free and practical means of developing coding skills. The Code Year campaign already has almost 160,000 members and gives users weekly lessons on coding. The virtual classes and assignments slowly increase in difficulty, enabling participants of all ages and stages to progress their skills.

Learn more on the Code Year website or the Codeacademy website.

“We got involved about two and a half years ago,” Robert Cullen, Creative Director of Boulder Media, told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland yesterday. “ We produced all the animation in-house and did all the final comp and renders. It was a pretty intensive project and quite ambitious as well.”

Asked about the current boom in animation in Ireland, he said: “For such a small country, there are a lot of animation companies so we’re attracting a lot of attention from the industry, from the States and from Europe as well which is always super.”

Games designers

Among the other awards on the night was a special category for young games designers. The challenge is to come up with a concept for a computer game, and show the basic design and playability.

The entrants don’t have to produce a working version of the game, but win the chance to develop their idea as part of the prize.

Read more about the awards

Check out the Science Ambassadors section of our MyScienceCareer.ie website: the Science Ambassadors are people who have a passion for science and technology, and who explain what it’s really like working in their particular areas of research and innovation.

Our latest interviews with Science Ambassadors include these folks…

The software developer

As Maurice Coyle explains, he didn’t arrive in college with any kind of knowledge of computers or desire to do computer science.

“In fact, on my first day in a computer practical I couldn’t figure out how to log onto my computer because the slip of paper said ‘login’ on it, while the computer screen said ‘user name’! I asked the girl sitting beside me if she knew what to do, she didn’t and we ended up asking the demonstrator.

“The two of us went on to do PhDs in computer science – she’s now a lecturer in an English university and I’m the founder of a social web search company.” Maurice is now head of product development at Heystaks.com.

Read the interview with  Maurice Coyle.

The quality assurance engineer

David Cahill “had no idea what I wanted to do after secondary school”, then a summer job at a small technology firm in Cork led to a more full-time role. “Now I test software and hardware, suggest ways to improve our products and train staff and customers on new features.” Read the interview with David Cahill

The computer scientist

James McDermott is a researcher in evolutionary computation at the legendary MIT in Boston. He talks about his career milestones, what he studied at school and college, what’s cool about his job, and a typical working day. Read the interview with James McDermott.

The Director General of Engineers Ireland, John Power, gave the figures in advance of the “Smart Futures” seminar on Thursday, 19 May, which will explore the wealth of jobs currently available in the technology sector and the career options available for students and jobseekers.

Read more about the Smart Futures seminar

The Glanmire team who won the best project presentation prize: Kiran Scayu, Katrina Sarva, Luna Tottesel Rave and Kevin O'Dowd

The winning robot was built and programmed by a team from St Francis Capuchin College, Rochestown.

They had stiff competition in the final from the girls from Ursuline, Blackrock, Co Cork.

The Ursuline team’s robot, named “Michael Jordan” after the famous basketball star, had topped the scoreboard in all the previous rounds.

The finals of the annual competition took place at Maryborough House Hotel in Cork.

The winning team received a Logitech laptop for their school and each team member also received a Logitech Squeezebox Boom Wi-Fi player.

The Rochestown team also took the honours for the best electronic scoreboard design, while Glanmire Community College won the best project presentation prize.

Learning about engineering

The winning team from St Francis College, Rochestown: Philip Reid, Luke Butler, Alan Baldwin and Evan Shelly

The competition, now in its sixth year, is run in conjunction with University College Cork, Cork Institute of Technology, Tyndall National Institute and the support of CEIA member companies.

Engineers, researchers and technologists from these institutes provide mentor support for the teams and this is an important opportunity to give the students an insight into potential careers in the industry.

While working on the competition, the students learn a high level of robotics and software programming techniques, and develop their project management, teamwork and presentation skills.

They are also encouraged to think about electrical and electronic engineering courses at third level and become innovators of the future.

This one-day exhibition by the PhD students of TrinityHaus will look at the carbon and ecological footprints of different people in Dublin.  It examines 10 different personas to identify how different members of a community interact with their environment.

TrinityHaus is a new venture at TCD that crosses traditional boundaries in engineering, sciences and the arts.

It is a catalyst for change and innovation by carrying our high quality industrially relevant research that underpins innovation in the energy demand management for low carbon living, people-centred design and sustainable construction.

Find out more at the TrinityHaus website

The events throughout the week aim to inform students, young professionals and SMEs about the importance of ICT skills in today’s society, and the wide range of opportunities that ICT-related jobs present. The campaign also aims to increase ICT skills among professionals and encourage more young people to take up ICT studies and careers.

Current plans for EU e-Skills week 2010 in Ireland include:

• 1 March – “Smart Futures” launch event in Dublin in conjunction with ICT Ireland and Engineers Ireland
• 1 March – launch event in Belfast
• 5 March – e-Skills for Lifelong Learning Event, including discussions on “Smart Teachers – Smart Learners” and “e-Skills for SMEs” plus case studies, European Union House, 18 Dawson Street, Dublin
• A schools competition with prizes

Keynote speakers for the “Smart Futures” seminar on 1 March will include the Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation, Conor Lenihan, as well as industry figures who will outline their views on future trends within the sector and the challenges Ireland faces in ensuring a supply of skilled graduates in the future.

Places for this free event are limited. To book, contact Richard Wilson on (01) 665 1308, or email rwilson[at]steps[dot]ie. Email katecannon[at]fit[dot]ie for more details on other events in Ireland during European e-Skills Week.

FIT (Fastrack to IT) is lead partner in Ireland and Northern Ireland for EU e-Skills week, working in conjunction with ICT Ireland and Momentum (the Northern Ireland ICT Federation).

Learn more

See the e-Skills Week website

A team led by Professor Peter Kennedy, Vice-President for Research at University College Cork and the Tyndall National Institute, received the Outstanding Chapter of the Year Award from the IEEE Solid-State Circuits Society, the world’s largest professional association.

“When we first started to promote microchip design in a concerted way in Ireland 10 years ago, our external advisor told us that it takes 10 years to become good at anything,” Professor Kennedy says.

“Ten years later, our model for interaction with industry has been recognised as the best in the world, and we’re now being asked to show others how it’s done.”

Focus on excellence

The team’s success has been built on its focus on excellence and listening to its customer base, he says.

Ireland now has a thriving sector of circuit design companies, including Analog Devices, Cypress Semiconductor, Intel, M4S, Powervation, Silicon and Software Systems, Synopsys, Texas Instruments, and Xilinx. Most of them have design centres in Munster.

“Industry and academia sit together in Cork to develop solutions to some of the most challenging research problems in microelectronics,” Professor Kennedy says. “In our field, you have to be best in the world to survive”

Learn more

Read our interview on MyScienceCareer.ie with Science Ambassador Susannah Heck about what it’s like to study physics and semiconductors at the Tyndall National Institute

The organisers say the roadshow will help teachers to use whiteboards to enhance any subject, at primary or secondary level. They also say it will provide “skills, confidence and techniques to integrate interactive technologies more effectively” into classes.

The roadshow is being run by whiteboard manufacturer Promethean, but the company says the events are open to all teachers who use interactive whiteboards, regardless of their experience or brand of whiteboard used. The roadshow events happen outside school hours and last about 90 minutes.

Learn more

Get more details of the Love Your Whiteboard Roadshow

John T. Kennedy has come up with the Pocket Universe app (application), which has made it into the iPhone Top 50 Paid Apps list.

His app gives you the ability to hold up your phone and match what is on the screen to what can be seen in front of you in the sky. Image of the iPhone application

The images change as you hold your iPhone or iPod Touch up in front of you, making it easy to match what you see on the screen to the real sky.

Cool features

Besides plotting the position of the Moon and planets in our solar system, it displays 10,000 stars and draws the 88 constellations’ outlines.

Other cool features include:

• A “Show Me” mode for guidance to planets, constellations and stars
• A “Tonight’s Sky” list of meteor showers and visible planets
• A constellation quiz helps you learn your way around the sky

Pocket Universe is available at the iPhones App Store for €2.99.

John writes his iPhone apps in his spare time at home in Dublin, and has a programming and engineering background. He has an MSc (Electronic Engineering) from Queen’s University and has worked with Microsoft in the US, at its global HQ in Redmond.

Learn more

Visit the Pocket Universe website

Read John T. Kennedy’s blog about apps and other programming projects