• Congratulations to Daire Burke and Matthew Benn on receiving the inaugural ‘Outstanding Student Achievement Award in PN4021 sponsored by Drenagh Sawmills’. 

• Recipient students and staff from the School of Education enjoyed a field trip to Limavady in Co. Derry to visit Drenagh Sawmills. The hosts kindly facilitated a tour of their facilities whereby UL staff and students learned first-hand about the complex and intricate processing and management of material resources. 

What is PN4021 all about… and why an award initiative?  

The module ‘Process Technology 1’ takes place during the Autumn semester of Year 1 for students enrolled in LM094 (Bachelor of Education in Graphics and Construction Technology) and LM095 (Bachelor of Education in Graphics, Engineering and Technology). It aims to foster students’ competency, skills and confidence in processing a range of materials using both hand skills and the safe operation of precision machines. With that, a core objective of this module is to introduce student teachers to the study of materials, exploring their origins, properties, and the processes through which they are formed and transformed. It emphasises environmentally aware and sustainable approaches, encouraging learners to consider the ecological impact of material use and production in both educational and industrial contexts. In the 2024/25 academic year, the teaching team and technical staff collaboratively redesigned the approach to learning and teaching in this module introducing an integrated project that applied knowledge and skills through the creation of an artefact for the purposes of assessment. The project is centred on the theme of ‘campus life’, capturing students’ experiences during their first semester at the University of Limerick.  

This integrated approach has led to increased student engagement, with many striving for high-quality outcomes across all components. In response, an ‘Outstanding Student Achievement Award’ was introduced, supported by industry partner Drenagh Sawmills. The 2025/26 Autumn semester marked the inaugural presentation of this award. Below is a message from Drenagh Sawmills regarding their partnership of this initiative… 

“Drenagh Sawmills was delighted to welcome students and staff from the University of Limerick’s Initial Teacher Education in Technology Education courses to our site and to present the sponsored student award during their visit. Supporting initiatives like this is important to us, as it reflects our commitment to developing future talent and strengthening the connection between industry and education. By recognising student achievement, we hope to encourage the next generation of skilled professionals who will play an important role in the future of manufacturing.” Drenagh Sawmills 

Well done Daire Burke and Matthew Benn… 

The engagement, skills and abilities demonstrated from students in the PN4021 module were exceptional, offering strong insight into the passion and enthusiasm of our future technology educators in Ireland. This initiative recognises students who are not only hardworking and highly skilled in material processing, but who also demonstrated a willingness to learn, to collaborate with and support peers in their learning and to generally make a positive contribution to the learning environment. Being selected for this award is a tremendous achievement, particularly within such a high-performing cohort. Congratulations again, Daire Burke (LM095) and Matthew Benn (LM094).  

“It was great to be recognised for the effort I had put into the module in the semester. Receiving the award was a good motivator to keep trying to improve my skills and knowledge in the area.” Matthew Benn 

“It was a privilege to hear the news that I was chosen for this award. I felt proud of all the hard work that I have put into this module, and it was very rewarding to see my hard work get recognition through the acceptance of this award.” Daire Burke

Pictured below, the Managing Director of Drenagh Sawmills Mark McKeever presents the awards to Daire and Matthew.  

Our visit to Drenagh Sawmills… 

As part of the award initiative, Drenagh Sawmills invited both award recipients Daire and Matthew, members of the PN4021 teaching team (Manus McDyer, Sean Prendergast and Donie Staunton) and Deputy Head of the School of Education Dr. Donal Canty to Limavady, Co. Derry for a personal tour of their sawmill facilities. The group were warmly welcomed by Managing Director Mark McKeever, Business/Operations Manager Elaine Connor, and Systems Manager Lisa Hamilton, who enthusiastically led an engaging and informative tour. The visit provided an eye-opening insight into the transformation of spruce trees into treated timber products for the consumer market. The application of knowledge and skills from multiple engineering disciplines were prominent throughout, with valuable insights gained from workstation visits and discussions with in-house operators, service mechanics, metal fabricators, and skilled staff. These interactions highlighted not only the timber processing strategies and techniques but also the engineering challenges involved in the design, maintenance and repair of the processing plant. The enlightening experience created opportunity to see first-hand the complexity of material processing and the engineering principles driving this industry. See below what both Matthew and Daire had to say about bringing module content to life… 

“It was very interesting to see the sawmill operating in real life, instead of just pictures in a book or on a slide show. The process of conversion of timber from a log to usable timber was made clearer, each step in the process was easier to understand and was explained well by the experts at each stage.”  Matthew 

“The site visit to Drenagh Sawmills put the theory aspect of our module into a real-life situation, where we could see a number of various wood processing stages in real life. This visit gave us an in-depth knowledge on the operations of the sawmill, which we would not be able to gain in any textbook or lecture.” Daire 

Importance of industry engagement and partnership 

This was a positive experience for all involved, and the benefits of engaging with industrial partners were captured by Dr Donal Canty, who commented: 

“This initiative highlights the powerful role that meaningful industry partnerships can play in enriching initial teacher education. Thanks to Drenagh Sawmills and the leadership of University Teacher Manus McDyer, students had the chance to connect their academic learning with real-world practice, reinforcing the relevance and application of their studies. Experiences such as this site visit extend learning beyond the classroom, offering valuable insights into workplace environments, sustainability practices, and community engagement. 

For future teachers, these partnerships model the importance of collaboration between education and industry, while also demonstrating how experiential learning can deepen understanding, foster curiosity, and inspire more engaging teaching approaches. Initiatives like this not only recognise student achievement but also broaden perspectives, helping to prepare educators who are more connected, informed, and thoughtful about how their teaching can impact the futures of their learners.” 

A sincere thanks to Drenagh Sawmills… 

What allowed this initiative to become a successful reality was the exceedingly generous, supportive and open-minded partnership demonstrated from Drenagh Sawmills from the outset. The sponsorship of this initiative and the welcoming and thoughtful tour of the sawmill provided a valuable learning memory for us all.  

I would like to sincerely thank Mark, Elaine, Lisa and everyone at Drenagh Sawmills for everything that they have done to support this initiative. It is because of their commitment to supporting education and in particular the next generation of teachers, that we can provide these fantastic opportunities for students.  

“I’d like to thank Drenagh Sawmills for the great opportunity to see their sawmill in action and for sponsoring the award for the PN4021 module. It was a brilliant experience, and they were very accommodating for us.”  Matthew 

“I’d like to thank Drenagh Sawmills for a thoroughly enjoyable visit. We all felt very welcome from the minute we arrived on site and it was very kind of them to give us such a generous and in-depth tour of the facilities. It was an enjoyable and very interesting weekend away that I felt honoured and proud to be a part of.” Daire