DkIT President Michael Mulvey lead the warm welcome to a series of speakers, many who are former students, before they addressed the current student body about the opportunities in the digital world.

“The digital revolution is all around us and these three companies are at the forefront. Like all good companies they need good people to remain innovative,”

he said.

“If you like what you hear here then I would encourage you on setting your sights to join them and make your career with them.”

Catherine Staunton, Careers and Placement Officer, DkIT, said that to hear directly from graduates about their experience

“makes a big difference to students.”

“If I am a student sitting in a class and I see somebody who is relatable to me or somebody who isn’t that far away from my own personal experiences, I know that I may be able to follow that path also.”

“This is also about building confidence, it is about creating connections, and that sense of an Alumni is really important to us.”

She said there is a sense of Alumni all around for students and,

“it is in all parts of the DkIT community, it is lecturers reaching out, it is the Careers and Employability Centre but it is also students talking to each other and graduates talking to each other, so this was a perfect platform for the centre to get all the student body involved.”

Seán McArdle, Recruiter at Facebook and originally from Dundalk participated as a key speaker at the careers event. Sean completed his Masters in Marketing & Entrepreneurship from DkIT in 2012 and was eager to participate because he believes that he was in the same position as most students and wanted to reassure them that

“it is okay not to know what you want to do”.

However, by sharing his own experience he hopes to provide

“a little bit of hope on what their career could be, that they should be in control of it and just some small tips that I have picked up along the way to get to where I am today.”

The Digital Careers event was organised with the support of School of Business & Humanities Lecturer, Marie Leddy who commented:

“The event was a great success thanks to the keynote guest speakers Sean, Liam and Tara who delivered outstanding presentations. You could not hear a pin drop in the Whitaker Theatre as all student listened attentively to the wise words of our speakers.

It is always a great pleasure to welcome guest speakers to DkIT. Our student’s responded very positively to the guest speakers as they inspired feelings of confidence and motivation in our students. I have no doubt that this student experience will stand as a valuable milestone as they move towards their future careers.”

Mr Mulvey said that the college will fully prepare students with the skills needed to succeed at such high profile tech companies.

“I can absolutely assure you that the programmes you do follow here in DkIT, whilst they equip you with specific knowledge, they also equip you with general skills in communication, critical thinking, team work, analyst skills and entrepreneurial skills,

all of which position you to successfully contribute to corporations like Google, Accenture and Facebook.”

“I would say to you to have confidence in your abilities and seek employment in these companies if that is your aspiration.”

“Remember not too long ago all our speakers were sitting where you are and having graduated they proceeded to make their future with three world class companies”

he added.

 Sean McArdles Profile

Tara McGiverns Profile

Notes to editor:

About DkIT

Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) was founded in 1970 and has earned its reputation as the leading higher education provider in the North East of Ireland through its first-class teaching and learning, research and enterprise engagement.

Set in a state-of-the-art campus in Dundalk, County Louth, DkIT provides quality educational and training opportunities to approximately 5,000 students across four Schools in Business and Humanities, Health and Science, Engineering and Informatics and Creative Arts from undergraduate and master’s degrees to PhD level.

DkIT also offers a multitude of part-time academic and vocational courses to the North East community aimed at helping students to enhance career development and personal growth.

For more information on DkIT, please visit:

Dkit Website