In 1997, Oasis and I’ll Be Missing You by Puff Daddy topped the charts, Men in Black was the massive movie hit of the year, and Clare won the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. It was also the year that a class of Mechanical Engineers graduated from what was then Cork RTC, now Munster Technological University (MTU).
MTU hosted the 25-year reunion of the Mechanical Engineering Class of 1997 where graduates from as far as Canada returned to reminisce with classmates and lecturing staff. The reunion started with a tour of the Mechanical Engineering lecture theatres and labs with former lecturer, Dr Matt Cotterell, currently Head of School of Mechanical, Electrical and Process Engineering at MTU. It continued with a visit to the €22 million MTU Arena which is currently under construction and will include a large multi-function hall incorporating two basketball courts with seating for an audience of 400 people, a gym and studio rooms.
Dr Cotterell said:
It was great to welcome back so many of the class of 1997 to show them the developments that have taken place on the Bishopstown campus over the past 25 years. The graduates of the class have gone on to pursue a wide variety of careers spanning engineering, management, education, research, and start-up enterprises in Ireland and across the globe. The most fulfilling aspect of our role as educators is to see how students and graduates develop both professionally and personally. It was particularly rewarding for myself, and colleagues, to share stories and memories with the 1997 Mechanical Engineering graduating class group and to learn of the opportunities that their education in the then Cork RTC provided for them and the subsequent impact that they have made collectively in their careers to date. We wish them all continued success and fulfilment into the future.
Ronan Deane, organised the reunion with MTU Alumni Office and the Faculty of Engineering and Science. He is a Senior Project Development Manager at North America Construction Ltd in Vancouver, Canada. Other classmates in attendance represent organisations in the region and beyond.
Prof. Maggie Cusack, MTU President said:
MTU graduates form a global network of leaders who make positive contributions to the world of business, culture, science and engineering and we’re delighted to welcome this Class of 1997 back to Cork. It’s great to hear how our alumni are doing and to catch up on how much has changed, not least with the establishment of MTU as the southwest’s newest university.
The evening finished in the Student Centre Common Room where graduates reminisced about life at college, shared their memories and the value of a MTU education.
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