Laois student wins Top Award in the Country for Engineering project

A Portlaoise College student has earned national recognition after winning the ‘Young Engineer of the Year’ award from the ETTA Mikolaj Bielecki was presented with the award in recognition of his leaving cert engineering project which he completed in his final year in Portlaoise College. Over 5,000 Irish students designed and manufactured a project for the 2025 engineering leaving cert exam. To emerge as the top student in the country for this project is a tremendous achievement. His project was a model vertical take off and landing aircraft with four rotors and an automatic door.

Speaking about the achievement, Principal Noel Daly noted that as a former Engineering teacher himself he understands firsthand the level of commitment and skill these students put into their projects and he added that it was great to see Mikolaj’s hard work recognised at a national level.

Following in this success, Mikolaj is now studying precision engineering in TUS since completing his leaving cert. This highlights the importance of the technology subjects such as engineering, construction studies, technology and design communication graphics, in our education system. These subjects were once solely seen as a path into technical trades. These subjects now open a pathway for students to go on and engage in STEM careers, serving both the student who wants to work in a trade and the student who wishes to progress to third level education.

With the opening of the new, state-of-the-art STEM building in Portlaoise College, students with an interest in these areas have never been better supported.