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Doyle Presents Third Level Student Wood Awards
- 15 July 2016
Andrew Doyle, TD, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with responsibility for forestry, recently presented the 2016 Third Level Student Wood Awards at a ceremony in the National Botanic Gardens in Dublin.
Commending the organisers of the Awards competition, the Minister of State expressed his view that “I consider this Award competition to be particularly significant in that it not only promotes the use of wood in the various types of applications but fosters creativity in our students and also opens our eyes to the potential of timber.”
The Awards, which are in their 11th year, are organised by the Wood Marketing Federation. Coillte is the main sponsor with additional funding provided by COFORD, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and the Society of Irish Foresters. There were five category awards - in architecture, engineering, innovation, design and craft/fabrication - for the best projects undertaken by third-year students using wood as the inherent medium.
Minister of State Doyle gave a brief overview of the significance of the Irish forest sector and stated, “At a national and industry level, these awards are an opportunity to showcase new and innovative possibilities for the timber that our forests produce and focus attention on our forestry and timber processing industry in a positive way.”
He also commented that, since he was appointed Minister of State with responsibility for forestry, he has addressed a number of events, ranging from meetings of forest owner groups to conferences on wood mobilisation and forest certification, adding, “The theme running through all of these events is to ensure the continued development of the Irish forest sector and to maximise the return to the owners, timber processors and to the State generally.”
The Minister of State thanked all those who had participated in the competition, noting “to have a meaningful competition, it was, and is, necessary for colleges and students to support the competition by their participation”. He also noted that students from Irish universities and institutes of technology - both north and south – participate in the competition. He concluded by congratulating all of the winners and was pleased to see and appreciate the innovation and creativity by all of the students in the various categories.
