Two students from Limerick Institute of Technology, Patrick McCarthy and Dylan Alinson, completed summer internships at Vistakon in Limerick. They gained hands-on experience in automation and software engineering that will help with their studies. Both students praised the supportive work environment and felt that the skills and experience gained will benefit their future careers. They would recommend the internship experience at Vistakon to other students.

1. LIT Students
Give Top
Marks to
Vistakon
Work
Experience
A
VISTAKON LIMERICK CO-OP CASE FILE SEPTEMBER 2014
Vistakon Experience
Two Control and Automation
engineering students from Limerick
Institute of Technology spent the
summer at Vistakon Limerick. They
share their experience of work in one of
Ireland’s most highly automated plants.
Meet Patrick McCarthy
Patrick is from West Limerick. After
completing the Leaving Certificate, he
decided to become an electrician.
“I enjoyed
my job but
the
recession
started to
impact
work. I
wasn’t keen
to emigrate
and felt that getting a college
qualification would add a new string to
my bow and allow me to look at broader
career opportunities.”
As a qualified electrician, Patrick went
straight into Year 2 of college. “The
Automation and Control course builds
on your existing knowledge so my
experience as an electrician has
definitely been valuable to my studies.”
Having earned a Bachelor of Engineering
in Automation and Control Technology,
Patrick now plans to advance to Level 8
by studying for a Bachelor of Science in
Electronic Systems.
Real-World Applications &
Supportive Team Environment
Patrick’s summer assignment was in the
Software Engineering department with
the team responsible for introducing
new builds and implementing
improvements to the manufacturing
lines. “My job was to help retrofit lines,
an experience that has been very
relevant to my studies. I cannot say
enough good things about the team that
I worked with. They were welcoming,
helpful and supportive. They took the
time to show me the ropes, explaining
the technology and the software in use
at the plant. Nothing was too much
trouble. I really felt at home from day
one and could ask questions at any time.
It’s been a great learning environment.”
Varied Work
Day-to-day work included developing
new test processes, programming,
testing software and conducting line
upgrades. Patrick learnt about new
automation technologies and gained
valuable experience in documentation
management.
“Gaining experience in different systems
like Alan-Bradley, and Code Compare
will be a huge advantage when I return
to college. In fact, I hope to do a project
on Vistakon for my final year course.”
Patrick was also involved in a business
continuity project. “I helped built a
comprehensive database, collating the
many different systems in use and was
then involved in creating virtual
machines, where we uploaded the
software for easy and secure machine
replacement in the event of any
production issues.”
Great Opportunities to Learn
Patrick believes that the Vistakon
experience will greatly benefit his
studies and future career prospects.
“Apart from building a strong network of
contacts, I have become more
resourceful and improved my trouble-
shooting skills. It’s been a great
experience.”

2. Meet Dylan Alinson
Dylan hails from Yorkshire but
moved to
Ireland some
years ago
when he
married his
wife who
comes from
Clare. Dylan
had worked as an
electrician for twenty-three years in the
UK and initially found it relatively easy to
get steady work here. “The economy
then took a bit of a nosedive and work
wasn’t so easy to come by. I felt that I
needed to diversify and expand my
career options. I applied for the LIT
course in Automation and Technology
and the rest, as they say, is history!”
Second Summer at Vistakon
This is Dylan’s second summer at
Vistakon. He
compares
work
experience
to being a
novice driver
– you have
passed your test but at some point, you
have to get behind the wheel!
People Want You to Succeed
“I liked Vistakon so much last year, I
came back! It’s a great environment –
everyone pulls in the same direction and
I was considered one of the team
straight away. Nobody dismisses you as
a student and no question is too small to
answer. In fact people go out of their
way to help you succeed.”
Dylan was also impressed by the open,
non-hierarchical team atmosphere. “You
go to the canteen and you will find a
diverse group of people, all having a cup
of tea and
chatting
together. I
was also
impressed
by the focus
on communications – we had daily line
meetings and bi-weekly group meetings
so everyone is clear on the overall vision
and what they need to do.”
My Job
“I worked as part of the retrofit team.
We were upgrading lines to facilitate the
introduction of new products. The work
was interesting and included conducting
tests, diagnosing problems and
designing solutions.”
Technical and Business Skills
“I was amazed at the scale of the
operations – it’s highly automated and
they have the latest, cutting-edge
technology. I gained experience in PLC
systems that I hadn’t previously used in
college. I know that this will give me a
great head start this year. “
“From a business perspective, the
experience of attending and
participating in meetings makes you
much more confident and articulate. I
had to present a key project to senior
leaders. It was a bit nerve-wracking but
great experience in terms of building my
presentation skills. ”
Social Scene
Dylan and Patrick rate
Vistakon as a great
place socially.
“People are friendly
and enjoy their
downtime as well as
their work .There is an
active Sports and
Social Club, who
organise activities like
tag rugby,
paintballing, go-karting, Munster Rugby
matches, a day out at the Galway Races
as well as an annual family fun day.
There’s also a big focus on working in
the local community to raise funds for
charity.”
“With Vistakon, you’ll
gain valuable
experience in
software, control and
automation. You’ll
learn key technical
and business skills
and meet great people
who really want you to
succeed.”