28 Days 28 Physicists - The Institute of Physics in Ireland

A day in the life of a Community Engagement Manager
I work as a Community Engagement Manager with the Inspire Ireland Foundation (www.inspireireland.ie), which
uses technology to help young people lead happier lives. A far cry from the lab I hear you say, and you would be
right! My work revolves around promoting our new online service ReachOut.com (www.reachout.com) and getting
young people involved in improving the service.
My job is pretty varied, but my day usually starts with me coming to the office and checking my emails to see if
anyone from our youth advisory network has been in touch. I then go out to meet people on college campuses or
youth centres across Ireland. I am usually trying to plan events or workshops with people which we then deliver
in partnership with Students’ Unions or youth centres. Our events help to promote our work and our workshops
focus on storytelling to help young people create interesting personal stories for the site. My day ends when I
come back to the office and I send some more emails, maybe write a blog for ReachOut.com or catch up with
other staff members and plan the next few days.
I was recently invited to join RTÉ’s show Two Tube (http://www.rte.ie/trte/twotube/ ) as their
Science and Technology contributor. I have a regular slot where I talk about the latest
news in the world of science and technology. It is great to weave science into TV
programmes and inspire people to see science as something useful in everyday
life, like in helping people understand the best way to tackle problems or
finding out about science events in which they can become involved.
While both of these roles mainly involve marketing and
communications, physics has been a great help to me and provided
some valuable skills that I regularly use. My physics background
helps me to critically and objectively assess what’s working best
and also helps me to plan ahead in a structured manner. While
doing my degree I learned to communicate complex and
interesting topics to various audiences, which means that I
can communicate our ideas to people easily and effectively.
Having a physics degree in my line of work also makes for
an interesting talking point at meetings, which is always
a good thing!
I never would have guessed my physics degree
would have taken me to college campuses
where I speak in front of large groups of people
about the importance of taking care of their
mental health and wellbeing, or working
with young people in youth centres on
interesting storylines and short films. The
skills I learned from physics have been
invaluable and allow me to make a real
positive impact in our society...it’s
hard to ask anything more from a
degree!.
‘The skills I
learned from physics
have been invaluable
and allow me to make
a real positive impact in
our society...it’s hard to ask
anything more from a degree!’
Vincent McCarthy
Vincent McCarthy has a BSc in Physics and Maths from University College Cork
and MA in International Relations from Dublin City University.
Institute of Physics in Ireland www.iopireland.org
Discover Science and Engineering www.science.ie
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