Transition Year students Méabh McCormack, Claire Lemass, Ciara Mac Carthy and Lauryn Mitchell participated in a work experience week in Ericsson recently. The 
girls all applied for their positions early this year and they were accepted in to the programme in October. There were 24 students selected in total from all over Ireland. The candidates were split into two groups, where the Bower girls participating with the second group in the February programme.
The girls were given an insight into the career of those who work in Ericsson. They learned a lot about software but also about Ericsson itself and where it stands in the technological and business world today.
The girls sat in on some excellent presentations about the “AGILE” way of working, telecom networks, technology as a career, the cloud, maths and technology and presentation skills. They also got the opportunity to experience a live video conference between managers at Ericsson.
The twelve participating students in the February programme were split into four smaller teams of three. The teams were asked to design a visual representation of “when cell handover occurs”. The teams used Scratch to carry out their projects, which is a computer programming language.
Later the group received tuition on other more advanced computer programming languages; HTML, CSS and JavaScript. After this each individual was asked to design their own websites which would act as a personal profile. Each team also prepared a presentation of their work and were given the opportunity to present their projects in front of a board of judges. Claire Lemass and her team 
won and were presented with a prize from Ericsson.
Overall the whole experience was excellent and the girls enjoyed it thoroughly. They learned a lot and made a lot of new friends. The girls started with very little experience in computer coding and software development but found the programme very beneficial and educational. Some of girls are now interested in pursuing a career in computer science or technology.
Our Lady’s Bower would like to thank Ericsson for such an excellent and well- structured programme which was of great benefit to all of those who participated.