Kevin Warnock – BEng (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering

Name: Kevin Warnock

From: Donegal

School: Coláiste Cholmcille, Ballyshannon

What key skills did you learn while studying at ATU Sligo that have influenced your career?  

From my time in ATU Sligo, I gained a lot of valuable skills which continue to help me in my career progression such as time management, project management, teamwork, communication and problem solving. This was achieved through many assignments and projects in ATU Sligo, from working in a team and to individual working as part of my final year project. 

Can you share some detail of your career path to date 

From winning the Graduate Excellence Award in engineering and being awarded with a year-long role in Abbott’s Diabetes Care (ADC) business in Donegal within the Libre Operations department. I started working in the compliance sector dealing with machine maintenance, ensuring machines were setup on the system and the necessary maintenance was scheduled to meet production needs. I also worked on drafting non-conformances and Investigations to problem solve and working within in cross functional teams. During my time in ADC Donegal I have completed my yellow belt training in lean and six sigma and currently working through the green belt process. In recent months, I have been working on the validation of our MES system on site to ensure we meet our milestones for our new product while also improving our current MES system for our Libre sensors. 

What does your current role involve? 

My current role involves updating and generating new recipes which allows us to manufacture our product to meet our customer needs while complying with worldwide regulations. Recipes are our DHR (Device history record) and records all steps of the process from start to end.  

What advice would you share with our current students considering a career in your field? 

To any students considering a career in medical devices or health care manufacturing is to be open to change, be adaptive, have a strong work ethic, have confidence in your ability. Working in this field is very rewarding from a personal perspective and we are helping people live their best life every day. 

What did you like best about your course? 

I enjoyed my course as it has a great balance of practical and classroom based modules. The lectures are very helpful and ATU Sligo has great facilities. I like the ownership and responsibility given to you from the lectures to manage and drive your projects and assignments. 

What did you like best about ATU Sligo? 

From my time in ATU Sligo I enjoyed the close family feeling within the Engineering department. The facilities are top class and everyone is willing to help and work together. 

What advice would you give a first year student starting in ATU Sligo? 

For any students starting in ATU Sligo, I would recommend giving it 100% effort. The college years are fast but if you put in the work, you will see the benefits. Don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone and engage in your project work, challenge the status quo, and have fun! 

Find out more about AU943 Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) in Mechanical Engineering