Engineers Ireland returns to the National Ploughing Championships with amazing engineering attractions!

Visit the Team at Block 3 – Row 9 – Stand 205 to and discover virtual reality welding, the spacewalk experience and a Formula 1 car simulator. Explore biomedical marvels, and challenge a collaborative robot.
Meet the Mark the Science Guy and the STEPS education outreach team, and look out for daily prizes and fantastic giveaways.

Visit www.engineersireland.ie/Ploughing-Championships for more information. The National Ploughing Championships takes place in Screggan, Tullamore from 16 to 18 September.

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In this episode, we explore what it really takes to deliver major engineering projects while meeting ambitious climate targets. We’ll hear how to lead under pressure, manage high-stakes decisions, and unlock career-defining opportunities through mentorship and curiosity. Plus, we look at how engineers can drive innovation from within—by asking the right questions, building strong teams, and embracing failure as a pathway to growth.

Our guest brings over 20 years of hands-on experience across some of the UK and Ireland’s biggest civil infrastructure projects, including Crossrail, the Limerick Tunnel, and the Luas Cross City. He’s passionate about decarbonising construction and shaping the next generation of engineering leaders. It’s a pleasure to welcome Ross Cullen, Group Chief Engineer and Head of Engineering Services at Sisk.

THINGS WE SPOKE ABOUT

• The importance of people skills in the engineering industry
• The challenges in working on engineering projects underground and underwater
• How sustainability and decarbonisation play a role in engineering today
• The need for innovation and continuous improvement in an ever evolving industry
• Career development and ownership, and the importance of being inquisitive.

GUEST DETAILS

Ross Cullen is Group Chief Engineer and Head of Engineering Services at Sisk. He is responsible for developing and leading Engineering strategy for the organisation supporting pre-construction and current projects under construction across Ireland, the UK and Europe. In 2018, Ross established an Engineering Services department in Sisk, growing a business out of the Civil Engineering unit and created an internal consultancy to provide construction engineering consultancy services to the wider Group

Ross is a Chartered Civil Engineer and Fellow of Engineers Ireland and the Institute of Civil Engineers. His background extends from working on complex infrastructure schemes, where he has been central to the design management process. His experience extends across multiple sectors including Infrastructure, Civil Engineering, Marine, Data, Energy, Life Sciences, Commercial and Residential.

Ross is passionate about sustainability and seeking out carbon savings in the construction industry. Ross is chair of the Sisk Low Carbon Concrete working group and is actively involved in several collaborations with industry and academic institutes to support the development of new low carbon concrete solutions.

MORE INFORMATION

Looking for ways to explore or advance a career in the field of engineering? Visit Engineers Ireland to learn more about the many programs and resources on offer. https://www.engineersireland.ie/

Engineers Journal AMPLIFIED is produced by DustPod.io for Engineers Ireland.

QUOTES

Be inquisitive, ask questions, because people are incredibly generous with their time if you ask the questions and you show an interest. - Ross Cullen

You need to take some ownership for your own career. You need to decide fairly early what you like, what you don't like, because it's important to rule out certain things. - Ross Cullen

You learn from problems. You learn from what's caused you pain. You don't learn from what goes well - Ross Cullen

Coming up with a good idea is the easy bit with anything… sometimes making it better isn't the right thing to do. - Ross Cullen

Construction is a people business, and that's what makes it exciting. You meet different people, different skill sets, extremely diverse. - Ross Cullen