An Cosantóir

wwwwwwwwwwww wwwwwwwwwwww An Cosantóir July / August 2026 www.military.ie/magazine I am currently a final-year student on the CIS Technician Training-to-Specialisation (TTS) programme at SETU. The final year of the course focuses on advanced communications, electronics, networking and engineering systems, culminating in a major technical project. My project involved the design of a battery management system for the SETU Mars Rover team, and the technical nature of this work led to my selection for an intensive international engineering programme in power electronics at the University of Vitoria- Gasteiz in Spain. The selection for the ERASMUS programme was first mentioned to me during the third-year projects interim presentations focused on the progress of the projects to that date. The content of the Mars Rover battery management system closely resembled the material on the ERASMUS programme as both dealt with the topic - power in electronics. The course was recommended to me by Diarmuid O'Briain, the Head of the Department of Engineering in the university Vitoria-Gasteiz in Spain, and the military liaison officer, Keith Smyth, assisted with organising a place. Once my name was put forward, I was placed into the pool with other engineering students who applied with relevant projects. The academic department then nominated the students for the trip, and me and another student from robotics were chosen to attend the programme and represent the University. Once I was successfully nominated, the administrative department began assisting us with both the completion of the ERASMUS application forms and the required documentation for the trip, as well as organising a Microsoft Teams meeting with the instructional staff at the University of Vitoria-Gasteiz. The ERASMUS course which focused on power electronics was facilitated by the university Vitoria-Gasteiz located in the Basque country of Spain. The course was a very rewarding experience and highly beneficial for my 3rd year project as part of the SETU Mars Rover team. The course focused on the theory and science behind power converters and how they might be employed in different applications. The course was mainly taught through group work allowing the students to work in groups giving a different perspective from students around Europe. The supporting theory lectures were very insightful, and I learned a lot about the application of buck and boost converters alongside IGPT (Insulated- Gate Bipolar Transistor). The period of the course was one week and during the first two days of the course, the lectures focused on the background knowledge of the buck converters which we would later design and assemble in the laboratory. Tuesday afternoon & Wednesday students on the course formed teams in the Lab and began designing and testing the buck converters. The converters were assembled and soldered on PCBs and the readings tested and verified by designing a simulation on MATLAB. This was my first experience utilising MATLAB, and the lecturers were very helpful and understanding when showcasing the versatility of MATLAB simulations. Later in the week, guest speakers from major electronic companies around Europe including CEGASA a leading manufacturer of Lithium battery banks and a guest speaker who formally worked for the European space agency (ESA) attended the course to provide lectures in their area of expertise. These lectures were invaluable in relation to my project a battery management system for the Mars Rover project and provided me with new implementation ideas for the final artefact. Outside of the academic programme, the University arranged a tour of the city of Vitoria Gasteiz and a tour of the Santa Maria Cathedral in the city showcasing the diverse history of the region. Thursday night saw the lecturers organise a "Pinxto" night which involves socialising in venues like Tapas bars where drinks and small meals can be purchased in a social setting. During the social engagements organised by the University, students had the opportunity to gain an insight into the lecturers and PHD students educational background, current studies and gain feedback from the experts on our projects, goals and future education journey. The ERASMUS trip was a wonderful experience. It provided me with the opportunity to see how another university operates and learn from professionals from Europe. The trip provided the opportunity to learn new technologies, circuitry, and software all which are applicable to my current studies. The design of the course facilitates student engagement so that through networking, new perspectives can be shared, students' project ideas can be discussed and different studies from across Europe can be exchanged. I would recommend these small ERASMUS trips to anyone as a lot can be learned in a week and many new experiences can be had. I would like to thank Diarmuid O' Briain, David Allen, Keith Smyth, and the military for recommending and facilitating this trip and the administrative staff in the college especially Helen Wheeler and Noémi Savanian for organising the paperwork and providing all the relevant information required making this a simple enjoyable experience. 10 | ERASMUS CIS TTS STUDENT SELECTED FOR ADVANCED POWER ELECTRONICS COURSE ARTICLE BY SGMN SHANE CORCORAN

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