50 Years of Co-op: Seán Roche

Tell us a bit about yourself. What course did you study at UL, and what has your career looked like to date?

I’m a Limerick native, currently living in Limerick. I’m engaged to Rita, and we have three small kids: Olivia, Lara, and Oscar. I’m a sports fanatic, but finding time for that is harder with three kids under five at home! I’ve always been mechanically minded and loved engineering, concepts, mathematics, and physics. After initially not pursuing third-level education, I returned to UL as a mature student in 2012. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I studied B.Eng (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering and graduated in 2016.

While I’ve always been analytical and passionate about engineering, I also had a keen interest in business. I took some business electives in my final year, and my final year project, while focused on automation, exposed me to more business-oriented areas of engineering. My co-op experience also contributed to this exposure, but more on that later!

After graduating, I accepted an offer from a management consultancy firm based in Dublin. Eight years on, despite the challenges, I’m still delighted with the career path I’ve taken. I work within the Life Science UKI division of Accenture, based out of our Dublin office but on global projects. We work with clients in the Pharma, Biologics, and MedTech sectors, focusing on their finance and operations areas. Our teams aim to release value in the supply chain, operations, and manufacturing spaces of the largest pharma companies in the world. We’re a strategic partner in large-scale global transformation projects within these companies. I’m fortunate to travel to many of these world-leading facilities. No two days are the same, but the most rewarding part is seeing projects through to fruition and witnessing medicines reach patients more quickly and efficiently.

Tell us a bit about your co-op placement. What organization did you work with, and what year did it take place?

I completed my co-op placement with Philips in the Netherlands, working in the Workforce Planning department of their HealthTech Division, based in Eindhoven in the south of the country. It’s hard to believe that was ten years ago, starting at Philips in May 2014! It was an incredible, life-changing, and life-shaping experience that set me on the career path I still pursue today. The work was varied and interesting, allowing me to apply real-world experience to my educational knowledge. As a keen cycling fan, living in this area was also a pretty cool experience.

What impact did your co-op placement have on your future career?

The impact was immense. I was lucky enough to be involved in a project at Philips delivered by a team of Accenture consultants based in Amsterdam. That exposure and their recommendations led me to the Accenture graduate program in Dublin. Eight years on, I’m still here and still thriving!

What piece of advice would you give to students going on co-op now?

Embrace the opportunity! It’s impossible to quantify the value real-world experience can have alongside your degree. It will allow you to gain experience, credentialize yourself with potential future employers, and often get some first-hand experience in your potential future career area. Start strong, finish stronger. The people you work with can be your future employer post-graduation or, at the very least, offer references for your next job. Think broadly—there’s time to specialize later! If an offer comes your way in an area not perfectly aligned with the career space you want to pursue, embrace it. You might love the alternative, or at the very least, it will confirm your original intentions.