There was a distinct feeling of "first day at school" in the air as the new Northern Ireland Assembly Ministers were taking up their appointments yesterday.
The Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, the UUP's Sir Reg Empey, said he was sure he could rely on the support of the business community to get to grips with his new portfolio.
"Together we will be the architects, the designers and the builders of the economy which for over 30 years has been unable to reach its full potential."
His party colleague, Mr Michael McGimpsey, the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure, said he was relishing the challenges and responsibilities ahead.
"Our rich cultural heritage reflects our diverse traditions and, while this is something that we should recognise and celebrate, it is, above all, something we can share. I am very much looking forward to leading my new Department and establishing the vision and goals needed to bring our creative and artistic talents to the fore," Mr McGimpsey said.
The third UUP Minister, Mr Sam Foster, in charge of Environment which also includes road safety and transport, said his new role would give him the opportunity to promote a better environment for everybody. Ms Brid Rodgers of the SDLP, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said she was particularly conscious of current problems in the pig industry.
"I will be meeting senior Department of Agriculture and Rural Development officials shortly to be briefed in detail about the state of play in the industry. I will want urgent meetings with leaders of the industry to obtain their view on the way forward. I realise the job will be a difficult one but am looking forward to the challenges ahead," she added.
Her party colleague, the Minister of Finance and Personnel, Mr Mark Durkan, spent the first day in office familiarising himself with the key issues of his portfolio. "Investment in the future to create a prosperous, peaceful and inclusive society in Northern Ireland will be my objective. Quality and equality should be the ethics which form our expenditure plan."
Making sure everybody in Northern Ireland had the knowledge, skills and opportunities to compete would be at the centre of his new Department, the Minister of Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment, Mr Sean Farren, the third SDLP minister, said.
The Minister of Regional Development, Mr Peter Robinson of the DUP, stressed the need for an "inclusive, integrated and sustainable" approach to regional development in the North. He said he rated his Department as one of the most important portfolios on the Executive. His party colleague, Mr Nigel Dodds, the Minister of Social Development and Urban Renewal, described his portfolio as a "key post".
"Issues such as housing, voluntary activity and social security can weave together the fabric of our society, while urban renewal projects, such as Laganside in Belfast, offer the hope of a more prosperous future for us all," he said.
Ms Bairbre de Brun, Sinn Fein's new Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, said she did not underestimate the task she had taken on.
"Everyone has a right to expect the best possible health and social services and one which is accessible to all. My priority will be to forge a partnership with health professionals and patients to bring real and lasting improvements," she added.
Her colleague, the most controversial appointee, Mr Martin McGuinness, yesterday countered criticism of his appointment as Minister of Education.
"I know there is a view among people of a different political persuasion than my own that I will not serve all the people and all the children. They could not be more wrong. This is about children, not about unionism, loyalism, nationalism or republicanism. It is about our children, our greatest resource, and about how we nurture them, care for them, protect them and primarily, how we educate them," he said.