€197m plan to ‘mix and match’ degrees
FUTURE students will be able to mix and match modules from degree courses across the seven traditional universities under a ground-breaking initiative.
The plan is one of 22 innovative projects in a €197m, five-year government-funded programme to support the development of labour market skills.
Others include the use of virtual laboratories in higher education and a new hub to upskill the building sector on green construction.
The biggest single allocation, €21m, is going to Trinity College Dublin to fund a “next-generation teaching initiative”.
The establishment of the Creative Futures Academy – a joint €10m project between University College Dublin and the IADT Dún Laoghaire – to support digital and screen culture, cinema, literature and broadcasting, art, design, and fashion is also in the mix.
‘It will extract and adapt high-demand university modules’
In one project, worth €12.3m, the seven universities will establish a framework to allow students to gain qualifications in short courses delivered in flexible formats.
“This first-of-its-kind project will increase Irish university capacity to extract and adapt high-demand modules from existing programmes and develop tailored courses to suit the needs of enterprise and learners,” said a spokesperson for the Irish Universities Association.
Another of the universityspecific initiatives sees Dublin City University getting €20m for a radical restructuring of its undergraduate curriculum.
IT Sligo is teaming up with Galway-Mayo IT and Letterkenny IT for a €12.4m programme to re-imagine teaching and learning, building on skills IT Sligo has developed since it delivered its first online course in 2002.
Meanwhile, one of three collaborations for which IT Carlow is receiving support is the Centre for Insurance, Risk and Data Analytics Studies.
In Cork, a project to develop the next generation of graduates for the health and life sciences industry sector is worth €8.7m to University College Cork, Cork IT and nine industry partners.