Significant step in third-level education development in region
Higher Education is set to reimagine teaching and learning through an innovative and ambitious proposal led by Institute of Technology, Sligo, with the announcement of €12.4 million funding under the Human Capital Initiative announced on by Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris.
This IT Sligo-led project, with Connacht-Ulster Alliance partners (CUA), GMIT and LYIT, is among the 22 successful projects to receive funding from the Human Capital Initiative Pillar 3, Innovation and Agility.
This is the final HCI Pillar to be announced and commands a total budget of €197 million over the 5-year period, 2020 to 2024.
President of IT Sligo Dr. Brendan McCormack welcomed the announcement by Minister Harris: “This is a significant day for third-level education.
"This project, titled “HigherEd 4.0: Enabling agile responsiveness from Higher Education”, will help propel higher education into a new and exciting age of learning.
"Institutes of Technology have always been able to quickly adapt to emerging trends in industry, supplying regional companies with talented, qualified students with the skills and knowledge industries require.
"Now, as companies adapt to Industry 4.0, IT Sligo, with its Connacht- Ulster Alliance (CUA) partners in GMIT and LYIT will positively disrupt the Higher Education Sector through this €12.4 million project to make third level more accessible and agile for everyone.”
“The CUA institutes view this initiative as a powerful opportunity to assist in creating a new Technological University whose teaching and learning is innovative from the start.
"The project is spearheaded by IT Sligo who were early adopters of online learning.
"Back in 2002, IT Sligo first delivered an online course with five students. By using a lean and agile model of teaching, eighteen years later, the institute has now over 10,000 students across the globe accessing over 140 courses.
"In the last number of years, IT Sligo has seen a steady 20% annual increase in enrolments.
"This year however, with a focus on working and learning remotely due to the pandemic, the institute has received nearly double the number of applicants.”
The CUA institutes in Sligo, Letterkenny and Galway-Mayo will also collaborate on several other HCI funded projects including an IT Carlow-led project with THEA and the IUA titled “Realising the potential of recognition of prior learning and lifelong learning in Irish Higher Education” which has received €6.9m.
Minister Harris said: “I am delighted to be able to announce the broad range of projects that will be funded under the HCI Pillar 3.
"These projects will develop and change teaching and learning. This global pandemic has reinforced the need for us all to be agile and diverse.
"Crucially though it requires us to develop new skills and equip the next generation with the critical importance to the economy and the workplace of the future.”
HCI Pillar 3 will deliver 22 projects in higher education institutions, 17 of which involve collaborations between institutions.