Munster Technological University were successful in three categories at the Education Awards, which took place on Friday, 25th April in the Killashee Hotel in Kildare.
The Education Awards recognise, encourage and celebrate excellence in the third-level education sector on the island of Ireland from both State and privately funded institutions.
The successful projects were:
- The Higher Education Authorities’ HCI Pillar 3 funded REEdI (Rethinking Engineering Education in Ireland) project at MTU Kerry Campus, who was was crowned winner of the “Best Use of Educational Technology / ICT Initiative” category. REEdI is a project transforming the way undergraduate engineering education is delivered in Ireland. The project draws on international best practice to enable a student-centred, project centric and technologically innovative approach to course provision, equipping graduates with the skills and knowledge required to ensure they can navigate the future challenges and disruptive technologies faced by the manufacturing sector in Ireland.
- The Department of Mechanical, Biomedical & Manufacturing Engineering won the award for “Best Online Learning Experience” for their Innovative Product Development modules. IPD is a multi-award-winning programme delivered online to multidisciplinary teams of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering students, and Business and Accounting students across MTU. Student teams are tasked with generating an idea for a new, innovative product and then developing a detailed systematic design, a high-quality prototype and a business plan for the product. Project groups then pitch their products in local, national, and international competitions.
- MTU’s Innovation Challenge team won the award for “Best International Collaboration”. From a very competitive category, with 12 shortlisted entries, the challenge involves students signing up to be part of a multi-disciplinary student team to address challenges put forward by a variety of external stakeholders over a 2 month period. This extra-curricular activity is something that potential employers hone in on during interviews. While working closely with industry is second nature to MTU for some of the international students it is their only opportunity to work with external stakeholders on real industry challenges/ problems
Speaking about the award for REEdI, Dr Fiona Boyle, Head of Department of STEM, Director of REEdI said: “We are delighted and proud to have won this prestigious award. The award reflects the hard work by our team in MTU to adopt and implement cutting edge technologies to give our student engineers the best educational experience, setting them up for career success in the future.”
Speaking about the Innovation Challenge, Carole O’Leary, said: “The award belongs to everyone involved, MTU mentors, students and our external stakeholders. The work is voluntary for MTU colleagues across Cork and Kerry campuses, it is an extra-curricular activity for students and the external stakeholders give freely of their time to provide guidance and answer student queries”.
Speaking about the award for Best Online Learning Experience, Niall Morris Head of Department, Mechanical, Biomedical & Manufacturing Engineering, said: “We in the Department are very proud to had won this award two years in a row. This award signifies a true multi-disciplinary and multi-campus award. The module itself demonstrates the ability to deliver excellent education in the innovation space in an online mode. All staff in my department have a focus on excellence in education and this win is testament to their commitment.”
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