Last month, the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Simon Harris, announced the development of more than a dozen pilot projects due to commence this September, in which students could commence their third-level study physically in an Education and Training Board (ETB) college and complete it in a Technological University or in IADT in the case of one of the pilot programmes.
The move is part of a drive to create other pathways into third-level education without the pressing need to secure high points.
These courses will allow the TUs to develop Level 8 programmes with regional ETB colleges as well as taking a greater role in co-development of courses at Levels 6 and 7 with their local ETBs. They will also have a role to play in assisting in areas such as quality assurance.
Such a collaborative approach offers another option for school-leavers and for those considering a return to education and should help to address the reticence some might have around participation in further education, as opposed to higher education. This view, held by some parents and second-level schools, can obscure the very real educational opportunities offered by non-traditional universities and their potential to enhance valuable educational and career development options for school-leavers.
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Applications will be available through the normal further education (FE) routes this July.
The courses are:
· Future media production: First year in further education (in the Kildare-Wicklow ETB or City of Dublin ETB) and second year in the Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Dún Laoghaire.
· Business studies: Year one will take place in a Laois-Offaly ETB college and then progress to a variety of degree options in South East Technological University (SETU).
· Science & computing: Year one will take place in a Laois-Offaly ETB college and then progress to a variety of degree options in SETU.
· Engineering: Year one will take place in a further education college in Galway and Roscommon ETB or Sligo and then progress to Atlantic Technological University (ATU).
· Business: Year one will take place in a further education college in Galway and Roscommon ETB or Sligo and then progress to Atlantic Technological University (ATU).
· Science: Year one will take place in a further education college in Galway and Roscommon ETB or Sligo and then progress to Atlantic Technological University (ATU).
· Nursing: Year one will take place in a further education college in the northwest and then progress to Atlantic Technological University (ATU) at one of its campuses at Letterkenny, Castlebar and St Angela’s.
[ Looking beyond university: how do you choose the right third-level option?Opens in new window ]
· Construction management: Year one in a further education college in Limerick Clare ETB. Subsequent years will be in TUS (Technological University of the Shannon).
· Mobile computing: Year one in a further education college in Limerick Clare ETB. Subsequent years will be in TUS.
· Business studies: Year one in a further education college in Limerick Clare ETB. Subsequent years will be in TUS.
A second batch of courses will commence in September 2024 in areas such as culinary arts, music technology, sustainability, performing arts and supply chain management.
