Free courses website to be launched by ATU President
Atlantic Technological University’s Higher Education 4.0 Project will host an evening for industry at ATU Sligo (F91 YW50) on Monday, November 4, with the focus on upskilling and reskilling opportunities available to industry and businesses in the West of Ireland, and beyond.
Titled ‘MOOCs for Industry’, this free event will take place at Hume Hall, ATU Sligo, and will showcase those short flexible online courses – otherwise known as MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) – designed for the workplace, such as Health & Safety, Lean Construction, Introduction to Marketing, Social Robotics and many more.
Those attending on the evening must register beforehand on Eventbrite (see below), with sign-in taking place between 6:30pm and 7pm.
This will be followed by the joint keynote address from ATU’s Online, Flexible & Professional Development (OFPD) Head of Innovation, Gavin Clinch, and ATU Senior Instructional Designer Louise Kearins, who is undertaking a PhD on ‘An Exploration of HEI MOOC development in Ireland & the UK’.
The Higher Education 4.0 Project has championed the MOOC model in assisting industries and businesses to upskill and reskill their employees.
“MOOCs are transforming the way we approach lifelong learning and workforce development,” says Gavin Clinch, Head of Innovation Projects for ATU’s Higher Education 4.0 programme.
“By offering free, flexible learning opportunities, we’re helping industries across the West of Ireland – and nationwide – to upskill and reskill their workforce in a way that meets the evolving needs of our economy.
“The upcoming ‘MOOCs for Industry’ event is a testament to ATU’s commitment to making impactful, accessible education available to all.”
These free short courses are available on the freecourses.atu.ie website, which will be officially launched by ATU President Orla Flynn at the ‘MOOCs for Industry’ event.
In addition, there will be a series of elevator pitches on the MOOCs. Among those to present will be David Collery on Lean Construction; Perry Share and John Pender, Social Robotics; Lisa Dunne, Introduction to Marketing; Maria Dermiki, Repurposing Surplus Food for Business; and John Scahill on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
All of these subject areas have been crafted into short flexible online courses by ATU’s Higher Education 4.0 Instructional Design team, led by Louise Kearins.
There will be several information stands set up on the day, with MyCareerPath, the flexible, online careers service, and ATU MakerSpace, which promotes the STEM subjects, among those exhibiting.
It is also an opportunity to network, and refreshments and food will be served after the panel discussion.
Those attending must register on www.eventbrite.ie (search MOOC Sligo) or https://www.eventbrite.com/e/moocs-for-industry-upskilling-and-reskilling-in-the-workplace-tickets-1050596350967?aff=oddtdtcreator
For further information contact, Higher Education 4.0 Project Communications Officer Stephen Glennon at stephen.glennon@atu.ie or 086-8393977.
