When September Comes…
It’s hard to believe that it is a month ago since our last newsletter – and that we are now into September. August can be a quiet month – punctuated by the family holiday and day trips – but on Atlantic Technological University’s Higher Education 4.0 Project we have been as busy as ever. Here’s what we have been up to.
The Innovators Club is…innovating!
The Innovators Club is evolving into The Change-Makers Club. Whether you’re driving any kind of innovation in science or technology, leading projects in operations, marketing, entrepreneurship or contributing to any other role within the wider ATU community, we invite you to join The Change-Makers Club – where those who inspire, innovate, and lead come together to shape our future.
Our focus will remain with our innovators, but we also want to encompass other forms of positive change across ATU. We’ll convene every two to three months, featuring speakers who will provide overviews of their change-making projects. Our hope is to spark new ideas and collaborations that will further ATU’s mission.
Kickstart this new chapter with us at our next meeting on Wednesday, October 23, 2024 (1pm), when we’ll explore how the Higher Education 4.0 Project and ATU are driving meaningful change for the betterment of society. This is your opportunity to engage in insightful talks, participate in discussions, and connect with colleagues across the university who are making strides in various fields.
The Change-Makers Club is a welcoming and relaxed space where you can freely discuss your projects, exchange knowledge, and celebrate the collective impact we’re making.
Whatever your role, if you’re committed to driving change, The Change-Makers Club is the place for you. If you have projects or ideas for projects that you wish to present at the upcoming ‘club’ meetings, please get in touch with Stephen Glennon at stephen.glennon@atu.ie.
For ATU staff only.
Keep an eye out for our podcasts
The first episodes in an exciting, limited podcast series, which explores career choices and upskilling and reskilling in the workplace, were recorded last month.
Titled The Learning Journey, the opening three episodes, due to air in mid-September, boast a variety of special guests in life coach and former Galway senior hurler Tony Óg Regan, successful Galway lawyer Caoimhe Heery and JP McGonigle of Forward Emphasis International. All three have very different stories to tell about their own career paths.
Stay tuned to the various social media channels for Higher Education 4.0 Project and MyCareerPath to find out more, including publication dates.
MyCareerPath’s exclusive deal
In August, MyCareerPath ran an exclusive deal offering students access to experienced Careers Advisors for a complimentary 15-minute one-to-one meeting, whereby students were given the opportunity to explore their unique strengths through personality insights.
It was a valuable opportunity for those lucky few to experience the benefits of the career guidance programme first-hand and take a meaningful step towards future career success.
For more information on MyCareerPath, or to book a place, contact mycareerpath@atu.ie.
MOOC increases our understanding of Ocean Pollution
Atlantic Technological University launched a new short online course on Ocean Pollution, which seeks to educate and highlight the importance of oceans and the damage that can be caused by the decisions we make.
The new MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) explores ocean pollution and through incorporating the seven ocean literacy principles, sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, the course covers several topical areas, such as marine litter.
Aiming to provide students with the knowledge and tools to understand the underlying concepts surrounding the different types of ocean pollution, senior lecturer and project lead Róisín Nash says they endeavoured to make the course as engaging as possible, using interactive content, such as quizzes, striking yet informative images, and inviting a variety of guest speakers to talk on different topics.
“When we looked at ocean pollution, we found that people are often focused on one element, like plastic pollution, and they invariably forget those ‘invisible’ pollutants like noise pollution,” says Dr Nash. “And it’s the combination of all these pollutants that have the ocean in its current state.”
The MOOC was created under the Higher Education 4.0 Project, which is funded by the Human Capital Initiative (HCI) Pillar 3,
To read more, go to HE 4.0 news: www.highered4.ie/news
To apply for the MOOC, go to: http://freecourses.atu.ie.
An Introduction to Marketing
ATU has launched a new free online programme, titled An Introduction to Marketing, which is ideal for secondary school students, those wishing to upskill, and entrepreneurs seeking guidance into promoting their business.
Within the programme, there are four self-directed courses – namely introductions to Marketing Concepts, Digital Marketing, Marketing Research and Services Marketing – with a digital badge awarded upon completion of each element. Once the four strands have been undertaken, students will receive a milestone badge.
Created under the Higher Education 4.0 Project, which is funded by the Human Capital Initiative (HCI), each course takes approximately two hours to complete and can be accessed through the ATU Free Courses webpage (freecourses.atu.ie).
An Introduction to Marketing is the brainchild of Lisa Dunne, a lecturer in the Department of Marketing, Tourism and Sport in the school of Business and Social Sciences at ATU Sligo.
For more, go to: www.highered4.ie/news/a-free-introduction-to-marketing-at-atu/
Lights, Camera, Action!
You may have already seen our new video series on Higher Education 4.0’s instructional designers. Our IDs are the heartbeat of many projects, and it is great to hear about their roles and the projects they have enjoyed working on. Eamonn Toland and Madhu Kambamettu were the first to speak to us – check out our social media feeds – with more to come in the coming weeks.
Extra, Extra, Read All About It!
As always, we are indebted to the local and national media for getting our stories out there. MyCareerPath, the Ocean Pollution MOOC and An Introduction to Marketing have been among the Higher Education 4.0 programmes to receive lots of column inches.
Many thanks also to local radio, with several stations also carrying our stories.
