Education Commons^™

Improving Engagement Of Construction Industry Firms In Apprenticeship Training In A Post-Recession Economy, Eoghan Ó Murchadha, Roisin Murphy

Conference papers

The Irish economy is currently experiencing a recovery phase following a ‘lost decade’ of growth due to the severe economic downturn of 2007. While the construction industry in Ireland is recording increased output, and improving rates of employment, in the vital economic and labour market sector of apprenticeship there is a significant lack of engagement. Without employer buy-in to apprenticeship training, there exists potential future skills gaps and lack of efficacy of the construction industry. This increasingly likely possibility is disquieting, not just for the possible impact upon the future of apprenticeship but also for the Irish economy as a …

Csi4 : A Curriculum For Ensuring More Employable Ict Graduates, Deirdre Lillis

Conference papers

ICT skills shortages worldwide can be met by global software innovators that can work in any sector. HubLinked, a partnership of 11 industry and HE partners in the EU and Korea, is developing an integrated CSI4 curriculum for industry-oriented, internationalised, innovation-focused and interdisciplinary Computer Science degrees. CSI4 features Global Labs, where teams of students work across timezones to prototype software, an IaH experience which mimics working in a global ICT company.

Global Software Innovators Strengthening The Software Innovation Capacity Of Europe And Korea, Deirdre Lillis, Paul Doyle, Michael Collins, Brian Keegan, Luca Longo, William O'Mahony, Peter Manifold

Conference papers

Global entrepreneurial talent management is a key challenge for the software sector internationally where competition for high-end skills is intense. SMEs are at a significant disadvantage when competing with major multinationals to access these skills. The Information and Communications Technology sector accounts for 5% of all employment in the EU and there are 900,000 vacancies in this sector in 2017 [1], however over 50% of senior ICT managers believe graduates lack the necessary combination of technical, business and interpersonal skills [2]. In addition, only 4 in 1000 women work in the ICT sector [3].

To address these challenges, HubLinked, an …

The Lecturer As Learner: Exploring That Digital Divide One More Time, Mary O'Rawe

Conference papers

Although there is widespread acceptance of the importance, and indeed superiority, of student-centred learning in the contemporary success equation (McCabe & O’Connor, 2014), charting the route to such success remains problematic. Many assumptions around the nature of digital learning, and inter-generational attitudes to such learning are still made.

Specific to the context of technology-enhanced teaching, learning and assessment in a higher education environment, a range of generic and particular debates around how to be student-centric arise. Technology-enhanced learning (TEL) has been examined extensively from both the student’s viewpoint, and the lecturer’s perspective (Waycott et al., 2010). But how can these …

Using Hybrid Development Platforms For Easy Design Of Mobile Apps To Improve The Orientation Experience Of First Year Higher Education Students At Dit., Nevan Bermingham, Mary O'Rawe, Trevor Boland

Conference papers

Smartphone usage by students has increased rapidly over the last number of years, and there is evidence to indicate that students are using their smartphones more in higher educational environments.

However, creating mobile applications tailored to the needs of any particular cohort of students can be an expensive and time-consuming endeavour for any organisation. In addition, it normally involves substantial technological expertise.

At the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), we created two bespoke mobile applications tailored to improve the orientation experience for two different groups of students. “DIT GetSmart!” was designed and built to address the information needs of …

How Can Higher Education Institutions (Heis) Support The Development Of Entrepreneurial Mindsets In Local Communities?, Emma O'Brien, Thomas M. Cooney

Conference papers

Promoting an entrepreneurial culture through the development of entrepreneurial mindsets has become an important mission on the education and enterprise policy agenda of many governments and supranational organisations. Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have responded to this call by developing entrepreneurship / enterprise education pedagogies that now place a greater focus on engendering entrepreneurial competencies within individuals rather than on the creation of new ventures. Such competences are relevant for all aspects of an individual’s life and may assist them in navigating the ever changing, chaotic, global world in which they live. However, some commentators have argued that this development is …

Linking Geospatial Engineering Into Collaborative Multidisciplinary Bim Projects - An Educational Perspective, Avril Behan, Helen Murray, Jonathan Argue, Ronan Hogan, Audrey Martin, Pat O'Sullivan, Robert Moore, Malachy Mathews

Conference papers

This paper describes the background to and execution of a postgraduate project undertaken by students on DIT's MSc in Geospatial Engineering (GeoEng) in support of a project on level 2 BIM being undertaken by students on the MSc in applied Building Information Modelling & Management (aBIMM) around the retrofit of and new build extension to the Grangegorman Clock Tower Building. In support of this requirement, an external and internal survey of the existing structure and its surrounding topography was required. The aBIMM students and staff acted as the Design Team who subcontracted the Geo Eng group who were organised into …

A Longitudinal Study Of Middle Eastern Women’S Experiences Studying Engineering Abroad: Emerging Results, Shannon Chance, Bill Williams, Allison Wagner

Conference papers

What is it like to study engineering in Ireland when you are female and you come from somewhere far away, in the Middle East, which has different social customs and norms? What is the lived experience? What aspects of the experience are common to all Middle Eastern women enrolled in your course? As education researchers, we aim to understand the essence of the experience such women have had studying engineering Ireland; we focus on what life has been like for them and what unique challenges they have faced that may be invisible to us as instructors. In this work-in-progress, a …

Seeking To Identify Student And Staff Perspectives On The Nature Of Pedagogical Support For Academic Writing., Roisin Donnelly, Maria-Jose Gonzalez

Conference papers

No abstract provided.

Educational Buildings As Educational Buildings: Can Sustainable Architecture Help Support Sustainability In The Curriculum?, Claire Speedie, Mark Mulville

Conference papers

This paper explores whether the architectural design of educational buildings - by incorporating an expression of the sustainable design - helps to educate users towards adoption of sustainable practices. Utilising observational studies from primary schools incorporating sustainable design measures, the research explored their impact on the curriculum.

School buildings accommodate the educational process but design briefs do not require that buildings educate their users. The paper demonstrated that sustainable features of the buildings were not well integrated into the curriculum and that one explanation was the lack of interpretation incorporated into the architecture to support teachers lacking an appreciation of …

A Career In Tour Guiding: A Case Study Of Dublin, Ireland, Detta Melia

Conference papers

Tourist guides are the essential interface between a tourism destination and its visitors, and are very much responsible for the overall impression of the destination and satisfaction offered. However, of the small amount of literature published, very few studies have asked tourist guides their views and opinions, or have built up a profile of the tourist guide. This paper attempts to redress the balance. This study, concentrating on professional tourist guides in Dublin, Ireland.

Potential threats and challenges to the future of the industry are explored, particularly threats from unqualified guides and from the introduction of information technology (IT). Primary …