Further Education NUI Galway
Bringing Learning
Back to Work Nuala McGuinn, Director, Centre for Adult Learning and Professional Development at NUI Galway, explains how courses at the university are providing students with skills that are transferable to the workplace.
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UI Galway’s Centre for Adult Learning and Professional Development, which was relaunched last March, offers an extensive range of parttime programmes, including certificate, diploma, degree, and masters’ awards. It caters for people who want to enhance their career prospects by developing skills but also for those who simply want to study for their own enjoyment and pleasure. Nuala McGuinn, the centre’s director, says the name has changed but its ethos remains the same. “That’s our new title but the message is that we’re continuing to do exactly what we did for 40 years. There was always an ethos of extending the university campus to outreach locations and to people in communities. We adopt the notion of good student support, encouraging people back into education whatever their experience has been.” And gaining relevant experience is a key focus of the adult learning courses at NUI Galway. For those already in employment, each programme includes practical projects which provide students with skills they can take back to the workplace. “Anything they learn from the classroom can be transferred to their job and we give them opportunities to use their company as a case study for assignments or as a way in which
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Pictured at the launch of the NUI Galway Adult Learners Information evening were Dr. Sheila Garrity, Dr. Niamh Nolan, Dr. Anne Walsh, Nuala McGuinn (Director), Suzanne Golden, Deirdre Hardiman and Helen Casey.
they can knit the theoretical with the practical,” says McGuinn. This approach proves to be a major asset for both student and employer and it is something which is often missing in many adult education courses. “We are firm believers that if a student is investing their time or if an employer is investing money in those people, they have to get something back. The best way to do that is to make sure that right through the programme the content is relevant to what they are doing in the workplace.”
Courses on Offer The courses run across four colleges in the university; science, business, engineering and arts and humanities. Some of the popular programmes in science include the diploma course in Medical Device Science and the diploma in Lean and Quality Systems. Another is the online masters in Software Engineering and Database Technologies, which has seen a greater demand since the evolution of cloud computing. Companies which focus on their analytical and business information systems have shown interest in the diploma in data analytics. It’s not all the obvious
subjects however - the centre also offers a BA in Early Childhood Studies, a range of language diplomas as well as BA and MA courses in training and education.
Flexibility One of the great advantages of the adult education courses at NUI Galway is the flexibility they offer learners, many of whom have busy lifestyles to contend with. A number of the programmes are offered through classroom-based teaching at the NUI Galway campus and in a number of outreach locations within the Border, Midlands and Western (BMW) Region. An increasing number are also offered online or through a blended learning format, requiring class attendance on a monthly basis. The courses are also flexible in that they do not require long-term commitment at the time of registration. “Our programmes are structured so that students can take a certificate for one year, a diploma in the second year, they can continue for four years to do the degree or else do stand-alone CPD modules,” says McGuinn. “What we’re saying is that there’s flexibility there, so come and talk to us.” InBusiness | Q2 2014