On Tuesday 25th May 2021 at 1pm, REEdI, which will transform the way we deliver undergraduate engineering education in Ireland in order to produce engineers of the future for Irelands Manufacturing Sector, will be officially launched by Minister for Education Norma Foley, TD.

REEdI (Rethinking Engineering Education in Ireland); was awarded funding of €8.95m under the Irish Government’s Human Capital Initiative Programme (HCI); was developed by a consortium comprising Munster Technological University (MTU), University of Limerick (UL), SFI Confirm Smart Manufacturing Research Centre, SFI Lero Software Research Centre, IMaR Research Centre, AgriTech Centre of Excellence (ACE) and Industry stakeholders from the Automotive, AgriTech, MedTech, Pharma and General Manufacturing sectors in Ireland. Over the next 4 years, the project will produce a new way of designing, developing and delivering engineering education in Ireland to produce Engineers of the future.

The REEdI project offers an agile and innovative learning programme providing personalised, flexible and tailored options to diverse learner cohorts; from school leavers to graduating apprentices, to upskilling industry professionals and mature students. Building on the success of world-leading cutting-edge models of engineering pedagogy, the project will combine an innovative method of content delivery with new immersive technologies to deliver a transformative programme of self-directed and self-scheduled learning for the next generation of engineers.

Professor Joseph Walsh, REEdI Project Sponsor and Head of School of STEM at MTU said “REEdI will draw on the strong research links in manufacturing engineering research through the IMaR, SFI Confirm Smart Manufacturing and Lero Software Research Centres to embed these advanced technologies and learnings into undergraduate engineering programmes. In addition, Master of Engineering placements will be facilitated through these cutting-edge research centres, producing manufacturing engineering graduates of the highest international calibre. The REEdI approach is to be positively disruptive and transformative, with a vision to set the agenda for engineering education nationally “

Dr. Fiona Boyle, Director of REEdI said “Employers require access to Engineering Graduates with the right blend of practical, technical and professional skills to ensure that talent does not become a significant barrier to growth for their businesses; through the work and vision of REEdI, we aim to set the agenda for Engineering Education regionally and nationally. We will do this by championing equality, diversity, student centred and student directed approaches to learning, bringing in significant elements of eLearning, work-based learning and innovative technologies such as Virtual and Augmented Reality to provide an immersive learning experience; all to create the next generation of Engineers for our region and our Island”

Professor Maggie Cusack, President at MTU, said: ” This project will place Munster Technological University at the forefront of international undergraduate engineering education provision, making it the go-to university for human capital to fill our manufacturing organizations’ engineering talent pipeline on a national and international stage”

Mr Mike Stack, Group CEO, Tricel said: “With the REEdI programme we can nurture meaningful work placements, help our business grow with high calibre candidates, embed graduates longer to genuinely add value, so we can work to build a future together”

Dr John Daly, Research and Innovation Manager, Dairymaster said: “The REEdI Framework is an innovative development in Engineering Education, that we believe will produce the Engineers of the Future, strengthening both Dairymaster’s and Irelands competitiveness on the world stage”

Brendan Walsh, Operations Manager, Kostal said: “We fully support the REEdI Programme as the mix of mechanical and manufacturing engineering combined with the right balance between university learning and industry experience, provides perfect graduates for a manufacturing plant like ours”

ABOUT MTU:

Munster Technological University is a multi-campus technological university, contributing to the region through the provision of academic programmes that support student development and opportunities, education and research. MTU has an extensive and impressive regional footprint with six campuses across the South-West region in Cork and Kerry, and a student body of 18,000.