Current News
REEdI at MTU Features in Global Report on Engineering Education
Nov 7, 2022
The Higher Education Authorities HCI Pillar 3 funded REEdI (Rethinking Engineering Education in Ireland) project at MTU Kerry Campus recently featured as a case study alongside 20 global leaders in Engineering Education.
The report, released in October 2022, entitled "Crisis and Catalyst: The impact of Covid-19 on global practise in engineering education" was written by Dr Ruth Graham, global consultant in engineering education. The study was commissioned by a consortium of universities known for their innovation in engineering education, including Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
The REEdI project at MTU was the only Irish University featured in the report, being recognised as a result of a global study into engineering programmes investigating how they adapted and are continuing to adapt in the aftermath of the Covid 19 pandemic. Other exemplars included: MIT (USA), University College London (UK), Aalborg University (Denmark), TU Delft (Netherlands) and Harvard University (USA).
REEdI at MTU was highlighted as an innovative programme-level blended learning model with embedded immersive technologies at its core. The first product of which is the REEdI Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering. This degree combines (amongst many other things) self-directed asynchronous online courses with on and off campus (work placement) experiential problem-solving opportunities for student engineers.
Dr Ruth Graham in her report stated: "One driver for REEdI’s use of virtual reality/ augmented reality (VR/AR) technologies was to offer an inclusive education, with equality of access for all students including those with disabilities, and those studying part-time or accessing their education remotely. The experience of emergency teaching laid bare the challenge of delivering meaningful hands-on engineering experiences for students learning online. As a result, REEdI’s ambitions for the development of new AR/VR technologies has grown significantly."
Dr Ruth Grahams full report can be found here:
https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/145955
Dr Fiona Boyle, Head of Department of STEM, Director of REEdI said: "We are extremely honored and proud to be featured in Dr Grahams report. It is a real sense of validation for the REEdI team. We have worked hard with our industry and project partners to design and develop an engineering programme that will produce engineers of the future. It is a very exciting time with our pioneer cohort of students now in place. We will give our student engineers the opportunity to learning with cutting edge technologies and get to gain valuable work experience before they graduate, setting them up for career success. This acknowledgment gives us even more confidence to start a new chapter for engineering education in Ireland; keep pushing the boundaries and driving forward with our vision- to set the agenda for engineering education nationally."
Professor Joseph Walsh, Head of the School of STEM/Head of Intelligent Mechatronics and RFID (IMaR) Research Centre and the REEdI project lead at the Munster Technological University said "it’s really exciting to be included and acknowledged in this report, one of the key methodologies with the new REEdI Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering is an innovative step forward in preparing engineers for industry with the early involvement of industry which offers employers the chance to identify and assess students during their placements for potential graduate roles"
For those interested in applying for the September 2023/2024 academic term on the REEdI Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering- details on the programme can be accessed by visiting: