MOOCs for the Environment: Shaping a Sustainable Future

Atlantic Technological University’s Higher Education 4.0 Project will host two free events in November, with the first to discuss upskilling and reskilling opportunities available to industry and the second to focus on environmental issues.

Titled ‘MOOCs for Environment’, this event will take place in Theatre 1000, ATU Galway, on Wednesday, November 13, with attendees asked to arrive at 6:30pm, with the keynote speeches and panel discussions to get underway at 7pm.

Among those to present are Dr John Scahill on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); Dr Roisin Nash on Ocean Pollution; and award-winning garden designer Leonie Cornelius on the Fundamentals of Garden Design, a course developed by the Higher Education 4.0 Instructional Design team.

The Higher Education 4.0 Project is also developing relevant courses in other areas, such as industry, which is the focus of the first event scheduled for Hume Hall, ATU Sligo, on Monday evening, November 4.

This free event will showcase those ATU MOOCs designed for the workplace, such as Lean Six Sigma OpEx Academy, Lean Construction, Introduction to Marketing and Social Robotics.

Commencing at 7pm, the evening will include a joint keynote address from ATU’s Online, Flexible & Professional Development (OFPD) Head of Innovation, Gavin Clinch, and ATU Senior Instructional Designer Louise Kearins, who is undertaking a PhD on ‘An Exploration of HEI MOOC development in Ireland the UK’.

Under the Higher Education 4.0 Project, for which Gavin Clinch is the Lead on Innovation Projects, it has championed the MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) model in assisting industries and businesses to upskill and reskill their employees.

“MOOCs are transforming the way we approach lifelong learning and workforce development," says Gavin Clinch, Head of Innovation for ATU’s Higher Education 4.0 Project.

“By offering free, flexible learning opportunities, we’re helping industries across Ireland upskill and reskill their workforce in a way that meets the evolving needs of our economy.

“The upcoming ‘MOOCs for Industry’ and ‘MOOCs for Environment’ events are a testament to ATU’s commitment to making impactful, accessible education available to all.”

These free short courses are available on the freecourses.atu.ie website, which will be officially launched by ATU President Orla Flynn at the ATU Sligo ‘MOOCs for Industry’ event.

In addition, there will be several promotional stands set up on the day, with MyCareerPath, the flexible, online career guidance service, and ATU MakerSpace, which promotes the STEM subjects at third level and second level, among those exhibiting on both evenings.

There will also be an opportunity to network on both evenings, with refreshments and food served.

Those attending must register on Eventbrite.

Host or Publisher Higher Education 4.0