All Ireland Society for Higher Education
| Name: | Lawless , Deirdre |
|---|---|
| Email: | deirdre.lawless@comp.dit.ie |
| Institution: | Dublin Institute of Technology |
O'Leary, Ciaran, ciaran.oleary@comp.dit.ie Collins, Michael, michael.collins@comp.dit.ie Gordon, Damian, damian.gordon@comp.dit.ie
The EU has stated that it "must become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion" (European Council, Lisbon, March 2000). To achieve this ministers of education agreed on three major goals to be achieved by 2010 : to improve the quality and effectiveness of EU education and training systems; to ensure that they are accessible to all; to open up education and training to the wider world. All of these objectives are closely tied to the ethos and institutional strategy of the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT). DIT is the lead partner of the Emersion project, funded by the EU Asia-Link programme, working with Harbin Institute of Technology, China and University of Wolverhampton. The aim of the project is to establish, implement and evaluate an industry-oriented education model and system in China, particularly for the information technology sector. The findings will be used to enhance the skills of academic staff in all partner institutions to improve the delivery of IT education to better compete globally as well as locally. Emersion's aims are very closely tied to those of the EU. As part of this project all three partners surveyed local industry to identify key skills for graduates for the IT sector. DIT School of Computing also surveyed its academic staff. This paper outlines the findings of this survey and discusses their relevance with regard to the stated EU objectives. It provides insights into the delivery of IT education in Ireland and demonstrates that in order to ensure that Ireland remains one of the world's leading IT solution providers it is essential that third level educators be aware of industry trends, both present and future, and continuously adapt educational programmes accordingly.
(Abstract ref: #7.)