Education

Technological universities: Bridging the gap between classroom and career

Students are prepared for the workplace through career-related approaches from placements to in-class development learning

Technological universities offer qualifications across all levels encompassing apprenticeships, degrees, professional accreditations, master’s and PhDs.

Colin Gleeson
Tue Apr 30 2024 - 04:25

Close links with industry, a plethora of internships, and plenty of work experience opportunities make technological universities an enticing option for students who want to advance their careers — but what exactly do they have to offer?

Fiona O’Donnell, careers officer at Atlantic Technological University (ATU), says her office provides support, information, and advice to students to help them achieve their career goals.

This is achieved through a range of career-related approaches including preparation for placements programmes during which students take part in workshops on CV and cover letter preparation, interview preparation, mock interviews, job sector analysis, and LinkedIn.

ATU also offers in-house employability workshops, while employers can upload job vacancies to the university’s student careers portals.

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It also runs events in partnership with industry across all sectors on navigating the jobs market, building personal brands, speed networking, postgraduate studies, applying for graduate programmes, and assessment centre workshops.

“Students can learn what skills employers look for in graduates and get up-to-speed on the latest labour market trends,” says O’Donnell.

“Students are also given the opportunity to work on real workplace-based projects which enhances their experiential learning in terms of students developing knowledge and skills through hands-on learning environments. We also focus on helping students to reflect on skills and strengths and grow their understanding of how this relates to employability.”

Dave Kilmartin, senior manager of student success at Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin), says students are geared towards the workplace from day one.

“From their very first semester at TU Dublin, our students engage in practice-based learning designed to develop the knowledge, skills, personal attributes and experience that help our graduates stand out in a competitive job market,” he says.

“Our students are not only assessed on their depth of knowledge but how they apply what they have learned in tackling problems creatively through project-based learning. Our student-engaged education model also connects students with the entire university community, providing them with an unrivalled learning experience of working in vertical teams with people from a diverse range of disciplines.

“Another vital attribute cultivated by our innovative education model is embedding sustainability as a learning outcome, creating responsible, sustainably-minded graduates in many economically crucial sectors.”

Faculties and schools at TU Dublin are working to embed sustainability within the curriculum to enable and empower students to progressively develop their sustainability knowledge and skills in a manner which is linked and applied to their programme.

To support this, all incoming students in 2023 participated in a programme of introductory sustainability and climate action initiatives.

When it comes to taking the next step in their careers, TU Dublin has a wide range of support available in its career development centre, delivered by professional career coaches with expertise in arts and humanities, business, sciences and health, computing, digital and data, and engineering and the built environment.

“From their first year, students can work with our career coaches to develop a deeper understanding of their career motivations based on their values, interests, personality and skills, as well as what type of work will lead to career satisfaction for many years,” says Kilmartin.

“Throughout their time, all students will have access to in-class career development learning, where they will be provided with a career planning framework while also learning how to write a targeted high-impact CV, prepare and practice for interviews, build their personal career brand and learn the secrets of building a fruitful network during their college years.”

The career development centre also hosts regular on-campus discipline-specific career fairs where students have the opportunity to directly connect with employers and learn about employer opportunities, be they internships or full-time opportunities after graduation.

Work placements are also an integral component of many TU Dublin programmes, and the career development centre delivers curriculum-based career development learning workshops to help students prepare and apply for placement programmes as well as provide them with a framework for future reflection on their experience.

“Placement experience can be a pivotal career learning experience and help students make informed decisions about their future career direction,” says Kilmartin.

A spokeswoman for South East Technological University (Setu) says the university has a tradition of producing industry-ready graduates sought after in areas such as nursing, software and games development, engineering, culinary arts, computing, and sports.

Setu’s student support services provide a range of supports that are focused on helping students, both during the transition to third level and throughout their time at the university.

Student support and career development staff provide opportunities for students and graduates to develop the skills and attributes required to manage their careers throughout their working lives.

Michael Loftus, vice-president for external affairs at Munster Technological University (MTU), says the university takes a very deliberate approach to the inclusion of its enterprise partners in graduate formation and development.

“This starts with our programme and curriculum development where we include practice experts in the design of the courses to ensure that the subject matter is current and relevant,” he says.

Throughout their studies, students can apply their learning to practical situations.

“Work placements are an important part of our employer relationships and they allow students to become integrated into a workforce and to gain the kind of practical, transferable skills that serve them well when they transition into the workplace,” Loftus says.

“Our students are very popular with employers and placements offer employers an opportunity to access talent and can be seen as a long interview process — a significant portion of our placement students return from the workplace with firm job offers on their graduation.

“Our industry relationships are really important in providing these opportunities for students and we are always delighted to find our alumni in companies coming back in to interview students for placement.”

But, he adds, there are many other mechanisms by which the “real world” is brought into the classroom.

“Many courses offer employers the opportunity to set challenges for students or groups of students in live cases, often culminating in a competitive presentation process to experts from the partner company,” he says.

“Final year capstone projects are specified or influenced by current workplace challenges wherever possible and provide students with the chance to grapple with real data sets or process or product challenges deriving from actual or projected experiences.”

MTU’s “extended campus” is a single point of contact to make it easier for external organisations to reach staff, students and researchers, employing customer relationship management and case management techniques.

Prof Irene Sheridan, head of MTU’s extended campus, says real-world issues “don’t divide themselves neatly by academic discipline so we offer a joined-up perspective across the university as a whole”.

“We collect information on our relationships to support a strategic approach to identifying opportunities and we are also part of international networks ensuring that our engagement activities are informed by international best practices.”

A spokeswoman for Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) says the university “takes pride” in preparing students for the workforce through a comprehensive range of initiatives designed to bridge the gap between academia and industry.

“Our approach encompasses industry partnerships, internships, and various schemes aimed at facilitating a seamless transition from university to the professional world,” she says.

“Through our careers connect platform, students can access information on job opportunities, postgraduate studies, scholarships, and training courses.

“They can also schedule appointments with career development advisers, receive assistance with CVs and interviews, and participate in career boot camps and employer presentations.”

The university also offers work placement and employability support through the enhancement of student employability skills, assisting students to prepare for work placement, and providing career guidance to enable their full career potential.

“Employers have several avenues to engage with our student body, including campus visits, presentations, and virtual events,” she says.

“They can advertise part-time, summer, placement, or graduate opportunities through our careers connect portal and participate in our careers fairs to connect directly with students.”

Through collaborations with companies and organisations, students gain insights into various industries and career pathways. One of the highlights of this approach is the emphasis on real-world projects and consultancy work.

“For example, our digital marketing students in Athlone undertake hands-on projects with prominent brands, developing and implementing digital marketing strategies as part of their final year or master’s degree,” the spokeswoman adds.

“This initiative provides students with invaluable industry experience while offering expertise to businesses across sectors.”

Colin Gleeson

Colin Gleeson

Colin Gleeson is an Irish Times reporter

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