The Advance Centre at Atlantic Technological University Sligo (ATU Sligo) is helping the Irish industry to future-proof by delivering the key skills needed to compete in the digital arena.
An education partnership between UCD, ATU Sligo, and TU Dublin, the Advance Centre focuses on professional learning – offering accredited courses to help companies and employees address skill gaps emerging due to the tech and digital transformations across many different industries across Ireland.
Speaking at the Advance Centre, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris, TD, said that developing industry-relevant education was delivering “a response to Irish industry’s needs in the digital area”.
“In the times that we live in, there is a responsibility on universities to share their knowledge and expertise with public and private enterprises, and likewise for enterprises to work with higher education, to ensure we create the best graduates and the most modern workforce.
Minister Harris’ visit to the Advance Centre took place shortly after the end of European Digital Transformation Week, which Dr Barry Twomey, Advance Centre Director, said had made clear “that digital skills are of critical importance to economic growth at national and European level”.
He added: “Ireland has been pro-active in supporting the Universities to develop and deliver flexible training and development opportunities, but we have more to do in promoting these opportunities and make sure those who need them can find them, and access them with minimum fuss.”
Associate Professor Chris Bleakley, the Principal Investigator at the Centre, commented on today’s workplace demands:
“Today’s workplace demands continuous learning by employees so that their knowledge and skills stay relevant and up-to-minute.Powered by UCD, Atlantic TU and TU Dublin and supported by the HEA, the Advance Centre offers high quality education and recognised qualifications on the very latest industry relevant topics”.
The Centre offers a range of accredited courses and qualifications across 11 different themes aimed at part-time learners who want to upskill in cutting-edge areas such as Cybersecurity, Quantum Computing, Data Science, Software Engineering, Digital Agriculture, Data Analytics for Health, AI for Medicine, Financial Mathematics, Electronic System Design and Digital Manufacturing.
Its ATU modules and degree programmes are taught by the Faculty of Engineering and Design at ATU Sligo.
Created in 2020, the Advance Centre is financially supported by the Higher Education Authority under the Human Capital Initiative Pillar 3.
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