MR Brian Coll

Jt Lecturer

Contact Details

Lecturer
Address

E: coll.brian@itsligo.ie
 
researcher

Biography

Brian Coll is a lecturer in the School of Engineering & Design at the Institute of Technology, Sligo, Ireland where he currently teaches on the quality, and lean six sigma courses. He lectures primarily to online students and was instrumental in developing the first video podcasts of lectures for online students in Ireland.

In 2014, Brian developed and delivered along with a colleague Dr. John Donovan, Ireland’s first MOOC on Lean Sigma Quality.  Brian and John were recognised for their work in this area by being awarded an Irish ‘National Teaching Expert’ award in Dec 2015. This free online course has been delivered to over 9000 students from 50 countries.  The National Teaching Experts awards celebrate Ireland’s best teachers in higher education. The awards recognise expert teachers who are models for excellence in teaching and whose knowledge about learning impact is strong and evidence-based.

Brian is a regular contributor to conferences on trends in online higher education particularly as it relates to the use of new technology in helping to up-skill the workforce. Brian has over 20 years experience in quality management and has held senior positions at Director and VP level in multinational companies in Europe, USA and Mexico.
Since joining IT Sligo in 2005,  Brian has played an innovative role in the enhancement of the Institute’s online learning offering. This has been reflected in the popularity of his courses by our online students with the Six Sigma Green Belt course now being the largest such course in Ireland.   His work was central to IT Sligo receiving a Taoiseach Public Service Excellence Award in education in 2012. The award recognised the way in which the Institute pioneered the delivery of online learning to students around the globe, many of whom combine busy careers with distance learning. 

Research Interests

Online learning and Assessments, Quality and Lean Six Sigma and MOOCs

Research Projects

  Project Role Description Start Date End Date
Online Engineering Labs Principal Investigator (Acting) Principal Investigator for final year of this project to develop online engineering labs at IT Sligo. This project was the recipient of a national Digital Media and Taoiseach’s (Prime Minister’s) award. 01-SEP-12 20-JUN-12
Fuel Cell Process Development Principal Investigator Enterprise Ireland innovation partnership funded: €300K 01-SEP-07 31-DEC-09

Conference Publications

  Year Publication
(2018) EdTech 2018 (Carlow)
Brian Coll (2018) The Challenges of MOOCs and ‘Super’ Online Colleges for Irish Higher Education EdTech 2018 (Carlow) [Details]
(2017) EdTech 2017 (Sligo)
Brian Coll (2017) How Students Cheat? EdTech 2017 (Sligo) [Details]

Conference Contributions

  Year Publication
(2018) Southern New Hampshire University Academic Conference,
Brian Coll (2018) Developing a MOOC. [Invited Lecture], Southern New Hampshire University Academic Conference, SNHU, Manchester, NH, USA . [Details]

Honours and Awards

  Year Title Awarding Body
2015 National Teaching Expert Award (Joint) National Forum (Ireland)

Patents

  Patent Number Title Granted
US6331076B1 Solderpaste Time-Temperature Indicator 30-OCT-98

Education

  Year Institution Qualification Subject
1987 NUI, Galway BEng Industrial Engineeting
1999 University of Limerick MSc Quality

Teaching Interests

Lean Six Sigma, Process Improvement and Quality Systems.

Modules Taught

  Term (ID)) Title Link Subject
202000 Work Place Prep and Six Sigma 36452Work Place Prep and Six Sigma
202000 Project Six Sigma 3 37540Project Six Sigma 3
202000 Risk Management, Labelling and 34556Risk Management, Labelling and
202000 Six Sigma 1 - Introduction to 34737Six Sigma 1 - Introduction to
202000 Six Sigma 1 - Introduction to 40257Six Sigma 1 - Introduction to
202000 Project Six Sigma 3 37541Project Six Sigma 3
202000 Lean & Operational Excellence 41989Lean & Operational Excellence