News

Institute of Technology Carlow launches Graduate Attributes Framework, placing learners at the heart of the Institute experience

17/01/2018

Institute of Technology Carlow recently launched its Graduate Attributes Framework, the culmination of 18 months of analysis on what it means to be a graduate of the Institute. The Graduate Attributes represent the particular skills and qualities Institute of Technology Carlow alumni possess as a result of their overall experience at the Institute.

Consultation sessions with students, graduates, staff, employers and other stakeholders took place at various times throughout the study and a set of attributes was devised. The key attributes which emerged from this process were: creative; knowledgeable; connected; confident; reflective; global and integrous.  These were then reviewed by current learners in the Institute and a set of learner-centred sub-questions was drafted for each attribute and a Graduate Attributes Wheel created. This has now become an engaging tool against which all learners can benchmark their own personal and professional development whilst at Institute of Technology Carlow.

President of Institute of Technology Carlow, Dr. Patricia Mulcahy, said the graduate attributes that emerged from the study “are at the centre of our learner experience and our values system. They will guide all of our decisions and actions in the years to come”.

Gina Noonan, Head of the Teaching and Learning Centre, commented, ‘It is great to see the Graduate Attributes Wheel translated into seven different languages and into Braille; it represents the all-inclusive nature of this great project and of our Institute as a whole.’

The launch of the Graduate Attributes was attended by recent graduates who spoke about their learner experience at Institute of Technology Carlow and the life skills they gained from their tenure as students at the Institute.

Graduate Alistair Chambers described his time at Institute of Technology Carlow as ‘a phenomenal experience’. In the third year of his honours degree course in Mechanical Engineering, he won the Engineers Ireland Student of the Year award and has since secured what he describes as “his dream job” as a writer/reviewer of farm machinery for the Irish Farmers Journal.

“I travel to factories all over the world, looking at how engineering processes work. My studies at Institute of Technology Carlow gave me the ability to do my job very well. It doesn’t get much better than this”, he commented.

Zamiya Mooge, who graduated last November with a BA (Hons) in Applied Social Studies and is currently studying for a master’s degree, also spoke of her time as a student. “Institute of Technology Carlow showed me how to find my place in the world and also helped me find volunteering. It taught me to challenge things, to research and think and to motivate others to do the same”.

Graduates of Institute of Technology Carlow are part of a 50,000-strong community worldwide. “Our alumni are pursuing careers in all walks of life all over the globe, making good choices - brave and ambitious choices - and doing amazing things. We look forward to seeing this community continue to grow and prosper in the years ahead”, commented Dr. Mulcahy.

-ENDS-
For reference: Alma Feeley, Communications Office, Institute of Technology Carlow
M: 087 8204934 e: alma.feeley@setu.ie