News

IT Carlow Builds on Relationship with Unum and US University

22/03/2011

IT Carlow started to build further on its already strong ties with Unum as the US company visited the Institute last week.  As well as calling in to the Unum Centre in IT Carlow, the visitors wanted to discuss exciting new opportunities for deepening the already very successful collaboration.

Travelling with the Unum representatives was Dr Will Sutton, Dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga.  The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga also has strong ties with Unum in the US and offers courses similar to IT Carlow in computer programming.
These links offer a promising opportunity to develop a lasting relationship between the two higher education institutions and industry.  Nigel Whyte, Head of the Department of Computing & Networking at the Institute of Technology Carlow, said “The existing internships for our students with Unum and the quality of our courses have naturally led to a strong level of trust for our degree courses in Software Development and Computer Games Development.  It makes sense to look at how we can extend these links to the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga and develop a three-way discourse.”
Among topics for discussion were a joint undergraduate project, including a two-way visit for students between Carlow and Chattanooga, the possibility of a pilot distance learning module, a student exchange programme and shared internships between Unum US and Unum Ireland.
The visitors concluded their visit with a tour of the Carlow region.
For more information on the Software Development and Computer Games Development degree courses at IT Carlow, visit www.itcarlow.ie.