News

“Responding to National and Regional Socio-economic Needs”

07/11/2018

Institute of Technology Carlow Launches Four New Honours Degree Courses in ICT, Pharma and Digital Marketing

Institute of Technology Carlow today launched four new honours degree courses as a direct response to national and regional socio-economic needs. The suite of programmes will provide skilled graduates in areas such as virtual reality, animation, simulation, DevOps engineering and pharmaceutics.

At a breakfast briefing of regional business leaders, the president of Institute of Technology Carlow, Dr. Patricia Mulcahy, announced the new honours degree courses, which are now open for applications via the CAO. They are the: Bachelor of Science (Honours) Computing in Interactive Digital Art and Design (CW268); Bachelor of Science (Honours) Creative Computing and Digital Innovation (CW048); Bachelor of Science (Honours) Digital Marketing with Analytics (CW848) and Bachelor of Science (Honours) Pharmaceutics and Drug Formulation (CW108). The BSc (Honours) Creative Computing and Digital Innovation will be delivered at the Institute’s Wexford Campus while the other three will be based at the Carlow Campus.

Speaking at the launch event, Dr Patricia Mulcahy, President, Institute of Technology Carlow commented, “Our Institute continues to focus on building regional and national capacity in key discipline areas closely aligned to our growing and developing economy. In addition to the discipline-specific knowledge and skills inherent in all our new academic programmes, there is ample opportunity for participants to develop the distinctive attributes of our graduates to ensure successful careers, lives and contribution to society. This is only possible because of the close engagement of our faculty with a broad range of national and international industry, academic and civic partners in the design, validation, delivery and assessment of all programmes. I sincerely thank and commend all those involved in the launch of these four new programmes today.”

Several of the region’s business leaders were at the launch event at Institute of Technology Carlow and endorsed the portfolio of new programmes.

Speaking at the launch, John Clarke, Head of Marketing Research and Insight at Glanbia, commented, "As a large multinational we can see the need locally, nationally and globally for high calibre digital marketing graduates, especially those with data analysis skills. Skills which are becoming ever more essential to driving growth and value for Irish businesses. Glanbia is delighted to see IT Carlow launching its new degree in Digital Marketing with Analytics, as it will deliver graduates with the right blend of skills across marketing, design, digital technologies and data analysis that are so in demand."

“The current business battleground is the battle for creative and technology talent as these skills drive immense value globally and across all industries. Creative technology is where the jobs of the future will be and the skills that graduates of the BSc (Hons) in Creative Computing and Digital Innovation will acquire as creative technologists will be in high demand”, said Rose Power, Head of Operations at Scurri.

Designed to meet industry demand for highly qualified ICT graduates, the Bachelor of Science (Honours) Computing in Interactive Digital Art and Design will develop the skills required to become professional technical digital artists and developers. The honours degree course was developed in collaboration with industry experts across a broad range of disciplines, including animation, game and software development, medical and human computer interaction technology and devices. As experts in concept design, art production and graphics programming, graduates will be sought after by industries such as games and application development, entertainment media, simulation, virtual reality, animation and film production.

"These industries need professionals who are focused on creating designs that assist in ease of use of complex technology, thereby rendering it accessible to people," commented Nigel Whyte, Head of the Department of Computing at Institute of Technology Carlow. "Interactive Digital Art and Design is one of the most creative careers within technology industry. As concept creators, graduates will directly influence product design.”

The new Bachelor of Science (Honours) Creative Computing and Digital Innovation is focused on the creative use of software and emerging technology in order to innovate and solve problems. The course is inspired by two exciting developments in computing, Disruptive Innovation and Digital Transformation. Successful graduates will be able to creatively apply software technology to solve problems and operate at this dynamic nexus of computing and business in a range of roles, including web and mobile developer; DevOps engineer; social media integration; business data analyst and digital entrepreneur.

The Bachelor of Science (Honourss) Digital Marketing with Analytics blends the customer and commercial focus of marketing with design and digital technology, and the analytical world of data. It will provide highly qualified and creative marketing graduates, while integrated live business projects and work placement modules will provide new and enhanced opportunities to engage with local and regional business for many years to come, according to the Institute.

With Ireland home to some of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, the Bachelor of Science (Honours) Pharmaceutics and Drug Formulation is a unique programme that has been designed in consultation with industry experts. Graduates will be skilled pharmaceutical and analytical scientists with excellent knowledge in drug formulation who will be highly employable in a range of pharma roles, including laboratory and technical work, product development and quality control.

The new suite of programmes brings to 80 the total number of taught programmes to Level 9 on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) by Institute of Technology Carlow, which has seen a 70% increase in student enrolments in the last five years. The 8,300-strong student body originates from every county in Ireland and from over 100 different nations, based on published Higher Education Authority statistics.

Photo shows: Business leaders and course directors pictured with Dr. Patricia Mulcahy and David Denieffe at the launch of four new honours degree courses at Institute of Technology Carlow