TUS 'Learning Gate' project launched at Offaly hubs

The ‘TUS Learning Gate’ project is to be rolled out throughout the Midlands region and beyond, ensuring Higher Education opportunities are available to those living and working in these surrounding regions.

The Junction, Tullamore TUS Learning Gate Hub is now one of three impressive hubs in Offaly running the programme, alongside Stream Birr and eHive Edenderry.

The ‘TUS Learning Gate’, a concept introduced by Dr Michael Tobin, Dean of Faculty of Continuing, Professional, Online and Distance Learning, seeks to formally establish a location/space where TUS students and academic staff may meet and learn together, through the provision of one of the many online programmes provided by the Faculty of Continuing, Professional, Online and Distance Learning at TUS Athlone Campus.

The ‘TUS Learning Gate’ represents a space where TUS lecturers may deliver their lectures online, where students may study and access the TUS library online, where students may view their online lectures, meet to discuss projects, and/or complete group work based on the requirements of the programme that they are taking with the University. The objective is to enable students to study and work locally yet have a learning space to go to that is warm, comfortable, and set up to meet their needs.

Dr Tobin added: “The TUS Learning Gate locations are all ideally located, and organised as a remote working hub, like here in The Junction Tullamore, with desks and offices already in place, enabling students to have some of the third level experience in their local towns. Additionally, it minimises the necessity to travel to Athlone when attempting to seek out a quiet and professional space to work in.”

The concept he continued: “arose from student/lecturer feedback commenting that online learning students were often meeting in hotel foyers for group work, that their local broadband wasn’t good enough or that they had no quiet place to study or to access their online classes. However, all of this is now solved with this progressive partnership between The Junction and other remote working hubs and TUS, where together they are opening the ’TUS Learning Gate’, thereby resolving those issues for those living in these regions and their surrounding area”.

Declan Doran, Business Development and Work Practice Coordinator believes “The ‘Learning Gate’ will also represent a location where TUS may host information events and other such activities – broadening our reach and ensuring we are providing accessible education via online learning channels across the Midlands.

"This is in addition to creating an identity within each respective Learning Gate location, that TUS is present and seeking to work with local industry in designing programmes and research opportunities. TUS will use this as a location to proactively seek funding to support learning opportunities locally under various government and other initiatives e.g., Springboard+, ICT Skills, and the Human Capital Initiative. Programmes will be identified through consultation with local stakeholders and designed to support those working and living (and possibly commuting) in the vicinity of each TUS Learning Gate location. Our objective is to deliver relevant, accessible programmes locally or in a location affiliated with the ‘TUS Learning Gate.”

Professor Vincent Cunnane, president of the Technological University of the Shannon further added: “The objective of the ‘TUS Learning Gate’ is to bring the delivery of Higher Education to these regions, to ensure that those living and working in these localities can access flexible part-time Higher Education programmes, as delivered by TUS locally. This will go some way towards supporting these regions social, business, and industrial communities through the provision of access to appropriate skilled staff, through either upskilling or re-skilling opportunities, to be made available through the partnership between each remote working hub and TUS and locally enabled by the ‘TUS Learning Gate’ concept.”

Mary Hensey, manager of e-Hive Edenderry and The Junction Tullamore said she was delighted to team up with TUS on this new concept. "Our hubs offer calm professional spaces with an essential range of facilities such as fast broadband, and Eduroam that support learning, and encourage collaboration among members whether you are a student or an established business. We are located throughout the county ensuring location is no longer an obstacle to accessing higher education.”

In recent years, TUS has been very successful in receiving funding through the Springboard+, HCI and ICT Skills initiatives, all initiatives that make learning and upskilling available to many cohorts of people (employed, unemployed, and others) on a part-time flexible basis. In the current academic year, the University has over 2000 students, predominantly adults studying their range of programmes each week from all 32 counties availing of their range of part-time flexible programmes delivered in an online learning mode across disciplines including Business, Law, Leadership, Quality and Lean, Logistics, Packaging, Executive Management and many more. And, indeed going forward these students would like to see 'Learning Gate' project established in all counties. The ‘TUS Learning Gate’ concept in The Junction Tullamore, Stream Birr, and eHive Edenderry represents a facility specifically for those students, as they wish to work and study with fellow students in a professional environment, with access to a dedicated desk and Wi-Fi.

The ‘TUS Learning Gate’ represents a space where TUS lecturers may deliver their lectures online, where students may study and access the TUS library online through Eduroam. Students may view their online lectures, meet to discuss projects, and/or complete group work based on the requirements of the programme that they are taking with the University.