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MOU signed with Wisconsin Technical Colleges
New Irish education agreement signed with US State of Wisconsin
Wisconsin Technical Colleges to send students to Irish Institutes of Technology
Institutes of Technology Ireland (IOTI) on Wednesday 12th September 2012 signed an agreement in Dublin with Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) which is intended to lead to students from Wisconsin coming to Ireland from 2014 to study in Irish Institutes of Technology.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will bring a high-level delegation to Ireland next summer from 16 Wisconsin Technical Colleges to familiarise themselves with the opportunities for student placement here.
The MOU covers:
- Student exchange programs including credit course enrolment and internship placement;
- Customised short-term student tours;
- Professional development of faculty and administrative staff including exchanges;
- Inter-system transfer of student credit and mobility;
- Distance education, virtual exchanges, and joint online projects;
- Collaboration and innovation in the development of joint projects, grant proposals, or
other mutually beneficial initiatives.
Wisconsin Technical College System is made up of 16 colleges across the State which offer over 300 programmes to some 380,000 learners each year, including two year associate degrees, one and two year technical diplomas, short term technical certificates and customised training directly for business and industry. The average age of students is 29, with approximately 25% being recent high school graduates.
Wisconsin is situated in the Great Lakes region of north central USA. It is the 20th most populous state in the USA with 5.7 million people and is bordered by the states of Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois and Michigan.
The MOU was signed by Gerry Murray, Chief Executive of IOTI and Dan Clancy, President of WTCS. The Wisconsin delegation leading the signing is headed by Dr Geoff Bradshaw, Director of International Education, Madison Area Technical College, on behalf of WTCS who both hailed the agreement as precedent-setting in Wisconsin and Ireland.
Gerry Murray said: “This agreement is unique because it is ‘system to system’, not just an agreement between individual institutions. It is an exciting opportunity for students from Wisconsin to substantially broaden their education experience by coming to Ireland, and for our students to go in the opposite direction.”
“I am confident that both parties can learn from each other through this MOU. The Wisconsin Colleges have developed particularly close links with local business through a system of strong employer advisory boards which guide curriculum needs, and there is interest in the USA in the Irish approach to applied research and business incubation in the Institutes of Technology.”
Dr Geoff Bradshaw said: “The agreement offers tremendous mobility and flexibility to our students. Wisconsin and Ireland share major employment sectors such as information technology, software development, hospitality and tourism. There are opportunities in Ireland for American undergraduate students to gain technical exposure and internships in business that will increase the economic capacity of the workforce in both places.”
“The MOU also prepares the way for the European Commission’s new Erasmus for All programme due to be launched in 2014 which will provide learning opportunities for students within the EU and with non-EU countries such as the USA.”