A new Enterprise Excellence Group has been established at WIT Business School, as evidence of the continued commitment by WIT to the creation of new knowledge, innovative products and services in the region. It provides the creating spaces for networking, knowledge exchange and an opportunity to engage with cutting edge ideas in lean management theory and practice.

1. TheSunday BusinessPost
May24,2015
Focus On 33
Postgraduate & 4th Level Education a special 4-page report
C
ork Institute of
Technology (CIT)
offers a wide range
oftaughtpostgrad-
uate programmes
in business and humanities,
engineering, science and in-
formatics, music, art, design
and media communications.
Its taught programmes are
internationally recognised
and prepare the graduate for
a career in the workplace, or
forthosealreadyworking,this
further qualification can en-
hancetheircareerorperhaps
help them transition onto a
different path.
According to Dr Niall
Smith, head of research, CIT,
“Our taught programmes are
updated to ensure they are
relevant, job-centred and
reflect current trends. They
are designed to be intellec-
tuallystimulatingwithafocus
on developing independent
thinkingandproblem-solving
capabilities.”
CITattractsmorethan1,100
international students from
over125countries,andoffers
lotsofsupportstohelpthemfit
into their new environment.
“CIT is home to over 200
research postgraduates, of
which two-thirds are PhDs,”
said Smith. “From Septem-
ber2015,allnewly-registered
PhDswillenrolonstructured
PhDs, which include addi-
tional supports/structures
suchaspersonaldevelopment
plans, supervisory panels to
provide advice and support
beyondtheresearchitselfand,
ofcourse,taughtmodules -15
credits minimum, 30 credits
max – which are intended to
help students with their re-
searchandwithpreparingfor
life after the viva.”
Withtwice-yearlyprogress
reportsandmentoringadvice,
aCITresearchpostgraduateis
supported from the day they
decide to register until they
graduate, said Smith.
CIT attracts research fund-
ingofaround€20millionper
annum and focuses on the-
matic areas in which it has
forgedastrongreputationand
isinternationallycompetitive,
for example, in areas such as
the ‘internet of things’, pho-
tonics,lifesciences,entrepre-
neurship and education.
“The publication record
among CIT research teams is
comparable in standing with
the university sector and ex-
ceeds in some disciplines,”
said Smith. “Our record of
generating IP is excellent.
Knowledge Transfer Ireland
datashowsthatCIT’sreturnin
termsoflicences,patentsand
inventiondisclosuresoutper-
forms the university sector.”
Suchachievementsarehard
won, but are vitally import-
antastheyservetoattracttop
graduates to research post-
graduate positions at CIT.
“Those who have an inter-
estinasubsequentacademic
careercanbeaccommodated
into the appropriate research
team,whilethosewithanin-
terestinworkingmoreclosely
withindustrycanbesimilarly
obliged,thankstoCIT’sstrong
industry focus and links.”
Discussingrecentachieve-
ments,Smithsaid:“Research-
ersfromCIT’sNimbusCentre
for Embedded Systems Re-
search have been successful
in winning funding for two
prestigious ‘Horizon 2020’
Projects in the ‘ICT for En-
ergy Efficient Buildings’ call
2015,withapproximately€1.5
million from the EU funding
programme awarded as part
of the development of two
international projects.”
Thefactthatoneofitsthree
successful proposals scored
highestoutof40internation-
al proposals, underpins CIT’s
growingreputationandinter-
national standing.
Dr Dirk Pesch, head of the
Nimbus Centre, said: “This is
ahugelypositiveachievement
forIrishresearch,simultane-
ously elevating the impact of
Ireland on the European En-
ergy stage and assisting jobs,
education and innovation
at home. The funding will
continue to strengthen the
research happening in Nim-
bus, and CIT, on the ‘ener-
gy efficient buildings’ topic.
This contributes to creating a
sustainable Europe for future
generations.”
Meanwhile, industry and
research projects already
under way at the ‘National
Sustainable-Building Energy
Test-Bed’, located on cam-
pus at CIT, will help improve
Europe’s energy efficiency,
reducing the gap between
predicted and actual energy
performances in buildings,
thereby improving carbon
emissions and saving money.
For further information email
graduate.school@cit.ie or tel
021-433-5099
By Margaret O’Brien
I
n an increasingly com-
petitive and rapidly
changing labour mar-
ket, upgrading your
qualifications has never
been more important. With
finalexamsformostprimary
degree students all but over,
many are weighing up their
options.
Some will choose to con-
tinue on their education path
by starting a Master’s degree
or professional qualification
thisautumn;otherswilldefer
that option for a year or two.
Allareawarethattosucceed
andbuildameaningfulcareer,
a primary degree is no longer
theeducationend-lineitonce
was.Today,itisthefoundation
stone of a lifetime of further
education and training.
Forthisyear’scropofgrad-
uates, one-year conversion
programmes continue to be
very popular as a means to
develop a niche qualification
or to match their skills with
sectorsexperiencingshortages
suchaspharmaceuticalandIT.
For such students, a con-
version course, and there are
plenty to choose from, rep-
resents a means of getting
a foot on the career ladder.
Thosealreadyinemployment
make choices on a very dif-
ferent basis, choosing pro-
grammes that will fast-track
theircareerorindeedtoshow
their ambition and intent to
their employers.
TheMBAisstillperceivedas
the pinnacle qualification for
thosewithmanagementam-
bitions.AnMBAisdesignedto
educatestudentsinareassuch
asfinances,humanresources,
marketing, strategy and op-
erations management. As a
generalmanagementdegree,
it offers a holistic view of the
business world and is gen-
erally credited with helping
holders to better their career
and salary prospects.
In the landscape of post-
graduate education here in
Ireland, doctoral studies are
once more gaining traction.
The rise of focused, and in-
ternationally competitive
research centres across the
campuses of most of our
universities and Institutes of
Technology,hasdeliveredop-
portunitiesforthoseinterested
inpursuingfurtherqualifica-
tions through research.
The good news for those
seeking further education
opportunities,isthattheywill
are spoilt for choice. Perhaps
the most difficult part of the
equation is making the deci-
sionaboutwhichcoursethey
should opt for.
A
new Enterprise
ExcellenceGroup
has been estab-
lished at WIT
Business School,
as evidence of the contin-
ued commitment by WIT to
the creation of new knowl-
edge, innovative products
and services in the region. It
provides the creating spaces
for networking, knowledge
exchangeandanopportunity
to engage with cutting edge
ideas in lean management
theory and practice.
This year saw the Enter-
prise Excellence Group host
thethirdAnnualLeanForum
eventatWITBusinessSchool,
an event which has attracted
attention from practitioners,
policy makers, academics
and the south east business
community.
Aswellashostingthisevent
the WIT Lean Enterprise Ex-
cellenceGroupoffersanum-
berofexecutiveprogrammes
(wit.ie/lean), designed to
meet identified industry
needsfordiscreteknowledge
andskillsetsinleanenterprise
and operational excellence,
and to cater for employees at
differentlevelswithinorgan-
isations.
The programme portfolio
includes a Masters and Post-
graduate Diploma (Level 9),
a Higher Diploma (Level 8),
a Diploma (Level 7); and also
PhD qualifications.
Darrin Taylor, co-director
of the WIT Lean Enterprise
ExcellenceGroup,said:“Suc-
cess in lean enterprise excel-
lence requires both “hard”
and “soft” skills – hard skills
encompassing lean tools and
techniques, and soft skills
such as lean thinking and
employee engagement. Too
manyorganisationsmakethe
oftenfatalerroroffocusingon
thehardskillsandneglecting
thesoftskills.Thisresultsina
fractured organisation as the
tools and techniques on their
own will only get you so far
along in the journey towards
enterprise excellence.”
Without developing soft
skills, the organisation will
at best create only pockets of
excellencemannedbyaselect
fewwell-trainedindividuals.
The WIT Lean Management
programmes take a balanced
approach to ensure overall
excellence.
“In addition to examining
the ‘hard’ elements, includ-
ing the requisite lean tools
and techniques, operation-
al and business analytics,
and project management,
the factor distinguishing the
leanprogrammesatWITfrom
those in other universities is
the opportunity afforded to
participants to attain an ap-
preciationforwiderorganisa-
tionalcontexts,cross-sectoral
applications, manufacturing
andserviceorientations,and
thecritical“soft”elementsof
lean,” said Taylor.
“This ethos and approach
is aligned to the Shingo Mod-
el, an approach wherein the
principles, systems, and cul-
ture and behaviours integral
to lean enterprise excellence
are synthesised and exam-
ined. Students examine lean
philosophyandthinking;lean
leadership; lean strategy and
hoshin kanri; systems think-
ingandthelearningorganisa-
tion; organisational culture,
employee engagement, and
leantransformation;andlean
coaching and communica-
tions.
“The programmes provide
abalancedapproachbetween
the academic and the prac-
tical, and include extensive
industry collaboration via
live-laboratory assignment
projects; site visits; guest
speakers; and contributors
to ongoing events.
“This industry-academia
engagementhasseentheWIT
Lean Enterprise Excellence
Group create an invaluable
regionalandnationalassetin
the form of a community of
learning and practice around
LeanandShingo,bestseenin
the Annual WIT Lean Forum
and the ongoing Lean Practi-
tioner Seminar Series.”
The 3rd Annual WIT Lean
Forum, held earlier this
month, saw 250 delegates
from 67 public and private
organisationsacrossallmanu-
facturingandservicessectors
hearhowIrelandhasbecome
aworldleaderinimplement-
ingLeanEnterpriseandOper-
ationalExcellence.Therewere
presentations from Professor
Peter Hines, plus Irish-based
global exemplars including
DePuy Synthes, Lake Region
Medical, Genzyme (a Sanofi
company), Teva Pharma-
ceuticals Ireland, and Jones
Engineering.
Professor Peter Hines, ac-
ademic, practitioner, senior
certifiedShingofacilitator,and
world-renownedleanthought
leader,wasrecentlyappointed
visiting professor at the WIT
Business School. He said: “A
key part in achieving enter-
priseexcellenceinbusinesses
is the staff learning and de-
velopmentsystem.Whilethis
has a different feel in every
company,acommonfeatureis
theattendanceateventssuch
asWIT’sAnnualLeanForum,
as well as participation in the
type of lean masters offered
at WIT.”
Hinessaidhewaspleasedto
cement his relationship with
WIT by becoming a visiting
professor. “I see the Institute
as the pre-eminent hub for
Lean and Shingo in Ireland,
and I hope to help WIT build
on their existing activity.”
For further information contact
Darrin Taylor or Aidan Walsh,
co-directors of the WIT Lean
Enterprise Excellence Group, at
dtaylor@wit.ie or awalsh@wit.ie,
or see wit.ie/lean
CIT:animportantsteppingstone
CorkInstituteofTechnology’sinternationally
recognisedcoursesandlinkswithindustry
preparegraduatesforsuccessfulcareers
Lean andmeanlearningatWIT
Programme directors Darrin Taylor and Aidan Walsh
pictured with keynote speakers and WIT faculty at the recent
Annual Lean Forum event at WIT, held on May 14
This year’s Rísam awardees with the President, Dr Brendan Murphy and the Dean of Graduate
Studies, Dr Stephen Cassidy
Advancingbydegreesasstudentsweighupoptions
Graduate Research Opportunities
Open Evening - 26th May
Tuesday 26th May, 2015
Courtyard,
DIT Aungier St, Dublin 2
Time: 4 to 6 pm
www.dit.ie/graduateresearchschool GradResearchatDIT @GRS_DIT
Looking to further your career
with a postgraduate research
Join us at the DIT Graduate Research
more about our MPhil and PhD Projects!
Meet supervisors and researchers to
discuss your research interests
•
• Get expert advice on funding,
applications and research career
@ RCSI 2015
RCSI offers a broad range of taught and research postgraduate courses to Level 10
NFQ for healthcare professionals; managers; and biomedical, health services and
population health researchers.
These range from Masters degrees to PhDs across the full spectrum of healthcare
disciplines including Clinical Medicine, Biomedical Sciences, Population Health,
Surgery, Nursing & Midwifery, Physiotherapy, Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences,
Healthcare Ethics, Management and Leadership.
EXCITING POSTGRADUATE
DEGREE OPPORTUNITIES
IN HEALTH SCIENCES
FROM RCSI
EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE IN SURGERY I MEDICINE I PHARMACY I PHYSIOTHERAPY I NURSING & MIDWIFERY I
RESEARCH I LEADERSHIP I POSTGRADUATE STUDIES I RADIOLOGY I DENTISTRY I SPORTS & EXERCISE MEDICINE
RCSI has been at the forefront of educating healthcare professionals since 1784. With
a heritage in surgery, RCSI is an independent degree awarding body across the health
sciences spectrum, from undergraduate medicine through to health sciences PhDs.
Based in Dublin and offering a range of part-time and blended learning opportunities
for study, alongside full time PhD research degrees, RCSI is dedicated to the
development of healthcare leaders who make a difference worldwide.
Postgraduate Diplomas, Masters Degrees, PhDs in:
› Clinical Medicine
› Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences
› Nursing & Midwifery
› Physiotherapy
› Surgery
› Healthcare Ethics & Law
› Healthcare Leadership
› Healthcare Management, Quality & Safety
› Translational Health: biomedical to health
services & population health themes
For further information: email postgraduateschool@rcsi.ie or
visit rcsi.ie/schoolofpostgraduatestudies