Microcredentials are gaining popularity across Ireland and in workplaces, but what are micro-credentials, and who should consider enrolling on one?

Applications are now open for the Microcredential Learner fee Subsidy which offers an 80% reduction in fees on selected microcredentials for eligible learners

UCC Microcreds project team were delighted to host the Erasmus + funded Super Diversity and Micro-credentials event at UCC this week. Held in the Dora Allman Room in the Student Hub, the event was well attended both in person and online. Colleagues from the UNIC project, IUA partners and from across UCC joined.

Dr Jean Van Sinderen-Law, Director of UNIC at UCC, opened proceedings by welcoming colleagues. Dr Van Sinderen-Law introduced the concept of Super Diversity and outlined some of the plans for the next four years of the UNIC project including the development of Micro-credentials. Superdiversity means a high degree of diversity in a population. the term captures the growing complexity of diversity, including complex mixtures of ethnicity, race, gender, sexuality, culture, religion, social status, economic status, legal status, lifestyle and more. It reflects how our cities are home to a rich mix of people of different backgrounds and identities.

• New microcredential to strengthen the talent pipeline for Ireland’s BioPharmaChem sector.
• The global top 10 Biopharmaceutical companies operate in Ireland.
• 84,000 employed in the sector and this is expected to will increase by up to 10,000 jobs over the next five years.

University College Cork (UCC) and BioPharmaChem Skillnet have launched a new micro-credential to support the continued growth of Ireland’s BioPharmaChem sector.

The BioPharmaChem sector has grown exponentially in recent years; there are now more than 84,000 highly skilled people directly and indirectly employed in the sector. It is projected that this will increase by up to 10,000 jobs over the next 5 years.

The ‘Certificate in Continuing Professional Development: An Introduction to BioPharmaceuticals and Advanced Personalised Therapies’ has been developed by Adult Continuing Education (ACE) at UCC, in collaboration with UCC’s School of Biochemistry and Cell Biology and BioPharmaChem Skillnet. This new course was funded through Skillnet Ireland, the national talent development agency of the Government of Ireland.

The HCI Pillar 3 midterm review and project exhibition was launched on 29^th June last in the convention centre, Dublin. The midterm report demonstrates that the programme is exceeding its targets on the creation of new courses, with over 1,000 created – 800 more than the initial target. Over 4,000 additional student places have been achieved through direct funding, with a significant number still expected as projects mature. The event exhibition provided a showcase all the 24 projects innovations and collaborations, which make up our HCI Pillar 3 collaboration nation.

MicroCreds.ie will be officially launched on the 12th of July by Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris T.D, and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Simon Coveney T.D. 

On Thursday 1^st June the very first MicroCreds Symposium took place in University College Cork. It was wonderful to see so many colleagues from near and far come together to share their experiences thus far with MicroCreds and learn from each other. 

The #MicroCredsIE Team were delighted to be involved in the Peer Learning Activity on #microcredentials held over the last two days which was organised in collaboration with European Commission and Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science

In a session tailored for experts in lifelong learning across Ireland and Europe the MicroCreds HCI Pillar 3 funded programme team outlined the development of the national framework for ECTS bearing, quality assured microcredentials.

MicroCreds@UCC was officially launched on Tuesday 26th April in the Dora Allman Room. Prof Stephen Byrne welcomed everyone to the launch of the HCI Pillar 3 funded Multi-Campus MicroCreds project in UCC. UCC in conjunction with the IUA and the other six IUA universities we have received 12.3 M in funding to support the national roll out of microcredentials.