UNIC Programme Recognised at Irish National Education Awards

9 May 2025

A Master’s programme created via the University of Post-Industrial Cities in Transition (UNIC) alliance and jointly delivered by eight universities, including University College Cork (UCC) was recently announced as the ‘Best Master’s Programme – Science, Technology and Built Environment’ at the Education Awards 2025. 

The winning programme MSc Redesigning the Post-Industrial City (RePIC), is a multidisciplinary master’s degree with a mission to develop a dynamic network of urban thinkers with the capacity to contribute to future-oriented, avant-garde thinking on the revitalisation of the post-industrial city. RePIC was developed by UNIC, an EU-funded European universities alliance connecting ten universities across Europe to work with their cities and with one another to tackle urban challenges and develop shared, sustainable futures. Viewing the city as an experimental living laboratory, RePIC students are encouraged to participate actively in the transformation of society by developing an understanding of local city environments and by creating research-based solutions to its problems and challenges. 

The eight universities involved in delivering the programme are Ruhr University Bochum, University College Cork, Koç University Istanbul, University of Zagreb, University of Liège, Erasmus University Rotterdam, University of Deusto Bilbao, and University of Oulu.

The programme is led at UCC by Dr Jason O’Shaughnessy (Architecture) and Dr Denis Linehan (Geography). The academic co-ordinator at lead university Ruhr University Bochum is Prof. Thomas Feldhoff in the faculty of Human Geosciences. A highlight of the programme is the integration of the CityLabs approach, developed by UCC with expert input from Dr Martin Galvin and Ciara O’Halloran from Research Culture, Engagement and Impact (Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation). RePIC’s teaching staff in UCC are Cathal Mulry, Michelle Delea, David Concannon, Victor Gekker and Jedda Desmond. 

Dr Jason O’Shaughnessy, one of the two programme directors, commented, “We are delighted with this recognition for our collaborative endeavour. As part of UNIC, the Course has created an educational experience which critically responds to issues of cities in different forms and stages of post-industrial transition.  It has also allowed us to form new thinking around the education of the next generation of specialists with the 21st century skills and knowledge which is needed to address the challenges and opportunities of cities in transition and superdiverse societies.”  

Developing a joint master’s programme between eight separate universities was not a straightforward task and involved creativity, resilience and intricate collaboration across the UNIC consortium to overcome variation in rules, financial models, term-times and registration processes across universities.

In UCC this work involved colleagues in legal, finance, academic secretariat, office of the Deputy President & Registrar, UNIC office, and the academic units (Architecture; Geography; College of Science, Engineering and Food Science). The success of that effort is also reflected in previous milestones for the programme. RePIC is the first Irish degree to be fully accredited via the European Approach for the Quality Assurance of Joint Programmes. The programme was awarded prestigious Erasmus Mundus Design Measures and Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters awards in 2022 and 2023 respectively; the latter enables Erasmus Mundus scholarships to be awarded to top student applicants. 

Watch a short video about the student experience of CityLabs Week in RePIC: RePIC CityLabs Week at University College Cork