Dr. Sean McSweeney:

I thank Professor O'Shea. One of the specific challenges that Professor O'Shea has mentioned multiple times - the committee will have heard it coming across in the opening statements - is consistency in terms of programmes and ensuring there is consistent mapping. A number of mechanisms could be used. An analogue to this is the Institute of Engineers Ireland where programmes could be validated to ensure they meet the set requirements for knowledge, skills and abilities. Within MTU and a number of other academic institutions, we have a tradition of producing skills-based programmes so we are naturally aligned to some of these frameworks.

It is imperative we come up with a consistent approach across the country for this because it is a risk for us in terms of maximising our economic capacity for a number of the emerging technologies.