Munster Technological University (MTU) shortlisted for three awards at a global event recognising the role of universities in the community

• The Munster-based university has been shortlisted for two European awards and one Global award

• MTU received the most awards of any Irish university

• It is the second consecutive year the university has been shortlisted for the prestigious awards

MTU is shortlisted for three awards at a global event in recognition of its pioneering work with the wider community. This includes training prisoners for work in the culinary arts industry, collaborating with second-level students on sustainability goals to build a brighter future, and forging partnerships with industry partners and community groups.

MTU received the most nominations of any higher education institution in Ireland for the ACEEU Triple E Awards. It will join with the London School of Economics, Trinity College Dublin and Brunel University as well as a host of other top-ranked third-level institutions at the prestigious awards ceremony to be held in Barcelona from June 26th-29th 2023.

It is the second consecutive year for MTU to reach the finals of the ACEEU Triple E Awards.

The Munster-based third-level institution is a finalist in three categories, all of which celebrate universities’ quest for entrepreneurship and engagement in higher education.

The three awards MTU has been shortlisted for are:

• (Global Awards) Engaged University of the Year: MTU Extended Campus 

• (European Awards) EDI Community Engagement Initiative of the Year: The Open Door – Pop-up Restaurant at Cork Prison  

• (European Awards) SDG Education programme of the Year: MTU GoldMine Programme 

Professor Irene Sheridan, Founder and Head of MTU Extended Campus said, “Being shortlisted for the Engaged University of the Year in the Global Award category is a recognition of MTU’s commitment to, and leadership in, engagement throughout the university as a whole. We are not just ready to engage, but we are proactive in seeking out opportunities.”

Professor Sheridan added, “We know that building and developing relationships requires long-term commitment and our committed team values our relationships with public, private and not-for-profit organisations. This kind of international recognition is really supportive and our links with international organisations such as ACEEU help us to ensure that we are informed by international best practice.”

MTU Extended Campus works to break down barriers between the university and the community as it seeks to build an extended campus. MTU is doing this in several important ways, through a clear interface for external organisations to interact with MTU staff, students and researchers and by building a professional ‘case management’ approach to interactions and collating shared examples of good practice in engagement to ‘light the way’. Through the Extended Campus model, MTU is committed to be the most industry, enterprise, arts, culture, and community engaged university in the region while providing clear enterprise engagement pathways.

The Open-Door Restaurant: Unlocking Potential is a truly unique collaboration between MTU, Cork ETB, Irish Association for Social Inclusion Opportunities and Cork Prison working together to train and educate prisoners to improve and develop their culinary skills and workplace learning. The programme culminated in a pop-up restaurant, aptly called ‘The Open Door’ allowing the students on the programme to demonstrate (and be assessed) on their knowledge and skills in the culinary domain. Subsequently four former prisoners are now working in the culinary arts, while two other were offered jobs pending release

The GoalMine Programme at MTU develops creative, innovative, and entrepreneurial skills in young people. Students collaborate in teams to address the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030 by creating future-oriented solutions. Using facilitation methods, business tools, and engaging activities, GoalMine cultivates an innovation mindset and fosters problem-solving, critical thinking, and entrepreneurship. It is delivered to Transition Year students at ‘DEIS Schools’ (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools), having a direct impact on socially, economically, or educationally disadvantaged individuals and communities. The GoalMine Programme  fun living-lab experience uses a design-driven innovation process to stimulate and ignite the innate problem-solving, critical thinking, and innovative mindset of the participants through applied entrepreneurial and creative learning.

About MTU
Munster Technological University is a multi-campus technological university consisting of six campuses across the South-West region in Cork and Kerry, and a student body of 18,000. It is a leader in higher education both regionally and internationally through the provision of academic programmes that support student development and opportunities, education and research.

About the Triple E Awards

The Triple E Awards are a global recognition of efforts toward the quest for entrepreneurship and engagement in higher education and are awarded annually by the Accreditation Council for Entrepreneurial and Engaged Universities (ACEEU). It is the first award to focus specifically on different dimensions of the universities’ third mission. Implemented regionally, the Triple E Awards aim to foster change in universities and to emphasise their role in their communities and ecosystems.