Will our talented graduates trump tariffs? UCC hub hopes so
Dr Anna Scanlan in the podcast recording studio at the iEd hub, located in the ASSERT Centre in the Brookfield Health Sciences Complex on College Road, Cork. Picture: Larry Cummins
In front of me in the Assert Research Centre in the College of Medicine and Health at University College Cork (UCC), is a giant industrial vat.
To my right, there are rows and rows of steel clinical equipment, and to my left, there are more stations filled with lab equipment.
Technicians are dotted here and there, hard at work and dressed in their full kits.
For all intents and purposes, I’m standing on the processing floor of a busy, sterile, biopharmaceutical plant, surrounded by the hustle and bustle that accompanies the manufacturing process.
Except I’m not; I’m standing instead inside the 360-degree immersive suite at the new iEd hub, a joint project between UCC and Munster Technological University (MTU), attempting to bridge a gap between industry and academia.
Biopharmaceutical plants tend to be a closed environment usually, given the strict rules and regulations the industry must follow. Coupled with having to meet high level regulatory compliance while also balancing health and safety, they can be overwhelming for new graduates.
It can also be costly for the employers tasked with training them.
Enter immersive education, a new approach to teaching and learning using virtual reality and 360-degree video to replicate the real-life environments and situations students are likely to encounter in the workplace.
It's a key feature of the iEd Hub, which is focused on bridging the gap between the academic and industry, which tends to favour practical skills and expertise over theoretical knowledge and research.
The is the first invited to tour the project’s facilities for students, which include simulation rooms, 3D printing labs, VR and podcasting spaces, and a 360-degree immersive environment.
Bringing together different experts across medicine, pharmacy, business, and engineering, the project has close ties to a wide range of both major multinational and indigenous companies in the region working in pharma, biopharma, biotech, medtech, and healthtech.
The iEd’s VR and simulation rooms immerse students in the kind of scenarios they are likely to face in the workplace, preparing them to hit the ground running.
There’s a focus on teamwork with group projects and collaboration between students, as well as on different types of non-traditional assessment such as presentations, pitches and podcasts.
In practical terms, it’s costly for companies to train new grads to a high level to meet the needs of fast paced industry. Chief among the goals of the iEd Hub is that graduates are industry-ready from day on.
It has built up relationships and networks with big industry names region like Stryker, Pfizer, Boston Scientific, Eli Lilly, Bio Marin, and Johnson & Johnson to map out what skills major employers are looking for.
“There’s a healthy tension there between industry and academia,” iEd Hub head Professor Mark Tangney.
Working closely with the different sectors, as well as the different regional skills groups, they pinpoint where we are lacking in certain skills, according to vice head Professor Ger Kelly.
The Hub has industry liaison officers, as well as an advisory and liaison group of made up of different enterprise stakeholders, and an industry partner group.
“You can’t just design a programme for Stryker or Pfizer individually, for example," Professor Kelly said.
"You’ve got to look at the broader picture and look at the skills that are missing. Depending on the groups, you can tailor the response to that industry or sector in need.”
The approach at the iEd Hub appears to be working; Anecdotally, lectures have been told some of the companies they work with have shortened the time to competence by two years.
There may be ill-winds blowing towards Ireland as US President Donald Trump threatens special tariffs targeting US multinationals with investments here.
Pharmaceuticals are responsible for the bulk of Irish exports to the States. The months ahead will be key, but for now and into the future, maintaining a talent pipeline will be crucial.
“There will be a bit of a whirlwind blowing through,” said Ger Kelly.
"Realistically, they all can’t bail out tomorrow and move to the States. They don’t have the graduates or the talent pipeline there. Both institutions have spent a long time, working with industry, developing that talent pipeline.”
“We have a level of engagement with enterprise and industry that just doesn’t exist internationally. While it's easy to say ‘we’re going to shut everything down and move across’ the reality is, that’s not feasible.” Long-term, Ireland needs to prioritise its talented pipeline of graduates, according to Professor Mark Tangney.
With one in every five Cork jobs directly dependent on non-Irish owned pharma companies, the iEd hub project is also hoping to reduce the country’s over reliance on multi-nationals, he added.
“We need to build our own Irish companies in the life sciences sector.” “We do need to keep our value up. It might not happen this year, or next, but in five years' time, when new products come online companies will search globally and ad ask ‘which country will make this next, new drug?”
"Long term, it still is a risk that Ireland needs to be mindful of.”
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