by Sharon Flynn, NTUTORR programme, Ireland.
N-TUTORR (National Technological University Transformation for Recovery and Resilience) is an ambitious programme to transform student learning in the Irish technological higher education sector. The programme is funded under Ireland’s National Recovery and Resilience Programme by the European Union and Next Generation EU, and runs from May 2022 to December 2024. It involves seven technological universities and institutes of technology and is co-ordinated by a central programme management office based in the Technological Higher Education Association (THEA).
Designed to transform learning, teaching and assessment, the programme consists of four work streams, each containing three work packages and multiple deliverables, aimed at empowering students, developing staff capabilities and enabling digital ecosystems.
Students as Partners
N-TUTORR has had student partnership at the core. Stream 1, in particular, has developed models for student partnership across the sector. The Student Champion Scheme has employed more than 100 students within their institutions to work together with staff on projects related to the overall programme themes, which include Digital Transformation, Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), and Academic Integrity.
The N-TUTORR Students as Partners in Innovation and Change Fellowship Programme has funded 175 projects across the sector, up to €5,000 per project allocated on a competitive basis, proposed by students or staff initially and involving students and staff as partners. A catalogue of the projects, organised by theme, has been compiled, and an impact study will be available from the transforminglearning.ie website from January 2025.
The GenAI Student Champions Project gathered 36 students with diverse learning needs and differences from all N-TUTORR partners to explore the question: “How might we ethically support our learning using Generative Artificial Intelligence?”. One of the students involved has created a short video exploring the project and his experiences and what he has learned. The Gen AI student champions have presented at meetings and conferences throughout Ireland.
My Digital Backpack
My Digital Backpack (mydigitalbackpack.ie) is an online platform for all students across the Irish TU sector to complete short, non-accredited courses. The courses have been developed by N-TUTORR partners on various topics including Academic Integrity, Introduction to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a Digital Skills Discovery Tool, and Gender Based Violence on Campus. Completion of a course results in the awarding of a Digital Badge, with associated meta-data, which the students can use in a LinkedIn profile or on a CV. The N-TUTORR student champions were directly involved in developing, piloting and promoting the platform, which was officially launched in November 2024.
Digital Ecosystems to Enhance Learning
Stream 3 of the N-TUTORR programme focuses on the digital ecosystems to support assessment, flexible learning, and a collection of pilot projects within partner institutions. A review of the more than 60 pilot projects has demonstrated the transformative achievements of the sector, made possible through strategic investment in advanced technologies and innovative practices. The initiatives have redefined learning environments, modernised operations and increased capacity to deliver inclusive, high-quality education.
Five overarching themes were identified across the pilot projects including Whole Institute Approach, Flexible and Enhanced Learning, Teaching, Learning & Assessment, Inclusive Student Experience, and Student Employability, reflecting technologies to support the whole student lifecycle from application to employment.
Developing staff capabilities
Having new systems in place and technology to support new, flexible ways of teaching does not ensure transformation. Ultimately N-TUTORR was about supporting people, both students and staff. The partners, under Stream 2, came together to develop a new curriculum development framework, taking account of recent developments in EDI, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), ESD, Academic Integrity and Employability. Each partner undertook a staff training needs analysis, and developed training plans for teaching and professional staff in response. A cross institutional community of practice was established to share experience and resources across the sector, and a monthly series of Masterclasses was launched to explore topics in more depth. All the Masterclasses were recorded and can be found on the N-TUTORR Vimeo channel.
Author
by Dr Sharon Flynn, N-TUTORR national coordinator , Ireland.
