TU Dublin and Screen Ireland Sign Partnership to Strengthen Links Between Higher Education and Screen Industry Skills Development.
Today, Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin) announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland (Screen Ireland), the state development agency with responsibility for skills development to support the Irish screen industry. The MOU builds on a deep history of collaboration between Screen Ireland’s skills development team and TU Dublin’s School of Media, including targeted postgraduate programmes in Advanced Producing, Creative Leadership and a Computer-Generated Imagery Technical Artist apprenticeship.
L-R: - Caroline O’Sullivan, Head of School, TU Dublin School of Media and Désirée Finnegan, Chief Executive, Screen Ireland
The Screen industry is a major contributor to the Irish economy. 2021 broke production spend records across film, television drama, documentary and animation in Ireland with a spend of €500 million in the Irish economy on jobs, goods and services.1
In July 2022, Screen Ireland published the competency framework for crew, to support the ongoing development and expansion of the sector’s workforce. The framework which was the first of its kind in the screen sector globally was created through deep engagement with Screen Guilds of Ireland and crew guilds and serves as a comprehensive tool to help third-level and other education providers to enhance their current provision, developing new curricula that is better aligned to the actual job roles as they operate within the industry.
Desiree Finnegan, Chief Executive of Screen Ireland said
We are delighted to formalize our partnership with TU Dublin and continue our collaborative efforts to design programmes that equip everyone – from creatives to crew – with the on-the-job skills they need to access, grow and thrive in the sector.
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The competency framework for crew uncovered vast opportunities in terms of routes and pathways for career development and sector growth. Universities have an important role to play in skills development and we are excited to benefit from the two-way exchange of knowledge and expertise.
Dr Caroline O’Sullivan, Head, School of Media said
The School of Media has been working very successfully with Screen Ireland for a number of years and we are delighted to announce this partnership, cementing both TU Dublin and Screen Ireland’s reputation for designing and delivering programmes that are to the forefront of knowledge and practice in the Creative and Cultural industries and that respond directly to the needs of Industry.
The Creative and Cultural Sector was identified as one of seven key sectors for Convene, a Human Capital Initiative project designed to transform university-enterprise engagement led by TU Dublin in partnership with UCD. The recently launched TU Dublin Enterprise
Academy, a product of Convene, facilitates university-enterprise collaboration, and supports Irish-based enterprise in their talent development initiatives and long-term skills strategy. The Enterprise Academy’s team of sector-facing professionals, academics and educational designers have been working closely with Screen Ireland and the School of Media to provide partnership and programme development support, as well as the co-development of relevant models in areas such as Work-Based Learning, Recognition of Prior Learning, micro-credentials and transversal skills.
Over the last 12 months, the collaboration has included a mix of activities exploring a variety of accredited Work-Based Learning approaches, which will be expanded and enhanced through the partnership:
- Attracting New Entrants: Passport to Production, a bridging programme that aims to drive wider representation in the screen industry. Delivered by Screen Ireland, accredited through TU Dublin’s Linked Provider partnership model, a six-day training, followed by a three-week work placement, equips new entrants with a broad overview of the departments, knowledge, and skills essential to working onset. Through this programme, in 2021, Screen Ireland placed 56 new entrants across 15 high-end Film and TV productions.
- Recognition of Prior Learning: A pathway for career professionals within the creative and cultural sector to gain accredited recognition for their skills learned on-the-job. This work is in collaboration with the national Human Capital Initiative project on Recognition of Prior Learning and will inform University and national policy.
Future collaboration will explore the development of an appropriate form of Work-Based Learning education for the creative and cultural sector. This will be supported by existing forms of provision, such as Continuing Professional Development/micro-credentials and other blended learning offerings in key strategic areas.