SETU hosted up to 50 students and their academic coaches from seven countries at its campus in Carlow this October, for the Erasmus+ SMARTER Project (Experiential Learning tools to obtain SMART supply chain competencies).
The students and academics came together to take part in an industry challenge focusing on supply chain and logistics management in partnership with Tirlán. The group included students from Argentina, Austria, Croatia, Finland, Romania, and Spain.
The five-day schedule was a jampacked educational and cultural agenda that allowed visitors to embrace new learning from SETU and to engage with Irish industry partner, Tirlán, while getting a taste of Irish culture in the southeast.
Cross-border collaboration
Brian Ogilvie, Head of Research and Commercialisation at SETU, commented on the success of the group’s visit and SETU’s partnership with Tirlán. He said, “On behalf of the Erasmus+ SMARTER project, I would like to thank Tirlán for their time and contribution in providing an industry challenge which gave students from seven countries the opportunity to come together at SETU and explore ways to address the key issue of carbon footprint reduction. The project demonstrates how cross-border collaboration can harness the talent of students to develop innovative solutions to address real world problems.”
Larry Banville, SETU Lecturer in Supply Chain Management, said, “It was a great pleasure to be involved in the week-long Erasmus+ SMARTER project and business intensive programme that was hosted by SETU. During the week, students and lecturers from Spain, Croatia, Romania, Finland, Argentina and Austria took part in intensive workshops. These workshops provided students with an opportunity to study the three supply chain flows of money, material, and information. As a lecturer on our supply chain programmes, it was a privilege to have the opportunity to meet students from so many countries and to collaborate with them and their lecturers on this project.”
Real-time industry engagement
Alongside workshops, students and lecturers visited the head office of Tirlán in Kilkenny. Following several presentations by key members of the logistics and supply chain team at Tirlán, students were presented with a logistics challenge to work on for the week. This culminated in each multi-country team presenting their findings and recommendations to the company for consideration.
An introduction to Irish culture
In addition to educational workshops and industry exposure, SETU’s visitors had the opportunity to explore Kilkenny city and to visit Ballykilcavan Farm and Brewery in Stradbally, Co. Laois. Visitors were also hosted SETU’s Sports department, whose team gave them the chance to try their hand at Gaelic games.
For more information on the Erasmus+ SMARTER project, click here.