GLAS Special: How Teagasc’s education delivery adapted during Covid-19

Due to constraints from the pandemic, Teasgasc has had to find an alternative from their traditional hands-on approach to learning

John Mulhern reviews the new advancements and opportunities that Teasgasc has to offer its students, responding to the many challenges and changes of the pandemic

Careers

Read More: GLAS GLAS 2022 Teagasc

21 July 2022

Teagasc is delighted to be back at GLAS 2022 after an absence of two years. The pandemic has brought many changes over that time and none more so than in than in the delivery of education programmes.

Over the pandemic, we moved towards online learning in a big way and the legacy of that will be more blended learning on offer for the student. This means that students will avail of the traditional face to face interactions that are part of a normal horticultural college course experience, but they will also have access to more resources online that will enhance their learning experience.

We are very conscious of the different backgrounds and situations that students are coming from and how they need flexibility in adapting to new learning techniques.

Our part time awards continue to be much sought after by both beginners in Horticulture at Level 5 and more experienced individuals and professionals at Level 6. Both our colleges in the Botanics and Kildalton continue to offer part time as well as full time awards. Contact the colleges for further details.

There has been movement on our long-awaited horticulture apprenticeships which were held up by the pandemic. Both apprenticeships will be validated by Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) with Higher Education Authority funding.

In addition to conferring of academic awards, upon successful completion of the programme, each apprenticeship will be recognised by the Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine for access to schemes, services and grants provided by the government. The apprenticeship programmes will commence across 2022 and 2023.

Further details on the programmes will be available on the Teagasc website once details are finalised. Should you wish to express an interest or register for further updates, please send an email to marcella.phelan@teagasc.ie. Sincere thanks to our stakeholders and industry partners for their valued support with programme development.

Teagasc Horticulture Development Department (HDD) has been supporting growers and the horticulture industry through our advisory and research service throughout the significant challenges since the last GLAS trade show. The department’s main centre for research activities is in Ashtown, Co. Dublin and it has excellent modern infrastructure to support the industry.

Recently we developed some important reports on input cost increases. Advisory services embraced webinar technology during the pandemic and there is now a significant resource of webinars on our website and YouTube channel. In the very near future a crop protection portal for the field vegetable sector will be launched and it’s hoped to be developed for the amenity sector also.

We have recently launched our Beyond Peat research programme which over a number of years will assess currently available and near-to-market alternative growth and casing materials across five key sub-sectors of horticulture.

New and emerging technologies and transformative processes will also be investigated as they apply to the generation of growth media.

A particular emphasis will be placed on materials sourced within an Irish economic context, either as renewable bio-resources or alternatively as waste and/or bi-products generated as a result of indigenous industrial and land management practices.

Read More: GLAS GLAS 2022 Teagasc