Further Education: Engineering

Part of Employment And Learning – in the Northern Ireland Assembly at 3:15 pm on 2 November 2009.

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Photo of Reg Empey Reg Empey UUP 3:15, 2 November 2009

I agree with the Member’s comments on that issue. There are a number of initiatives in the sector. The Member will probably have heard of the Connected programme — a major open source software initiative — which includes the polymer technician programme. That allows a college to have access to a substantial reservoir of research and other information, which would short-circuit many individual research programmes that each college would have to undertake. Students and colleges can access Connected, and it allows the colleges to engage with private sector companies with a view to solving the problems of those companies. They also have the backup of the Connected research facility. I support the Member’s comments, and I believe that the colleges are keen for delivery of their services via that mechanism.