Engineering - Advanced Manufacturing Engineer - Apprenticeship
This programme will develop innovative, industry-ready, Level 8 Advanced Manufacturing Engineers with the knowledge, skills and competence to be able to improve the productivity, quality, and efficiency of sustainable smart manufacturing operations.
| Award Name | Degree - Honours Bachelor (Level 8 NFQ) |
|---|---|
| NFQ Classification | Major |
| Awarding Body | Atlantic Technological University |
| NFQ Level | Level 8 NFQ |
| Award Name | NFQ Classification | Awarding Body | NFQ Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Degree - Honours Bachelor (Level 8 NFQ) | Major | Atlantic Technological University | Level 8 NFQ |
Duration
4 years
Method of Delivery Blended
On-Campus Attendance Requirement
There is a 15-week Academic Block in each calendar year, during which time the apprentices learn on campus. The rest of the learning is done in Industry.
Entry Requirements
The table above identifies the programme’s entry and exit points.
YEAR 1 ENTRY REQUIREMENTS:
The candidate applies directly to the SOLAS-approved employer and is selected using the employer’s standard recruitment process. Then the employer requests Apprentice Approval from SOLAS. If successful, SOLAS will register the student and the student will sign a contract. The consortium will then be informed by the SOLAS Apprenticeship Officer, and it will compile a viable list of candidates for the appropriate regional academic partner.
Entry Requirements for Irish Leaving Certificate Applicants (From August 2017)
Applicants must have obtained a minimum of 5 O6 (pass) grades in their Leaving Certificate examination results. These subjects must include Grade O6/H7 or better in Mathematics and English or Irish. The minimum points requirement for admission to ATU programmes of 160 points will apply.
LCVP Link Modules can be used as one of the 6 best subjects for calculating points.
Leaving Cert Points may be calculated using the CAO online tool: Central Applications Office (cao.ie)
The Leaving Certificate Applied does not meet the minimum entry requirements to Institute programmes. Holders of the LCA may gain entry following completion of a QQI-FET Level 5/6 Award.
Please see Table 2 Leaving Certificate Grades and Points at the bottom of this section. The table is taken from https://www.cao.ie/PointsCalculationGrid
Entry Requirements for Irish Leaving Certificate Applicants (Prior to August 2017)
The grades of applicants who completed the Leaving Certificate pre-2017 can be mapped directly to a grade on the new grading scale. This mapping exercise for such applicants should be completed so that the entry requirements outlined above can be applied. The grades to be awarded from 2017 for pre-2017 Leaving Certificate grades are set out in Table 3 Leaving Certificate Grades for pre 2017 and post 2017 at the bottom of this section.
QQI-FET Applicants
A pass in any cognate QQI-FET (formerly FETAC)/QQI Award at Level 5/6 meets the entry requirements for the Higher Certificate or Bachelor Degree (Level 6 or Level 7) programmes.
Applicants to the programme are also required to have required O6/H7 grade in Leaving Certificate Mathematics, or one of the following Further Education subjects: 5N1833 (Mathematics), 6N3395 (Mathematics), 5N18396 (Maths for Information Technology), 5N0556 (Maths for STEM) or 5S2246 (Maths for STEM).
Mature Students
Applicants who are over 23 years of age on January 1st of the year of entry may gain entry to the programme via the mature applicant route. Acceptance will be based on an interview by the employer, to determine previous experiential learning, the student’s suitability to the subject area and their motivation and commitment to achieving the minimum intended programme learning outcomes. This interview will take place in the apprentice’s company and will be summarised in the associated Mature Student Assessment Form.
Note to Employers: The Mature Student Assessment Form (supplied by Ibec) must be completed and submitted to the academic partner’s Admissions Office and kept on file by the company.
Minimum English requirements
Non-EU Applicants: Non-EU applicants, who are not English speakers, must have a minimum score of 5.5 in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), with a minimum of 5 IELTS in each component, or equivalent.
EU Applicants: EU applicants, who are not English speakers, are recommended to have a minimum score of 6.5 in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), with a minimum of 6 IELTS in each component, or equivalent.
YEAR 2 ENTRY REQUIREMENTS:
Applicants must have completed one year of a Level 6, 7 or 8 (Higher Certificate, B Eng or B Eng (Hons)) in Manufacturing Engineering (or cognate qualification) by traditional full-time mode or part-time mode or apprenticeship mode. They must also have one year of relevant industry experience. An RPL review will take place to assess the applicability of the prior learning.
YEAR 3 ENTRY REQUIREMENTS:
Applicants must have completed a Level 6 Higher Certificate in Manufacturing Engineering (or cognate qualification) by traditional full-time mode or part-time mode or apprenticeship mode. They must also have two years of relevant industry experience.
YEAR 4 ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Applicants must have completed a level 7 B Eng in Manufacturing Engineering (or cognate qualification) by traditional full-time mode or part-time mode or apprenticeship mode. They must also have two years of relevant industry experience.
RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING:
ATU’s Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) Policy (AQAE009) will be applied.
Recognition of Prior Credited Learning (RPCL) and Recognition of Prior Experiential Learning (RPEL) can enable individuals to build on prior learning to achieve academic qualifications. RPL will make visible the outcome of learning and provide for the validation for learning that is achieved through a variety of formal, informal, or non-formal routes. Two core values underpin the approach to RPL: learner-centredness and quality assurance.
RPL can be used to afford the learner admission to this programme.
RPL can be applied to support advanced admission to the programme. In this case, particular attention will be paid to the learner’s previous certified learning
in Mathematics and Engineering Science, which are foundation skills for engineers. Their industry experience will also be reviewed.
RPL can also be used to provide exemptions from some programme modules (up to a maximum of 60 credits in a non-award year and up to a maximum of 30 credits in an award year). The Industry Module, as a capstone module, is not eligible for RPL.
Careers / Further progression
What will their prospects be like upon graduation?
Apprentices on this programme will have opportunity to enhance their career opportunities within their companies. By learning new skills in advanced technology and engineering management, they can make major contributions to their companies and ultimately progress to senior roles as subject matter experts or in team leadership capacities.
Progression
This Level 8 qualification will allow graduates to progress to cognate Masters of Engineering programmes at Level 9.
Further information
This programme will develop innovative, industry-ready, Level 8 Advanced Manufacturing Engineers with the knowledge, skills and competence to be able to improve the productivity, quality, and efficiency of sustainable smart manufacturing operations. As a result of the rapid growth of advanced manufacturing over the past decade, the skills requirements of engineers have changed. The advanced manufacturing sector today needs workers equipped with the knowledge of new technologies and sustainable techniques to lead in this new era of advanced manufacturing and digitisation. There is a shortage of skilled engineers in this growing area.
Why would a student be interested in the course?
This programme allows apprentices to develop leading-edge skills needed for to contribute to industry in a number of interesting and high-tech areas.
They could work on Technical Projects using CAD, CAM and Advanced Manufacturing Processes.
They could focus on Operational Excellence Projects, applying the tools of Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Quality, Process Validation, Sustainability and Project Management).
They will be skilled the new Industry 4.0 space, ready to work with Robotics, PLCs, Sensors, Data Visualisation and System Integration.
What is involved?
This is a four-year programme, with two embedded awards. Apprentices can study for two years for a Higher Certificate (Level 6) in Manufacturing Engineering, or for three years for a B Eng (Level 7) in Manufacturing Engineering, or complete the four years for the B Eng (Hons) (Level 8) in Advanced Manufacturing Engineering.
Each year involves a 15 week block spent on university campus, where apprentices learn in labs and lectures. The apprentices then return to their companies to learn on the job, while remaining linked to the university, through academic projects.
What is unique about it?
This is the only Level 8 Manufacturing Engineering qualification by Apprenticeship mode in Ireland. Its design has been Industry-led, by a Consortium which includes over 100 companies. This means that the content has been specifically chosen to match the needs of engineers in Irish industry.
Why Study this course?
Career Path: This programme allows existing employees of manufacturing companies (e.g. product builders) to up-skill to develop a Career Path as a Technician or Engineer.
Earn and Learn: This programme provides school-leavers with a path through Engineering education, that allows them to be fully employed in a company and earning while they learn.
Practical on-the-job Learning: This apprenticeship will appeal to those who prefer to learn by doing and learn from others, in world-class high-tech manufacturing companies.
Year 1
Semester Module Details Credits Mandatory / Elective
1 Engineering Mathematics 1 (Apprenticeship) 10 Mandatory
1 Engineering Science (Apprenticeship) 10 Mandatory
1 Electrical Sciences (Apprenticeship) 05 Mandatory
2 Industry Module 1 (Apprenticeship) 15 Mandatory
Year Manufacturing Engineering 1 (Apprenticeship) 05 Mandatory
Year Computer Aided Design (Apprenticeship) 05 Mandatory
Year Academic and Professional Skills (Apprenticeship) 05 Mandatory
Year Quality 1 (Apprenticeship) 05 Mandatory
Year 2
Semester Module Details Credits Mandatory / Elective
1 Engineering Mathematics 2 (Apprenticeship) 05 Mandatory
1 Metrology (Apprenticeship) 05 Mandatory
1 Manufacturing Automation (Apprenticeship) 10 Mandatory
1 Manufacturing Engineering 2 (Apprenticeship) 05 Mandatory
2 Industry Module 2 (Apprenticeship) 15 Mandatory
Year Manufacturing Design of Fixtures (Apprenticeship) 05 Mandatory
Year Maintenance and Safety (Apprenticeship) 05 Mandatory
Year Quality 2 (Apprenticeship) 05 Mandatory
Year Lean Manufacturing (Apprenticeship) 05 Mandatory
Year 3
Semester Module Details Credits Mandatory / Elective
1 Robotics and Control 10 Mandatory
1 Advanced Manufacturing Processes 05 Mandatory
1 Polymer Processing Technology (Apprenticeship) 05 Mandatory
1 Engineering Software Systems 05 Mandatory
2 Industry Module 3 (Apprenticeship) 15 Mandatory
Year Manufacturing Process Planning 05 Mandatory
Year Six Sigma Quality (Apprenticeship) 05 Mandatory
Year Operations Management 05 Mandatory
Year Project Management (Apprenticeship) 05 Mandatory
Year 4
Semester Module Details Credits Mandatory / Elective
1 Decision Theory and Data Visualisation (Apprenticeship) 05 Mandatory
1 System Integration for Operational Technology (Apprenticeship) 05 Mandatory
1 Advanced Automation Systems (Apprenticeship) 10 Mandatory
1 Sustainable Smart Manufacturing Technologies (Apprenticeship) 10 Mandatory
Year Process Validation and Verification (Apprenticeship) 05 Mandatory
Year Statistical Problem-Solving Tools (Apprenticeship) 05 Mandatory
Year Industry Module 4 (Apprenticeship) 20 Mandatory
Recommended Study Hours per week
During the Academic Block, in university, 22 hours of self-directed study and learning is recommended. During the Industry Block, 5 to 8 hours of self-directed study and project work is recommended.
On-Campus Attendance Requirement
There is a 15-week Academic Block in each calendar year, during which time the apprentices learn on campus. The rest of the learning is done in Industry.
Examination and Assessment
Assessment is done through a mix of examinations, projects, practicals and labs. In each year, there are up to four modules that carry forward from the Academic Block (in the university) into the Industry Block, and apprentices complete exercises in industry as part of the module’s assessment.
In second and third year, there are examinations that take place during the Industry Block, where applied learning developed on the job is assessed.
Dr Paul O’Dowd
Programme Chair
E: paul.odowd@atu.ie
T: 091 742205