The
School of Business, Computing and Humanities at IT Tralee
The School of Business, Computing & Humanities
(BCH) has been providing graduates since the 1970’s and since then it has grown
from strength to strength delivering a range of programmes from certificate to
masters degrees to meet the needs of the region and even further a-field, we
now have graduates in every corner of the world and have over 100 international
students studying in the School.
What is special about a BCH graduate?
The notion of a job for life has become a thing of
the past so we ensure our graduates have transferrable skills that can take
them through a series of careers. Our graduates have been immersed in their
chosen area of study and have had master classes from industry experts as well
as site visits to leading enterprises. Our close links to both our business and
community partners ensures that we are able to respond to the needs of the
market place.
Is there an international focus in the School?
Irish students in the School are integrated with
over 100 international students from China to Canada to Kuwait and from Finland
to Zimbabwe who all add to the vibrant campus. Students also have an
opportunity to study a semester or year abroad with any of our international
partners through the Erasmus programme with 60 partners in the EU. A number of
our programmes in the School offer students the opportunity to participate on
international trips as part of their programme.
Is the School of Business involved in the local
community?
The School has more links in the community than you
can imagine, our staff and students are involved in everything from organising girl’s
hackathons to showcasing secondary students’ culinary ambitions with ‘The
Apprentice Chef’ programme. We work with local communities to realise their
heritage, for example Valentia Island and the Transatlantic Cable Story and
Tralee Town and Listowel Health check. A number of our programmes require
students to complete volunteering work with local charities and local
festivals.
For more info the School and Departments go to
http://www.ittralee.ie/en/InformationAbout/InstituteandDepartments/AbouttheDepartments/
Hotel, Culinary Arts and Tourism
Department
The Hotel, Culinary Arts and Tourism (HCT)
Department incorporates the three facets of the worldwide tourism industry –
culinary arts, hospitality and tourism. The HCT team have international
industry experience combined with academic expertise to ensure students receive
a grounded education in their chosen specialist field.
Our facilities include five kitchens, a training
restaurant and bar, a demonstration kitchen.
Take a virtual Kitchen Tour by clicking on this
link: https://bit.ly/2Qwh0Of
The HCT lecturing team collaborate with industry
through a number of forums, continuous professional development, active
learning through industry projects, industry placements for students and
working with local, regional and national organisations such as Taste Kerry, Go
Kerry, and Fáilte Ireland. The department is also involved in many
international collaborations, which include both academic institutes and
industry – Johnson & Wales University Rhode Island, University College
Birmingham, George Brown College and Durham College in Ontario, Canada. The
various culinary arts programmes provide a pathway for creative employment
opportunities within all aspects of the food industry. The programmes reflect
up-to-date developments and trends in both the national and international
culinary arts industry.
All programmes combine practical skills classes in
state of the art kitchens combined with an in-depth theoretical knowledge base
and the development of communication, critical thinking, problem solving and
personal skills in its participants. Students are also afforded the opportunity
to partake in both national and international familiarisation trips, food
industry competitions, and are introduced to many industry experts through
guest lectures within the programmes.
We offer a broad range of Culinary Programmes from
level 6 to level 8 and also a Masters in Culinary Arts Management in
conjunction with University College Birmingham. For further details on all our
Culinary Programmes, please go to https://bit.ly/2DJ8ZQQ
Culinary
Apprenticeship Programmes
The Department was also the lead partner in the
design and development of the new National Culinary Apprenticeships – Chef de
Partie and Sous Chef programme. These new apprenticeships are were rolled out
nationwide in 2018/19. These innovative programmes provide the opportunity to
gain relevant professional qualification while working in industry.
Hear what the current apprentices and mentors have
to say about the programme go to: https://bit.ly/2VYcfhL
For more information on these programmes go to:
https://chefdepartieapprenticeship.wordpress.com/
A Student’s Perspective – James O’Sullivan, 3rd
Year Culinary Arts
“I chose
this course because I had a lifelong interest in cooking, my grandmother taught
me to bake when I was young and my mother is a working chef for the past 30
years so it’s in the blood! My work placement was in Killarney in the Killarney
Plaza Hotel. We did 400 hours of a work placement and I found it very
rewarding. I have been there since, working steadily and hope to continue there
in the future. During the first two years, I got a good basis in Culinary Arts
and moving on to third year we experienced a variety of different modules
looking beyond the kitchen such as food product development, food photography,
blogging and the advanced pastry course. Someday I would like to look at
working somewhere like Kerry Group doing new product development. I have done
two modules in product development and enterprise so if I needed, I could start
my own business as well.”