IT Tralee launched its International agricultural engineering course last week. The course is one year in total and will be undertaken in Ireland, France, and Italy.

It will be offered as an add-on to the current Level 7 degree in agricultural engineering and is also available to students studying the Level 8 agricultural engineering course in the Institute.

The course is also available to those outside of Tralee.

How will it be taught?

It will be presented over one year. The first quarter will take place in Ireland, followed by Italy and France.

The final quarter will be work placement. Each quarter will represent 12 weeks.

Eight weeks of this will be spent in lectures and workshops, with the final four weeks given to projects, exams, and assessments.

In Italy, the course will be done through the University of Bologna.

In France, it will be presented through three institutions, including Chalon-sur-Saône, Vesoul Agrocampus, and Agrosup Dijon.

Chris O’Donoghue is a lecturer in agricultural, mechanical and manufacturing engineering in the college.

He informed Irish Country Living that the add on course will begin in Septemeber 2019 and that the degree is currently ready for QQI accreditation in the coming weeks.

Preparations for the new course began in 2017 and it has taken over two years for the plans to be finalised, O’Donoghue said. There will be an initial intake of 15 students. A review will take place after one year, with the intention to grow the programme.