A new biopharma degree where students spend half their time on campus and half completing paid work experience has been hailed by the Minister for Higher Education as an “exciting step forward” for how third level education is delivered in Ireland.
The new BSc/MSc in immersive bioscience and biotherapeutics at University of Limerick (UL) is due to be launched on Thursday.
The development comes at a time of debate in higher education circles about whether the sector is too reliant on industry-sponsored research and education in order to plug State funding gaps.
UL has described the degree as a new venture. designed in collaboration with international companies such as Eli Lilly and Analog Devices, which seeks to “cultivate the leading scientific minds of the future”.
The companies will contribute to curriculum design, participate as guest contributors and host students on industry residencies.
The first intake of students will be in September 2026.
It follows a similar model to UL’s immersive software engineering programme, now in its third year of operation.
Students will receive a bachelor and master of science degree in four years, with two years spent learning on campus and two years working in biotech industries.
UL says students will have the “competitive advantage of two years of experience working in industry when they graduate”.
Minister for Higher Education James Lawless welcomed the launch of the “iBio” programme.
“This innovative, industry-led and learner-focused course recognises that not all learning happens in lecture halls,” he said.
“Through immersive, hands-on experiences, both on campus and in the workplace, students will graduate with not just a degree, but two full years of real-world industry experience.”
The programme, he said, offered “more choice, more relevance, a modern model of education that’s fit for the future and supports the vision of education driving Ireland’s economy.”
Acting UL president Professor Shane Kilcommins said the new degree represented a “giant leap forward” in the delivery of undergraduate scientific education.
Students, he said, will be “embedded in the knowledge community where they are active and interactive partners in the learning process.”
Prof Jakki Cooney, iBio course director, said the course was all about developing a passion for the science of disease and medicines, about being creative and curious about the world, embracing challenges and working in teams using scientific data to solve complex problems.
“We are offering a new way to learn the science and biology of medicine making and discovery,” she said.
The Government has acknowledged that there is a funding gap of more than €300m facing Irish higher education and has pledged to address this over successive budgets.
Meanwhile, research by PublicPolicy.ie into funding of Irish universities found that industry funding of third level is increasingly becoming the norm.
The paper highlighted potential risks such as the erosion of support for academic endeavours that may not be perceived as having commercial value, as well as challenges in preserving the integrity of academia in a landscape increasingly driven by market-driven priorities.
