Joanne and Sean Cassidy (front left) along with lecturers and other students at LYIT.
A father and daughter from Ballyshannon are saving on petrol money – after attending the same Donegal college.
Joanne and Sean Cassidy are doing different courses having both enrolled at the Letterkenny Institute of Technology.
And both are really enjoying the experience along with the other 3,ooo other students at the campus.
Joanne is a Business Management student who hopes to enter Retail Management when she graduates.
She decided to switch from DCU to study at LYIT and loves the experience.
“If a lecturer knew your name in Dublin it was like winning the lottery. It was so impersonal and the course didn’t have enough business content for what I wanted. In comparison, LYIT is a friendly place with very modern facilities, you feel like the lecturers genuinely want to see you succeed.
“I’m really, really enjoying the Business course, it is tough but very rewarding and has more emphasis on the real world. We get to communicate in classes too with tutorials and work practice that makes the theory come to life. I’m very glad I decided to come to LYIT.”
Joanne’s dad Sean is a mature student having decided to return to study after 20 years of being self-employed in Closed Circuit TV.
He says, “Studying at LYIT has been very positive for me, the lecturers give you plenty of encouragement. You get all the help you need. The work placement element is a real bonus and the staff are very well connected with industry.”
“It was hard giving up the business but I realised I needed to retrain and I wanted to ensure it was in an area which had future growth. That’s why Wind Technology really appealed to me.”
Michael Margey, Head of School of Business emphasises the philosophy of making learning applicable and engaging.
“The LYIT focus has always been to deliver a positive mind-broadening education experience for students. We aim to bring the outside in and to put theory into context where we can.
“We do that through role-play, work placement and by inviting in leaders in industry to speak to our students. In this way, students get a real picture of different industries and roles, and how their new skills can be applied.”