News Article

CNA signs two-way agreement with ITC Carlow in Ireland


4/9/2009 10:55:54 AM


Danielle Keogh and Chloe Farrell, both students from the Institute of Technology Carlow in Ireland, attended CNA’s Gander campus last year as part of a project to develop an MOU between the college and the Irish institute.

Graduates from College of the North Atlantic’s (CNA) Aircraft Maintenance Technician program can now be granted credit for the first two years of a three-year Bachelor’s degree in Aircraft Systems Engineering at the Institute of Technology in Carlow, Ireland.

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed between the two institutions last week.

Graduates from CNA’s technology program currently qualify to receive credit towards their Transport Canada Aircraft Maintenance Engineer’s licence. Under the new MOU, those who choose to continue on to Ireland will also qualify to receive credit towards their European Aircraft Maintenance licence, enabling them to work in any country belonging to the European Union.

Jean Madill, president of CNA, says this new partnership supports and continues to build on Newfoundland and Labrador’s strong cultural and economic ties with Ireland and extends the college’s reach for welcoming international students.

“This MOU with the Institute of Technology in Carlow heightens our status in the aerospace training arena,” she says. “It provides an excellent path for academic enhancement and increased opportunities for our students, and supports the aerospace industry in our province, our country and even internationally.”

Bob Dwyer, campus administrator at the college’s Gander location where the aircraft programs are offered, has worked tirelessly during the past two years to build this partnership with Carlow. He says the two-way agreement will benefit students from both institutions.

“Carlow is awarding the full two years of credit from our diploma program to their three-year degree program, so essentially a student can graduate from CNA and in one more year at Carlow, graduate with both a diploma and degree and be able to work in the industry anywhere in North America or Europe. This linkage certainly makes our program attractive to students all over the globe,” he says. “From the perspective of Irish students coming to Newfoundland for individual courses, they are able to get the hands-on experiential learning that our program provides, and may be able to earn credit for courses in their degree program back home in Ireland.”

The Institute of Technology Carlow has a student body of almost 4,000 and an academic staff of 200. Carlow is a town of 20,000 people with healthy industrial and business sectors. It lies just 80 kilometres south of Dublin and is one of the largest inland towns in Ireland.

Dr. Ruaidhrí Neavyn, president of ITC, welcomes this development and looks forward to this relationship in the field of Aerospace Engineering adding to IT Carlow’s strong international linkages and cultural ties.

“This agreement is built upon the historically strong ties between Ireland and Newfoundland. It provides prospects for students from both Newfoundland and Ireland to not only link in the discipline of Aerospace Engineering and gain credit towards their professional licences, but also to learn more about each other’s cultures. IT Carlow’s status as the leading provider of Aviation maintenance degrees in Ireland will be enhanced by this link and we look forward to welcoming students from the College of the North Atlantic to Ireland.”

The establishment of this agreement is supported by the Ireland- Newfoundland Partnership.

Last year, as part of a pilot project leading up to the signing of the MOU, two students from Carlow attended CNA in Gander. This year, two additional students from Ireland have enrolled in courses from the college’s program.

More information about this or any of CNA’s program offerings, or about transfer agreements the college has with other universities, can be found on their website at: www.cna.nl.ca.


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For more information contact:

Stephen Lee
Manager of Marketing and Communications
709-643-7721
stephen.lee@cna.nl.ca