Enabling Ireland as a Global Leader in Lean Organisational, Operational, and Enterprise Excellence
Co-founded and co-led by Darrin Taylor and Aidan Walsh, the Academy involves academic faculty who educate and research in Lean and Continuous Improvement, and Organisational, Operational, and Enterprise Excellence. Additionally, Professor Peter Hines is Visiting Professor to the SETU Business School and acts as a senior advisor to the Academy, having co-founded the renowned Lean Enterprise Research Centre (LERC) at Cardiff University Business School.
In addition to its portfolio of Lean programmes, modules, and microcredentials, the Academy brings together industry and academia to develop high-quality and actionable research that advances the literature on Lean thinking and practice, and which can be applied within public and private organisations of all scales and sizes, as well as across all services and manufacturing sectors, so as to enable and sustain organisational excellence, productivity, competitiveness, and continuous improvement.
The Academy mission is to synthesise education, training, research, practice, and knowledge-exchange in Lean and Continuous Improvement to enable an evidence-based and knowledge-led community of learning and practice to deliver value in terms of the long-term competitiveness and sustainability of organisations, the economy, and society overall.
Academy Members are to the forefront of the regional and national Lean communities of learning and practice in embodying a collaborative approach to Lean leadership and management, continuous improvement, process thinking, creativity, problem-solving, and value creation. Through individual autonomy, collegiality, and industry and state engagement, each faculty member, researcher, and student is given the opportunity to develop themselves as practitioners and researchers, and to make contributions to Lean thinking and practice regionally, nationally, and internationally.
Academy Objectives:
- To position Ireland as a global leader in Lean and Continuous Improvement, in Organisational, Operational, and Enterprise Excellence, and in Sustainability.
- To lead the regional and national Lean communities of learning and practice in optimising interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral, and exemplary thinking and practices.
- To enable high-quality standards in Lean education and training, and to strategically contribute to the existing body of research in Lean.
- To collaborate with industry, state, national and international partners in driving the integration of contemporary Lean thinking, research, and practices across extended value streams.
- To develop next-generation Lean and Continuous Improvement leaders and champions.
- To provide a base for executives/practitioners to advance their knowledge and develop insights for real-world application.
EDUCATION
SETU Business School offers a portfolio of executive/practitioner part-time higher education programmes and microcredentials that are co-designed and co-developed by Academy members with exemplary industry partners from various sectors to meet identified sectoral/organisational needs for discrete knowledge, know-how, skills, and know-why in Lean and Continuous Improvement in public and private organisations of all scales and sizes, as well as across all services and manufacturing sectors.
Programmes:
- Master of Business in Lean Enterprise Excellence (NFQ Level 9 – Virtual Live Delivery – 24 Months – 90 Credits)
- Higher Diploma in Business in Operational Excellence (NFQ Level 8 – Blended Virtual & In-Person Delivery – 12 Months – 60 Credits)
- Diploma in Lean Fundamentals (NFQ Level 7 – Virtual On-Demand Recorded Delivery – 12 Months – 60 Credits)
Modules/Microcredentials:
- Lean Black Belt (NFQ Level 9 – 24 Weeks – 10 Credits)
- Lean Green Belt (NFQ Level 8 – 12 Weeks – 5 Credits)
- Lean Yellow Belt (NFQ Level 7 – 12 Weeks – 5 Credits)
- Lean Healthcare Yellow Belt (NFQ Level 7 – 12 Weeks – 5 Credits)
- Why Lean: An Introduction (NFQ Level 6 – 6 Weeks – 1 Credit
RESEARCH
Our research contributes to the advancement in contemporary Lean and Continuous Improvement thinking and practice that is of direct relevance for industry and organisational application through critical focus in the following research areas: Lean; Continuous Improvement; Organisational, Operational, and Enterprise Excellence; Process Optimisation; Strategic Change Management and Transformation; Lean Leadership, Employee Engagement, Behaviours, and Culture; Supply/Demand/Value Chain Management; and Lean Industry 4.0.