ATU to develop two more free, short, online courses

HE4.0 to create Social Robotics 3 and Forensic Toxicology MOOCs

Atlantic Technological University’s Higher Education 4.0 Project is delighted to announce that it is to create two more free, short, online courses to add to the 50 already available on their freecourses.atu.ie website.

Dr Geraldine M. Dowling SFHEA is to build a new free course – or MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) – on forensic toxicology while Drs John Pender and Perry Share will develop their third free course in social robotics.

Higher Education 4.0, which is funded by the Human Capital Initiative (HCI) Pillar 3, has supported over 20 of the 50 plus free courses available, including Introduction to Lean Construction, Health & Safety, Introduction to Marketing, Ocean Pollution, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the Fundamentals of Garden Design.

Welcoming the establishment of two more free courses, Head of Innovation at ATU’s Online, Flexible & Professional Development and Lead for Higher Education 4.0’s Innovation Projects, Gavin Clinch, said: “These new MOOCs demonstrate how ATU continues to open up access to specialist knowledge for learners everywhere.

Lead for Higher Education 4.0’s Innovation Projects, Gavin Clinch

“By combining world-class academic expertise with the flexibility of online learning, we are not only responding to global demand but also strengthening ATU’s role as a leader in lifelong learning and professional development,” he concluded.

Dr Dowling is an academic at ATU for the past eight years. In July of this year, Dr Dowling was appointed by the Academic Council of the National University of La Plata, Argentina, as Visiting Professor to support toxicology education and course development for professionals and clinicians.

Dr Dowling is also Visiting Senior Lecturer at the Department of Analytical, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King’s College London, UK and Honorary Senior Lecturer at Cameron Forensic Medical Sciences at William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry at Queen Mary University of London, UK.

She is heavily involved in developing forensic toxicology professional body training and  conferences, seminars and knowledge exchange for practitioners and is the elected Irish Regional Representative of The International Alliance of Forensic Toxicologists (TIAFT) and the elected Vice Chair of the United Kingdom and Ireland Association of Forensic Toxicologists (elected by practitioners in Ireland, England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and The Channel Islands).

ATU lecturer Dr Geraldine M. Dowling SFHEA, who lectures on forensic toxicology.

Dr Dowling is one of the founding members of The International Alliance of Clinical and Forensic Toxicologists (IACFT) and creator of the IACFT Journal (ISSN: 3088-6600).

Boasting a wealth of experience of over 20 years, the ATU lecturer aims to develop an industry-focused MOOC that will appeal to professionals, including law enforcement, government, industry, clinicians and private and public laboratory staff, students and academics along with the general public, and by doing so address the global demand for knowledge, training opportunities and continuous professional development in forensic  toxicology.

Dr Dowling said: “This Global MOOC will provide free accessible, high-quality, international standard training and, we hope, will position ATU as a leader in online, flexible, professional development surrounding cutting edge online MOOC practice and knowledge collaboration in the field of forensic toxicology.

“For the first time, all irrespective of life path will have direct access to this level of training in forensic toxicology through an open, online format complementing and building upon the foundational work of established  bodies in the field and aligning with the needs for continuing professional development but also highlighting the work forensic toxicologists undertake in society to attract future students and professionals into the field.”

ATU lecturers Dr John Pender (left) and Perry Share,

who will develop their third free MOOC on social robotics.

Meanwhile, Drs John Pender and Perry Share are set to develop their third social robotics free course over the coming academic year. Earlier in 2025, their BA (Hons) Social Care Practice final-year students who enrolled on the elective module, ‘Futures of Care, Society and Welfare’, got the opportunity to build a robot named Blossom.

This was the first time in Ireland that social care practice students were afforded such a learning opportunity, as they joined ATU MakerSpace on the Sligo campus to build the social robot, which was developed by Cornell University and Google, and simplified for easier and cheaper construction by the University of Southern California.

Drs Pender and Share have undertaken extensive research on the possibilities of human-robot interactions in the delivery of future care, having joined an Interreg Europe-funded project (TechSocialCare) that will explore ways to regulate assistive technologies in care, including social robotics.

This will provide an excellent opportunity to link the work they and their students engage in by exploring the broader ethical, social and political implications of these emergent technologies.

Said Dr Perry Share: “In our first two MOOCs we explored the development and application of social robots. In this third MOOC we look to the future, as robotics converges with AI and exciting new potentials open up.”

Dr John Pender added: “With our new MOOC, Context, Foresight and Implementation, we want to bring learners into the heart of the debate on how social robots, humanoids, VR and AI are shaping health, social care and education today, and how futures thinking can help us navigate what comes next.

“This is not just about technology, but about values, ethics and human priorities. Looking ahead, we are already preparing a follow-on MOOC, Skills, Governance and Leadership, to build on this foundation, with a deeper focus on governance, practice and leadership in a rapidly evolving landscape.”

The free courses can be accessed on the freecourses.atu.ie website, which was relaunched by ATU President Dr Orla Flynn in November 2024. Since then, thousands of learners have signed up to undertake a wide range of short courses on the online platform.

For more, check out freecourses.atu.ie.