Empowerment through employability and engagement with industry are at the heart of the University of Limerick ethos. The Cooperative Education programme is a tangible expression of this culture.

Under the Cooperative Education programme, UL undergraduate students across the faculties of Business, Science & Engineering, and Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences undertake a placement as a formal, compulsory and academically accredited element of their four-year degree. Students are required to undertake a six-to-eight-month placement in second or third year, the timing and duration of which are prescribed according to the placement calendar of their programme of study.

Spanning some 56 degree programmes, Coop is the largest placement programme in Ireland and one of the largest in Europe. Some 2,000 students participate in the Cooperative Education Programme at UL every year. The global dimension of the programme is significant: more than 20% of students undertake placements within a network of 52 countries across all five continents.

The programme harnesses all the significant benefits of collaboration between employers, the university and students. The role of Faculty visitor is pivotal in contextualising these relationships.