The Future Innovators Lab (FILS) at TUS 2025-2026
The Future Innovators Labs (FILS) initiative at TUS, under the umbrella of RUN-EU Work Package 4, is an educational programme designed to offer innovative, regionally focused STEAM educational experiences to our local secondary schools.
The TUS FILS programme includes four themed workshops running throughout the 2025–2026 Academic Year, involving four local Limerick secondary schools and hosted in the ‘Taste Restaurant’ in TUS Limerick. The initiative is supported by the Tourism Innovation Research Group (TIRG), the Department of Hospitality, Tourism and Wellness, and other TUS departments. The programme was designed to complement an INNOTHON event we ran in collaboration with Thomond College in February 2025, which saw students tackle sustainability challenges in the tourism industry.
Through active participation, TUS undergraduate and postgraduate students will assist in the co-design and delivery of the sessions, gaining real-world facilitation experience. Workshops will explore topics such as sustainable tourism, food systems and digital innovation using interactive case studies, EU project showcases and applied sustainability tools like vertical gardens and food waste systems. A central feature of the FILS workshops is the group innovation session, where students apply their learning by identifying local challenges in tourism, food, or sustainability and proposing creative business solutions.
The workshops will empower students to connect education with action, while also strengthening their communication, collaboration, and design thinking skills. This initiative not only enhances local and regional engagement but also aligns with the broader European objectives for inclusive, future-focused higher education.
Sample activities will include:
- Interactive full day workshops using our technologies
- Food science and nutrition (Science)
- Food waste reduction (Technology and Engineering)
- Enhancing visitor experience with VR (technology and arts)
- Entomogaphy workshop (Science)
- Costing activity (Maths)
- Certificate of attendance for the workshops
Ready to Serve Programme (RETOS) – launched for 2025-2026
The RUN European Stakeholder Engagement Centre (ESEC) serves as a dynamic hub for connecting our TUS and RUN-EU with our wider community; including businesses, NGOs, schools, and policy makers. We actively promote systematic engagement with these key external stakeholders from business, industry, society and regional government to create meaningful impact in our regions.
We are pleased to launch our RETOS programme in the academic year 2025-2026.
This programme offers many strands, including:
- Engaging with our local communities in the Midlands and Midwest through explaining RUN-EU, collaborating on events and hosting visitors to campus;
- Developing collaborative volunteering opportunities for our students and RUN-EU students in our regions;
- Learning best practice in volunteering from our RUN-EU partners;
- Sending our students on international mobility experiences to participate in volunteering opportunities with partners in RUN-EU;
- Sending our lectures on RETOS related courses, including Short Advances Programmes on Service to Society;
- Embedding Service Learning in our curriculum in TUS;
- Developing inter-disciplinary and international service-learning projects.
For further information about RUN-EU please visit our website at https://run-eu.eu/