Date: June 7th 2025
A new micro-credential course to encourage sustainability in the medtech sector in Ireland has been launched at University of Galway.
The Green Labs initiative has been spearheaded since 2019 by Dr Una FitzGerald, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering in the School of Engineering and a Principal Investigator within CÚRAM, the Research Ireland Centre for Medical Devices.
The new 10-week programme is primarily aimed at the medtech sector, including the 100+ companies and 10,000+ employees in the Greater Galway region. It builds on the success and impact of the Green Labs initiative, with the aim of reducing the environmental impact of laboratory practices.
Dr Una FitzGerald said: “Once I took on board the considerable contribution that sustainable lab practices can make to global efforts to reduce GHGs and different kinds of waste, I felt compelled to act, because I supervise and teach many different cohorts of students. I feel I have a duty to do all possible to mitigate the climate and biodiversity crisis and feel fortunate that I am in a position to help.
“As the medtech sector grows, so too does it responsibility to operate in an environmentally sustainable fashion. Laboratory testing is a crucial part of these organisations operations – just think of how many lab tests are require to diagnose disease or to prove that the water you are drinking is safe. Medical device manufacturers also need lab tests to prove that implantable devices are sterile, and pharma companies use labs characterise the properties of drugs.”
The green labs journey commenced in 2019 with CÚRAM becoming the first laboratory in Europe certified as ‘Green’ by American non-profit, My Green Lab. Meeting this standard required reducing plastic waste, energy usage and water usage, as well as increasing recycling across its laboratories. In 2020, Dr FitzGerald developed a course module for postgraduates on green lab principles and practice, which more than 170 students have taken to date, including online to universities in England, Scotland, Germany and Denmark. On Earth Day in 2022, Irish Green Labs (IGL) was launched by Dr Fitzgerald to promote sustainable methods within public and private laboratories on the whole island of Ireland.
The new programme Green Labs Principles and Practice will go further to address the lack of awareness of the impact that lab practices and behaviours have on the environment.
The micro-credential course runs for 10 weeks, online, commencing in September 2025.
A corporate sector audience are being targeted through this course given the number of medtech companies in the region and the first 20 places are funded through Springboard.
Micro-credential courses are short and accredited to meet the demands of learners, enterprise and organisations, created by Irish Universities Association (IUA) partner universities in consultation with industry and enterprise, under the MicroCreds project.
Green Labs Principles and Practice will allow employees of medtech and other sectors to examine how the organisation of, and practices in, scientific laboratories can be reformed to reduce their environmental footprint and be established on a more sustainable basis.
The Irish Green Labs network is run on a voluntary basis, supporting more than 37 organisations within the public and private sectors, including all the higher education institutes, the Environmental Protection Agency, 10 hospitals and seven companies.
Dr Fitzgerald’s work in this area ultimately led to inclusion of sustainable lab practices in Taighde Eireann/Research Ireland’s Climate Action Strategy.
Ends
Further information on the course and details on the Level 9 NFQ with 10 ECTS micro-credential at: https://www.universityofgalway.ie/courses/micro-credentials/list/science-engineering/green-labs-principles/
