15 January, 2020

The Service rePublic team are responsible for the online customer experience portal www.yourcouncil.ie and for the development of digital services in Cork County Council. As the second-largest local authority in the country, it delivers over 600 services to individuals, communities and businesses all around County Cork.

In 2017 CIT developed a post-graduate Special Purpose Award (SPA) in Designing Innovative Services, with support from the Service rePublic team. This specialised service design training course is the first of its kind in Ireland.

Service Design and Design Thinking training is also offered as an elective module for CIT Business Information Systems (BIS) undergraduates, making them a great fit for placement with Service rePublic.  Four CIT BIS students go on placement each year to Service rePublic. 

This year BIS students Aaron Ngai, Anthony Keating, Shane Tully and Jennifer Murray spent 8 months on placement with Service rePublic, learning how service design works in a real service delivery environment. Under guidance from the Service rePublic team, they were involved in user research, blueprinting and synthesis of research, prototyping new services and interface design.

Aaron Ngai felt his skills were constantly improving throughout his eight-month placement. “One skill which I have certainly enhanced is presenting, I’ve showcased various pieces of work, both individually and with my fellow interns”.

Jennifer Murray enjoyed working on live cases and the responsibility that her placement offered. “Working on real projects that you’ve created for the public, like the Camden Fort survey, gives you a sense of accomplishment. It makes you feel like you have a purpose and are an asset to the team”.

Julianne Coughlan, Service Design Manager, Service rePublic, Cork County Council said, “BIS students are ideal for placement in a service transformation environment. Their unique combination of technical and business skills allows them to understand the organisational needs and see the customer perspective, with the ability to translate these requirements into newly designed digital services. Their creativity, communication skills and problem-solving ability is also a huge advantage in the design process. We are delighted to welcome BIS students into our team and hope this will continue”.

Cork County Council has a strong tradition of working with key partners in the County to develop the quality of life for everyone in County Cork.

Cork Institute of Technology is an important partner in this process and the development and delivery of the new Special Purpose Award in Designing Innovative Services at CIT is an example of the vital support that is provided to allow initiatives like Service rePublic to develop and grow. 

To explore how CIT can collaborate with you, email extendedcampus@cit.ie or call 021 4335302.