South East Technological University hosted a two-day LEAN workshop at its Xcelerate Centre in Carlow on the 23rd and 24th of September 2025 as part of the SMARTER Student Challenge.
Industry–university collaboration
The workshop held at SETU's Xcelerate Centre focused on improving the flow of materials within supply chains and highlighted the value of industry–university collaboration. It was delivered by Larry Banville, Supply Chain Lecturer at SETU, alongside Katri Kesti, Visiting Lecturer from Rauma, Finland. The event was hosted with the support of Dominik Galgus, Intern in Student Enterprise and Lorraine Brennan, New Frontiers Administrator at SETU. Twenty-three third-year students from SETU’s Bachelor of Business (Honours) in Supply Chain Management participated in the workshop as part of their Inventory and Materials module.
Students engaged in a hands-on Lego-based simulation, adapted from the LEAN Lego game developed by Danilo Sato and Francisco Trindade, to explore real-world supply chain challenges in an interactive learning environment.
Practical learning
With a strong emphasis on experiential learning, participants applied continuous improvement methodologies throughout the workshop. This involved identifying problems, planning corrective actions, implementing changes, reviewing results, and deciding whether improvements should be standardised as part of a new process. Students worked through several simulated scenarios, reviewing outcomes after each round and identifying opportunities for improvement. Core LEAN principles guided the process, including the 5S methodology: sort, set in order, shine, standardise and self-discipline.
SMARTER Project
The SMARTER Project commenced in December 2022 and concluded in November 2025. Its aim was to develop smart supply chain competences and skills through experiential learning applications. SETU, together with seven partner universities from Spain, Austria, Ireland, Finland, Croatia, Romania and Argentina, contributed to the development of digital learning materials, industry-linked innovations and formative assessment tools to support sustainable learning methods.
The SMARTER Student Challenge, which took place in Ireland in September 2024, included workshops on smart materials, money and information. Students also completed a substantial challenge project submitted by Tirlán.
