It was aptly named The Open Door.

Now a pop-up restaurant project at Cork Prison is opening doors for Munster Technological University (MTU), which scooped a prestigious award for the idea at a global event recognising the role of universities in the community.

MTU was declared the outright winner in the European Awards’ EDI Community Engagement Initiative of the Year at the ACEEU Triple E Awards in Barcelona.

The Open-Door Restaurant: Unlocking Potential is a truly unique collaboration between MTU, Cork ETB, IASIO and Cork Prison designed to train and educate prisoners to improve and develop their culinary skills and workplace learning.

The programme culminated in a pop-up restaurant, allowing the students to demonstrate (and be assessed) on their knowledge and skills in the culinary domain.

Subsequently, four former prisoners are now working in the culinary arts, while two others were offered jobs pending release.

Speaking from Barcelona, where the awards are being held, Professor Irene Sheridan, founder and head of MTU Extended Campus, said the initiative demonstrates the role of MTU in supporting change through ensuring access “and raising expectations across society as a whole”.

MTU received the most nominations of any higher education institution in Ireland for the ACEEU Triple E Awards.

It joins the London School of Economics, Trinity College Dublin and Brunel University as well as a host of other top-ranked third-level institutions at the prestigious awards ceremony to be held in Barcelona from June 26th-29th, 2023.