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DCU joins prestigious consortium of EU universities - to foster regeneration through innovation and entrepreneurship

News

DCU joins prestigious consortium of EU universities -
to foster regeneration through innovation and entrepreneurship

John Dennehy

Dublin City University has been invited to join the prestigious European university network, the European Consortium of Innovative Universities (ECIU). DCU is the only Irish university to be represented in this network of 11 European universities and three associate partners, from Australia, Mexico and Russia, all of whom share a common commitment to innovation and entrepreneurship. The vision of ECIU is to be a global leader in higher education through the collective expertise of the consortium, their dedication to enhancing the learning experience of students, and their focus on fostering economic and social development in the regions.

The members of ECIU have each established a reputation for working closely with industry and business, for strong interdisciplinary links and an entrepreneurial mindset. ECIU’s strategy is to remain a small, tightly-knit, consortium that collaborates on different activities and makes a difference to both its member institutions and the surrounding society.

Speaking of DCU’s membership of ECIU, President Brian MacCraith said: “It is clear that Innovation and Entrepreneurship are key to Ireland’s economic and social wellbeing and to securing our future prosperity. Harnessing innovation and entrepreneurship can only be successful if the higher education sector and industry are committed to working together and to maintaining open channels of communication. The ethos of ECIU closely resonates with what we in DCU are working hard to achieve through our strong research agenda and support of spin-outs, the work of the DCU Ryan Academy, our work placement programme, INTRA, and most recently our skills attributes programme, Generation 21. We are delighted to be Ireland’s member of ECIU and look forward to our active participation in this dynamic consortium.”

The ECIU was first established in 1997. DCU is the most recent university to join the consortium which includes such other internationally renowned members the University of Strathclyde, UK; Linkopings Universitet, Sweden; Technische Universität Hamburg-Harburg, Germany; University of Twente, Netherlands and Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal.