Engagement 2021-2022
DCU is a ‘University of Place’, highly engaged with its local communities and the wider region. This engagement has always been a hallmark of the University, which works closely with a range of stakeholders, from local residents in North Dublin to employers and enterprise, to the arts community and sporting organisations. Signalling this commitment to its stakeholders, in December 2021 DCU appointed Laura Mahoney as Executive Director of Engagement. In this role, she provides senior level leadership to advance DCU’s extensive external engagement activities.
The war in Ukraine led to a significant new element of our engagement activities that no one could have predicted at the start of the academic year. DCU offered 380 beds to Ukrainian refugee families in our campus accommodation between May and August 2022. Those housed on campus were also offered catering through our canteen services. DCU was also part of the sectoral response being led by the Irish Universities Association (IUA) in conjunction with the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS). DFHERIS and the sector established the National Student and Researcher Helpdesk, which assisted the needs of third-level students and researchers fleeing the war.
There was a strong artistic theme to the past year’s engagement activities. Our St Patrick’s campus welcomed Poetry Ireland, which will be based temporarily in the University while the organisation’s new offices in Parnell Square are renovated. The partnership will involve a number of poetry initiatives as well as hosting launches and live events on campus in the coming years. During the year, DCU also signed an agreement with Children’s Books Ireland, which will see the transfer of its entire archive of award-winning books - dating back to the 1900s - into the care of DCU Library. The agreement ensures the long-term preservation of this critical archive of children’s literature and the collection represents a major new resource for students. DCU also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Chamber Choir Ireland that formalised its Associate Artist status at the University. As Associate Artists, the choir will continue to perform in All Hallows Chapel and will explore new connections with DCU’s Choral Music academic programmes. Our engagement with individual artists also continued with the appointment of three new Visual Artists in Residence, and two Writers in Residence.
Positive interaction with schools is an essential part of DCU’s engagement portfolio. This year, thousands of students converged on the Glasnevin campus to experience the Mobile Newton Room - a state-of-the-art STEM classroom that features three professional flight simulator panels. This interactive learning lab was in Ireland for the first time and gives second-level students the chance to experience STEM education in a new and exciting way. Another great example of the University’s impact on second-level education was the launch of a new Outreach Learning Hub in our neighbouring community of Finglas. This is the third hub created under an initiative run by The Educational Disadvantage Centre in DCU’s Institute of Education, which aims to increase the number of student applications from the area for Teacher Education programmes at DCU. The hubs offer informal and formal education sessions, mentoring and informational meetings about teaching as a career, as well as support with Irish, Maths and academic writing.
Engagement with industry and employers is vital for the advancement of the University’s research and for the delivery of relevant undergraduate and postgraduate courses. The support of Deloitte was critical to the launch in the past year, of the DCU Centre for Climate and Society. The Centre is Ireland’s first academic research centre devoted to leading societal responses to the climate crisis. In the keynote address at the Centre’s inaugural conference President Michael D Higgins said the centre would “play a key role, working across civil society, policymakers, local authorities, communities, and educators, in fostering public engagement with the great existential issue of our era, climate change”. Other collaborations with industry included an agreement with The Fintech Corridor, designed to further advance fintech education, and a new partnership with the National Flight Centre Pilot Academy (NFC) that allows DCU students on the Aviation Management with Pilot Studies degree programme to undertake their pilot training with the NFC.
The year was also marked by significant sporting partnerships. In June, DCU officially took over the running of Ireland’s national athletics stadium, Morton Stadium in Santry. Under an agreed 40-year lease on the facility from Fingal County Council, DCU will lead the development of a capital investment programme which will include a new track and upgrade to facilities to the benefit of local and national athletes. Meanwhile, DCU and Bohemians FC cemented their partnership with the announcement of plans to jointly develop a €300,000 all-weather pitch at the DCU Sports Campus. DCU Soccer and Bohemians will have joint use of the facility, while access will also be provided to marginalised and disadvantaged groups.