The TU Dublin Access and Civic Engagement Office
The Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin) has a long tradition of engaging with society through civic engagement, public engagement and business engagement. The university is committed to contributing to social, cultural, technological and economic progress through engagement with and within our community and has contributed to widening access to education as a core part of its mission.
Through its civic engagement activities TU Dublin:
• Builds mutually beneficial partnerships with civil society, communities and other education sectors to create and exchange knowledge
• Provides transformative learning opportunities for a diverse range of students and widening participation in higher education. TU Dublin recognises that widening participation provides benefits for individuals, under-represented communities, society and for staff and students in TU Dublin. The approach is based on the principle of education for all.
• Impacts positively on Irish society through engagement programmes addressing key societal issues, providing a gateway to positions of influence in Irish society through widening access to HE, and co-creating knowledge for better policy and practice
• Enhances the quality of TU Dublin’s education experience and prepares life and career-ready graduates through providing student transition and support programmes, high-quality learning experiences with communities and leadership skills programmes
The role of the TU Dublin Access and Civic Engagement Office is to co-ordinate, deliver and promote TU Dublin’s access and civic engagement programmes and activities through building and working in partnership with TU Dublin staff, students and community and education partners.
The activities co-ordinated by the TU Dublin Access and Civic Engagement Office include:
• Community-based research and learning
• Access entry routes
• Engagement outreach – Preparation for Higher Education, Pathways Return to learning and Lifelong Learning programmes and longer-term widening participation outreach programmes
• Local engagement programmes in Grangegorman area
• Research and policy and practice-impact activities