Past Events

Summer School 2011

This year Students Learning With Communities Summer School was held over the course of three days at the end of June. There was a variety of presentations and workshops in community-based learning and community-based research including some excellent case studies by students, staff and community partners and a stimulating afternoon on creative facilitation led by Frank Naughton of Partners: Training for Transformation. For more information including an outline of the schedule of events please click here.

2010-2011 Annual Awards

In early May as part of Students Learning With Communities Annual Awards we were delighted to celebrate the great work carried out by students, staff and community partners on a broad range of projects and research across many different academic disciplines for 2010-11.

Please click here for more information and a range of photos from the day.

Students Working With Communities - a significant curriculum initiative in Irish higher education:

A seminar jointly hosted by the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) and the Higher Education Authority (HEA) took place in Aungier Street on 6th January to consider the impact of ‘students learning with communities’ in Ireland and to discuss the potential for its future development in Irish higher education. 

Just under one hundred educationalists from universities and colleges across Ireland, as well as representatives from local and national community organisations gathered to hear how the concept of ‘civic engagement’ has been developed as a core element in higher education in the USA, and how it is being adapted in the Irish context.

For more details, presentations and video footage of the event, please click here.

 

 

Students Learning With Communities Exhibition 2010 and launch of the inaugural DIT President's Community Fellowships

In November we showcased the exciting work that collaborations between students and community groups produced in 2009/10. This exhibition was held across the main DIT campuses as part of Design Week 2010, Innovation Dublin 2010 and Science Week 2010 from the 1-21st November.

During the exhibition launch on Nov 10th in Bolton Street we also launched a new initiative called the DIT President's Community Fellowships. 

For more information on the Exhibition and the launch of the DIT President's Community Fellowships please click here.

The Leading Lights in Road Safety Awards 2010:

The Programme for Students Learning With Communities in collaboration with the Garda Road Safety Unit was recently awarded a 2010 Leading Light Award under the category of third level education for its College Awareness of Road Safety (CARS) project. The Leading Lights in Road Safety Awards celebrate the outstanding efforts of people to improve road safety in their communities. The awards provide a special opportunity for members of the public to honour the contribution of exceptional people to making our roads safer for everyone. We received the award on Oct 13 in Dublin Castle on behalf of all DIT staff and students who have participated in the CARS project over the last three years. Congratulations to all! Click here for more details on CARS.

Students Learning With Communities Awards Ceremony 2010:

This years awards celebrating the work of students, staff and community partners on Students Learning With Communities projects took place on April 26th at 4pm in the Courtyard Café in DIT Aungier Street. Click here for an outline of our 2010 Award recipients. 

 

 

The Taoiseach's Public Service Excellence Awards 2010:

The Programme for Students Learning With Communities was recently shortlisted for the Taoiseach's Public Service Excellence Awards 2010.  These awards are designed to showcase and celebrate public service projects that make a particular difference to the way citizens can avail of services. The Awards promote innovation and excellence, the creative use of resources and the development of new efficiencies. We were delighted to be shortlisted.

 

Workshops with Professor Bob Bringle 2009:

Professor Bob Bringle of IUPUI (Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis), US, visited DIT on 23rd and 24th November to give a series of workshops and presentations on Students Learning With Communities topics, generously funded by Campus Engage and hosted by DIT’s Programme for Students Learning With Communities.

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Launching Students Learning With Communities Practice Group 2009:

In July we launched our Students Learning With Communities Practice Group which meets four times over the academic year. We intend this group to be an opportunity for those of us interested and engaged in SLWC (staff, students and community partners) and to come together informally to discuss, reflect on and appraise all of our work, and to have an opportunity to share inspirations and ideas for individual and cross-disciplinary projects. We hold these meetings at lunchtime on alternating south-side and north-side DIT campuses to facilitate as many people as possible. Do keep an eye on our News section for future Practice Group dates.

 

Students Learning With Communities Award Ceremony 2009:

Congratulations to all students, community partners and lecturers who received awards for their participation in Students Learning With Communities projects during the 2008 - 2009 academic year!

The awards took place in the Courtyard Cafe in Aungier Street on Tuesday 5 May and the ceremony was officiated by Dr Frank Mc Mahon Director of Academic Affairs, Professor Thomas Cooke Director of Community Links and Dr Catherine Bates, Coordinator of Students Learning With Communities.

Click here to get a full list of the award recipients.  

 

College Awareness of Road Safety (CARS) Showcase Event 2009:

For the second year running DIT students joined forces with the Garda Road Safety Unit to develop new means of communicating road safety messages to young people. The CARS initiative (College Awareness of Road Safety) involved students from across DIT using their subject skills to explore different aspects of road safety and to design new and effective ways to communicate with young drivers, especially males in the 17-25 age bracket.

Hosted by DIT’s Students Learning With Communities office, the students’ work was exhibited and awarded at the CARS Showcase. Gay Byrne, Chairman of the Road Safety Authority, Chief Superintendent Gabriel McIntyre, as well as DIT President, Professor Brian Norton officiated at the ceremony and gave out prizes. For more on CARS please click here.

 

 

Aspects of Grangegorman - its Heritage and Culture: 

In February Students Learning With Communities along with DIT lecturer Kevin Griffin hosted the opening of an exhibition of DIT students' work in the Macro Community Centre in North King Street. was a series of display boards on the heritage of the Grangegorman area. They were created by DIT students from Tourism Management and Event Management who studied Heritage, Culture and Tourism in 2008. The exhibition was officially launched by Dublin City Manager John Tierney and in attendance at the opening were this year's students who are about to begin on a similar project and several prominent community representatives.

The work was well received and provided the starting point for this year's students to appreciate the significance of the work they are about to embark on and the first formal opportunity to come into contact with the community they are about to work with. The exhibition ran until 27th February. Our thanks again to the Macro Centre for providing the exhibition space and promoting the students' work. Click here to find out more about this project and to see photos of the opening.

 

Seminar on Students Learning With Communities 2008:

Together with Martina Crehan from the Learning, Teaching and Technology Centre, we held a seminar on 'Introduction to Students Learning With Communities and Student Assessment on Thursday November 27 2008 at the Learning and Teaching Centre, DIT Mount Street

 

 

Workshops on Students Learning With Communities – in engineering and across disciplines, with Professor Bill Oakes, 2008:

Professor Bill Oakes, of Purdue University in Indiana in the USA, facilitated a series of workshops and round-table discussions on community-based learning or service learning. Professor Oakes is the founder and director of EPICS, an award-winning programme in cross-disciplinary engineering education. These workshops were organized by DIT - Students Learning With Communities and Faculty of Engineering, and Campus Engage. Please click here for more details of the event.