[dropcap]DCU[/dropcap] is one of seven Irish universities who have launched a coordinated campaign to make the Irish education system the best in Europe by 2026.
The charter, called Ireland’s Future Talent, identifies six central objectives and commits to delivering a fit for purpose university system for the evolving demands of society. The development of the Charter, the first of its kind in third level education history, has been engineered by the Irish Universities Association and was launched at an event in Dublin on September 17th. DCU are involved in the Charters’ development along with, Maynooth University, National University of Ireland Galway, Trinity College Dublin, University College Cork, University College Dublin and University of Limerick.
Jim Miley, Director General of the Irish Universities Association said, “Universities worldwide are transforming and the Charter to which we have committed today is designed to move Irish universities to the forefront of that change by jointly committing to a range of measures that better support students, staff and research and that will deliver in the national interest.”
The six core commitments that the universities hope to deliver include, building on the quality of the student experience in a digital age, increasing the scale, scope and impact of investment in research and innovation, expanding student access with communities and industry, supporting a programme of staff development and increasing equality and diversity, creating more flexible and securing the investment and resources to achieve these ambitions.
Targets for the Charter include, increasing lifelong learning for people aged 25 to 64 from the current 6.5% to the EU average of 10.7% by 2030, increasing the output of PhD graduates by at least 30% over the next 10 years and working with the government on legislative reform to deliver a more flexible operating structure, with a better capacity to respond to the needs of the economy and society in general.
Chair of the IUA Professor Patrick O’Shea said, “the importance of the Charter is that it underpins a commitment to substantial change. It calls out the challenges. It puts meat on the bones of the Government’s ambition.”
Conor Breslin
Image Credit: Irish Universities Association