DCU. Image: Connor McKenna
DCU’s novel approach to future planning sees the university undertaking a 24-hour live brainstorming session online, with tens of thousands of stakeholders involved.
Dublin City University (DCU) is currently well into its latest attempt to formulate ideas for its future organisation.
Looking for opinions on everything from campus life to graduate employment options, DCU Fuse began today (30 March) at 11am, with forums and videos online throughout.
The programme is open to the university’s 17,000 students and 1,200-strong staff as well as 80,000 graduates and members of the public with an interest in the university, including business and local community.
“DCU has undergone fundamental transformation over the last few years,” said Prof Brian MacCraith, president of the university, when launching the event.
“As the fastest-growing university now in the country, spread across five campuses and with a new Institute of Education, we now stand at a crossroads in our history,” he said.
DCU Fuse, therefore, could provide MacCraith and his colleagues with valuable feedback from various viewpoints, potentially adding value to any future directional changes.
“This online brainstorming event will enable us to capture the views, ideas and aspirations of all our community, and to extract these to inform and enhance the university’s new strategy to 2022 and beyond,” he said.
“The wide-ranging conversations will cover the broad role of the university and its contribution to society.”
DCU’s reputation for education in general has received acclaim, with Prof Joe O’Hara recently named president of the European Educational Research Association.
O’Hara has led much of the institution’s education policy in his current position as the inaugural professor of education, and as a member of the School of Policy and Practice in the DCU Institute of Education.
Some of his previous accomplishments include being the president of the Educational Studies Association of Ireland as well as a member of the Teaching Council of Ireland, from 2012 up until last year.
The Fuse platform was developed by the Science Foundation Ireland-backed Adapt centre, with scrolling forums already populated by conversations surrounding multiple areas of college life.
