We were delighted to welcome Charles Kernan, the new CEO and President of Prometric, a US-based provider of market-leading testing solutions, to our St Patrick’s Campus last week. Mr Kernan was visiting DCU together with Garret Sherry, Prometric Vice President and General Manager of Ireland to learn more about the ongoing work and vision of DCU’s new Centre for Assessment Research, Policy and Practice in Education (CARPE).
The Centre has been supported by Prometric since 2015 when the company invested nearly €1 million to fund the Prometric Chair in Assessment to lead the Centre together with a post-doctoral and PhD researcher.
Under the guidance of Prometric Chair in Assessment, Professor Michael O’Leary, the Centre works to enhance the practice of assessment across all levels of the educational system through high quality research, professional development and establishing global networks.
Mr Kernan’s itinerary included meetings with DCU President Professor Brian MacCraith, Executive Dean of DCU Institute of Education, Anne Looney, a tour of the campus and programme updates from the CARPE team.
Speaking during the visit Professor O’Leary commented, “Today is a wonderful opportunity to update our funders on the exciting projects and research made possible through their support. From research into assessment that truly supports teaching and learning to studies on credentialing and licensure for workplace assessment there is a lot happening at the Centre. We are exploring some exciting developments in the area of animation in testing and exams using web technology, in particular the ability to supervise remote testing which is a significant growth area at present.”
Mr Kernan added, “The trends of globalisaation, competition, innovation and digitisation are impacting the markets for assessments as they are impacting all other aspects of our lives. Our partnership with DCU to establish a national resource for conducting research and developing best practice in education and job skills assessment continues to be of strategic importance and one that could potentially have a transformative impact on the quality of teaching, learning and jobs growth for generations to come.”
Speaking at the conclusion of the visit, Nathalie Walker, CEO of DCU Educational Trust stated, “Prometric has made a significant contribution to supporting assessment research at DCU which has the potential to influence and transform the quality of teaching and learning for future generations. In 2016, we recognised the importance of Prometric’s support when we presented them with our Corporate Leadership Award for their commitment to advancing education worldwide. I hope that today’s visit helps to further enhance and build on this strong relationship.”
