DCU Educational Trust is pleased to have ten free copies of a new book, which chronicles the history of DCU over the past 40 years to give away to our supporters. The book, Dublin City University, 1980 – 2020: Designed To Be Different, by Dr. Eoin Kinsella is also available to purchase from the DCU Alumni store.
The book details the landmark achievements and many challenges faced by the university over four decades, placing them within the wider context of Irish higher education.
The development of DCU’s pioneering curriculum is examined, alongside key milestones such as the introduction of socially innovative education strategies for widening access to higher education.
It also looks at the transformative support received from Chuck Feeney and Atlantic Philanthropies. Dr. Kinsella is among the first authors to gain access to Atlantic Philanthropies’ extensive archives, held at Cornell University in New York. The book tracks the evolution of the university’s infrastructure on the old Albert Agricultural College campus in Glasnevin and the incorporation of St. Patrick’s College, the Mater Dei Institute of Education and Church of Ireland College of Education in 2016.
The university has grown rapidly from its origins as the National Institute for Higher Education (NIHE) Dublin, which opened its doors in November 1980 to 191 students. Established to address a major deficit in the technological skills of Irish graduates, NIHE Dublin emerged from a wide-ranging review of the third-level sector during the 1960s and 1970s.
Since it was granted university status in 1989, DCU has evolved into one of the most successful young universities in the world, widely recognised for its educational innovation, its translational research strengths, and its deep engagement with local, national and international communities and networks.
Today the university has more than 18,000 students across three academic campuses. After forty years of development and growth, DCU is not only a well-established and highly regarded institution in the higher education landscape in Ireland, but the university has also developed a significant international reputation based on key aspects of its mission and profile.
As explored in the book, university status was also the catalyst for sustained engagement with local communities and concerted efforts to widen access to education, forming the base of a more recent focus on socially innovative education strategies led by staff and students, such as DCU’s Access programme for disadvantaged students, the Age Friendly University and the Autism Friendly University.
We are sorry to inform you we have now given away our 10 free copies, however this book is still available to purchase from the DCU Alumni store.
