Engagement
Philanthropic Partnerships for a Better Future...
A university grows stronger through connection – to society, to alumni and to industry. DCU is proud to be a partner of choice for leaders in social innovation, industry and enterprise. Our focussed partnerships reinforce the career readiness of our students, enable powerful research collaborations, and have a transformative impact on lives and society.
Joe O’Mara, Head of Aviation Finance at KPMG with Professor Dáire Keogh, President of DCU and Business School students Nicole Emezie and Olivia Cody
KPMG Partners with DCU Business School
For over four decades, KPMG has been a strong supporter of accounting education at DCU. With a new five-year strategic partnership with DCU Business School announced in 2022, one of the leading providers of professional services is now deepening its contribution to business education in Ireland.
Through a substantial philanthropic commitment, this agreement will make a significant contribution to DCU Business School’s mission to educate leaders and professionals for the global marketplace and to contribute to the development of individuals, industry and society through its teaching, research and engagement with industry.
Expanding and building upon existing engagements, this partnership will see collaboration on curriculum development, guest lectures, student awards, deeper ties with DCU’s work placement programme and human capital enrichment. It will also enable research collaborations related to accounting, talent development, leadership, innovation and digitalisation. Additionally, it offers professional development and training opportunities for KPMG staff.
“At KPMG we believe in the importance of investing in education for our people, our business and our communities. Our new partnership with DCU Business School will help students develop fulfilling and exciting careers whilst contributing to the pool of talented graduates so fundamental to Ireland’s success.”
Seamus Hand, Managing Partner, KPMG Ireland
STEM Teacher Internship (STInt) Programme
This March, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris TD announced the expansion of the STEM Teacher Internship (STInt) Programme. STInt is a DCU initiative, led by Dr Eilish McLoughlin and Prof Deirdre Butler, that promotes innovative learning in STEM education by supporting internship opportunities for pre-service and early career teachers from seven universities in Ireland. Funding by our partners Skillnet Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland, the Department of Education and Intel is facilitating the further development of the STInt Programme over the next three years.
This summer, 66 pre-service and early career teachers worked as interns in 47 host companies. Through these 12-week paid internships, teachers gained first-hand experience of the diverse range of STEM careers and opportunities available. To date, STInt has placed 243 STEM teachers in hands-on roles in 56 of Ireland’s leading companies, a track record of success that has led to the programme being shortlisted for the prestigious Times Higher Education Awards Knowledge Exchange/Transfer Initiative of the Year for 2023.
These placements are only possible thanks to the strong engagement of STInt’s industry partners across sectors ranging from technology, pharma and medical devices to financial and professional services. Thanks to our partners, our STInt interns will go on to inspire a passion for STEM studies and careers in future generations, impacting on over 960,000 learners during their careers in Irish classrooms.
Pictured (L-R): STInt alumnus Jason Moriarty, Minister Simon Harris, STInt alumna Lucy Greene, Professor Dáire Keogh
“This collaborative approach between higher education, government agencies and industry provides STEM teachers with unique and engaging learning opportunities, and ultimately helps develop a more diverse future STEM talent workforce for our economy.”
Simon Harris, Minister for Further and Higher Education,
Research, Innovation and Science
Access to the Workplace
The award-winning DCU Access to the Workplace Programme aims to level the playing field for student groups who experience disadvantage in the workplace following graduation. Since 2019, the programme has provided 318 high-quality summer internships for DCU Access students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and for neurodivergent students. This summer, over 50 partner companies offered placements to 73 DCU students.
In 2023, we announced a new partnership with LinkedIn that will fund the growth and expansion of Access to the Workplace from 2023 to 2025, including the development of a post-internship mentoring programme. Their support will enable 450 students to engage with Access to the Workplace, and will provide up to 1,000 Access students in the final year of their studies with the opportunity to attend LinkedIn career workshops.
DCU Access to the Workplace is also supported by Rethink Ireland’s Scaling Education Fund, enabling the programme’s growth and development to 2025.
“Everybody should have the same opportunities in life regardless of their background. DCU’s Access to the Workplace programme illustrates this perfectly, and at LinkedIn, we also believe that no-one should be left behind.”
Sharon McCooey, Former LinkedIn Country Manager
“We at Rethink Ireland are on a mission to make Ireland a more equal, just and sustainable place to live. By backing projects like Access to the Workplace, disadvantaged students are provided with better opportunities, workplaces experience more talent and diversity and Ireland benefits as a whole.”
Clare Allen, Fund Manager at Rethink Ireland
Celebrating Our Philanthropic Partners
In February 2023, our annual Leadership Circle Dinner brought together over 200 of DCU’s leading supporters to celebrate their collective contribution to DCU’s mission to transform lives and societies.
CRH was announced as the winner of the DCU Corporate Leadership Award for 2023 at the event. The leading provider of building materials solutions has supported the DCU Access Programme since 2007, enabling hundreds of DCU students from disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue their dream of higher education. In 2014, CRH extended this support to a postgraduate scholarship programme, which has since enabled 100 students to progress their studies to Master’s level.
The Individual Leadership Award was presented to husband-and-wife Siobhán Fay and Edward McGivney, in recognition of the DCU alumni’s long-standing support for the DCU Access Programme.
Professor Anne Looney, Executive Dean of DCU Institute of Education, was presented with the DCU Staff Leadership Award at the event, in celebration of her leadership in working with the university’s philanthropic partners to advance Irish education.
DCU Alumni Give Back
We are immensely grateful to all our alumni donors who supported our Spring 2023 appeal by making a donation to DCU’s Excellence and Opportunity Fund. Support for the fund enables bright minds to excel at DCU by providing doctoral research opportunities and life-changing scholarships.
At the launch, President of DCU Professor Dáire Keogh was joined by graduates including pilot Lisa Cusack and Dublin GAA star Paddy Andrews, who came together to show their support for the new fundraising campaign.
