DCU in the Community - Summer School 2012
2nd August marked the last day of DCU in the Community Summer School 2012. 14 workshops were delivered over 4 weeks in July for over 80 participants taking up 130 workshop places – almost twice as many as last year. Among the attendees were local (and also not-so-local!) residents, and employees of community organisations in Ballymun, all aged between 18 and 80. Workshops were delivered in four areas – Maths & Science, Sports & Health, Digital Technologies and Green Living.
Among the facilitators were members of DCU staff and lecturers, as well as community experts. Mary Farrelly, from DCU School of Nursing, delivered an engaging session that aimed to enhance participants’ understanding of mental health and provided lots of tips on how to maintain good mental well-being. Helena Ahern, Head of DCU Counselling Service, had 23 people in the audience for her Mindfulness & Stress Management workshop. 30-minute meditation ended the session and left the participants quite a bit more confident about dealing with the stress of their daily lives. Dr Paul Fitters of Teagasc, a lecturer on BSc in Horticulture degree, told his audience about the range of courses available for those interested in finding out more about sustainability, green living and plant science. BDI (Biomedical Diagnostics Institute) welcomed our community participants on campus yet again, and gave us a grand tour of the labs and the heads-up on the latest research, with Dr Aoife MacCormac and Robbie Sinnott facilitating.
Community experts who delivered Summer School workshops in Shangan Road included Paul Hamill, tutor on Project FUTSAL course, who provided loads of tips on every day and sports nutrition – another very popular session. Coach Dan Tabb from Sports Across Ireland gave an inspiring lecture on the role that sports can play in shaping young people’s body, mind and spirit. We also all enjoyed a trip to Shangan Road Community Garden with Maire Hurley, Global Action Plan’s Community Gardener – we were happy to help out with planting in the biodiversity mini-garden. Education Officers at the Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin facilitated a biodiversity and sustainability workshop for over 20 participants in conjunction with the tour of the gardens.
DCU in the Community staff also had a chance to put their teaching skills in action by delivering 4 workshops in Digital Technologies and Media. We are particularly happy about the first ever Physics workshop in our centre delivered by DCU in the Community Maths Coordinator Paul Grimes, who engaged a diverse group of participants in physics experiments.
We would like to thank all facilitators and participants for helping us shape our Summer School this July and hope that with the support of staff at Dublin City University, as well as all local groups and organisations, the initiative will enjoy a similar (or greater!) success next year.