Celebrating 25 Years of Access to Higher Education
The DCU Educational Trust held an event last week to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the DCU Access Scholarship Programme, the first and largest programme of its kind in Ireland, enabling students from backgrounds of socio-economic disadvantage to complete a third-level education. Students and graduates of the programme joined Professor Brian MacCraith, President of DCU, Steve Aiken, CEO of the DCU Educational Trust and the University’s community of generous supporters at a breakfast event to mark the milestone anniversary of the programme.
DCU Business School graduate, Shauna Bonner from Greencastle, Co. Donegal, who now works as an Assistant HR Manager in Deloitte, and 3rd Year Aviation Management student Ryan Graham from Sandyford, told the audience how the Access Scholarship Programme made it possible for them to pursue a university qualification. Ryan described “I always had a passion for flight and aircraft and my eyes lit up when I found out about the course I’m currently on, especially when I realised the Access Programme could make it possible for me to attend DCU. The in-depth knowledge and on-the-job learning I have experienced in my first two years in the course would have been unimaginable before I came to DCU.”
DCU pioneered Ireland’s first access route to higher education in 1990, with just six students. Today it is the largest programme of its kind in Ireland, providing equal access to education for over 1,000 students, who come from socio-economically disadvantaged areas, including students from ethnic minorities and students from the traveller community.
The Access Service provides financial, academic and personal support to students, in addition to managing a range of outreach programmes designed to connect with 10,000 primary and second-level students in schools with low levels of progression to university. Outreach programmes include initiatives designed to improve maths skills and to introduce potential students to university life through student shadowing and campus visits.
Many of these services are generously supported by graduates and corporate organisations. In addition to providing financial support for current students, they support outreach programmes including the Citi Financing Your Career initiative and the AOL Maths Competition, which brought together 300 second-level students in DCU this year to promote the value of maths skills.
Pat Burke, Partner at Grant Thornton and graduate of DCU, told attendees at the event that he has provided long-term support for the programme so that young people can continue to access the opportunities afforded by a DCU education. Steve Aiken added “Our supporters provide funding for the programme because it transforms the lives of students, their families and their communities. When given the opportunity, DCU’s Access students excel in university, with a higher proportion of Access students achieving first and second class honours degrees and experiencing a higher retention rate compared to the general student population.”
DCU’s Access graduates have gone on to work in a variety of professional sectors around the world. One such graduate is David Dowling who graduated with a BSc in Biotechnology in 2005 and is now a research fellow at Harvard Medical School and a Project Manager in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Boston Children’s Hospital.
To find out more about supporting the DCU Access Scholarship Programme, contact the Educational Trust www.dcu.ie/trust