DCU Helping People Back to Education

Dublin City University is running a course through its ‘DCU in the Community’ outreach centre in Ballymun to help people to return to full-time education

The course, ‘Bridge to Education’, is a ten week programme, which runs three days a week from 9 March 2009. It will equip potential learners with the required study skills and confidence to return to full-time learning.

Other topics covered on the course include: Cultural Studies, English, Communications and Budget Management. Guest speakers and trips to the DCU campus will also feature.

“We are responding to the need for upskilling and capacity building in this economy. Many of our students come from Ballymun and all of them come from North county Dublin. Several have already applied through the CAO process for a place in DCU next September”, said Dr Jean Berry, Centre manager for DCU in the Community. “We provide an informal and approachable setting for returning to education. I am very excited to see so much interest in this programme and we are getting lots of interest from statutory agencies about potential partnerships in the future”.

DCU in the Community is based in Shangan Road in the heart of Ballymun and is the first centre of its kind in Dublin. Its mission is to provide flexible educational opportunities to increase participation, promote equality in third level education and offer support for mature students. An integral part of DCU’s overall mission is that all should have the right to participate in lifelong learning regardless of economic status. This project is a vibrant and tangible symbol of DCU’s commitment to the local area.