Invent DCU Licences Diversity Training Programme
26 November 2009

Dermot Rogers - Channel Content, Minister Seán Haughey TD, Dr Aileen Pearson-Evans - SALIS, DCU, Cllr Rotimi Adebari - DCU, Richard Stokes - Invent DCU

As the world becomes more and more culturally diverse, there is a clear and growing need for inter-cultural training to improve awareness and to enable people from different (cultural, religious, racial and linguistic) backgrounds to live and work together.

To address these challenges, Dublin City University has partnered with Channel Content, a leading Dublin-based learning and communications company, to create a novel and flexible multimedia-based training course.

Entitled “Managing Workplace Diversity” this unique video-based training programme has been organised into a series of self-contained modules.  Using this approach the material is tailored for different end users.  The courses can be delivered as a traditional DVD or as a web-based application for delivery to your computer at home or work, or your mobile device when on the go.

Launching this innovative video-based training programme at Dublin City University this morning, Minister for Lifelong Learning, Seán Haughey TD said, “Managing Workplace Diversity’ will greatly assist us further in our understanding of the many people from different cultures who have come to live and work in our country. Our capacity for innovation will draw on creativity and skills fostered by humanities and social sciences research as well as through the creative arts, science and technology. It is through the fusion of our strengths across all of these disciplines that we can develop and exploit our full innovation potential.  “Managing Workplace Diversity” is an excellent example of successful collaboration between our universities and the business community.

The original breakthrough research in intercultural training was created through DCU’s leadership of a collaborative pan-European project entitled the European Intercultural Workplace (EIW).  The programme addresses core diversity topics including food, religion, gender, body language, racism etc. Each topic identifies specific issues to focus on, using enacted workplace scenarios that suggest best practice.

Video presentation offers realistic portrayal and maximises viewer engagement. By enabling the videos to be watched online, on DVD or downloaded to mobile phones and iPods, access to the material extends to all age groups and learning preferences.

“Our collaboration with SALIS/DCU is a perfect digital publishing relationship. We capture the expertise of its team and repackage it for application in a practical, accessible way for the workplace”, says Dermot Rogers, Channel Content Chief Executive. “Using flexible video-based delivery is ideal for this type of material.”

The video topics are supported by tutor and learner guides, and online assessments. The programme uses a blended learning model so that it can be used in classroom settings or as distance learning and/or e-learning material.

“This is the Knowledge Economy in action,” states Richard Stokes CEO of Invent, the Technology Transfer Office at DCU.  “Matching the valuable research within DCU to a progressive local company like Channel Content is core to our mission.  This is a global market and it is great to think that an Irish company is well positioned for success.”

According to Dr. Aileen Pearson-Evans, Head of SALIS the School of Applied Language and Intercultural Studies at DCU, “We have already received a huge amount of interest in this research. This new partnership between SALIS and Channel Content is exciting and timely - by making the product more user-friendly, it enables a much wider audience to use the material in different settings. It has been a great experience working with such a dynamic Irish company, which I hope will lead to further collaborations.”