DCU climbs ladder of knowledge economy - Newsweek report

DCU students outside The Helix

The prestigious Newsweek magazine has produced a special report on Arizona State University (ASU), the ‘Campus of the Future’. The article outlines the forward-looking approach taken by Arizona university by promoting innovation and getting experts to ‘rub shoulders and think outside their disciplines’.

Newsweek journalist Stefan Theil states, “It’s all part of a fundamental rethinking of how universities should function in the 21^st century, a process led by Crow and a small number of like-minded pioneers”.

Dublin City University has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with ASU and is collaborating on a number of already-publicised ventures with the university, particularly in the area of innovation.

Gordon McConnell, Head of Strategy at DCU, is quoted as saying that DCU has been given a clear mandate to move Ireland up the ladder of the knowledge economy. “Today”, he says, “companies like Intel and Samsung run research labs in the middle of the campus, brought there with the help of Ireland’s Inward Development Agency. At first, professors balked at what they considered blatant commercialization. But this direct link to some of the companies that helped drive the “Celtic Tiger” has given students a tremendous head start when looking for jobs”.