President's Welcome 2023-2024
Prof Dáire Keogh
It has been another year of growth and achievement for the University, a year to look back on proudly. To maintain our momentum, we must also keep our eyes on the horizon. This approach is embedded in the title of our new university strategy, ‘Transformation for an Unscripted Future’, with its vision for DCU as ‘a leading innovative European university’. At the core of the strategy, we have defined our guiding principles as People, Focus and Impact. We are a ‘people first’ university with a laser focus on building on our strengths and areas of excellence to deliver impact that ‘transforms lives and societies’.
In this report, I hope you will find those principles strongly represented. Our research community continued to push boundaries and deliver impact. They have been advancing health outcomes through cancer therapeutics or biomechanical solutions; exploring next-generation advanced materials, increasing accessibility through digital innovation, and exploring the challenges of online hate speech.
Our students continued to make us proud with stories of their talent and resilience, such as the first graduates of the Bachelor of Education through Irish Sign Language, who received their degrees in October 2024. Students remain at the heart of everything we do, and this year we received welcome affirmation of the quality of our teaching and learning, as DCU climbed the international university rankings. In addition, DCU Business School achieved the coveted ‘triple crown’ of international accreditations.
People make this University what it is, and in this report, you will see the many ways in which DCU staff deliver on the University’s mission. Our new strategy highlights our commitment to ‘value and develop our staff community’. The University received the Athena Swan Silver Award, confirming our progress on ensuring DCU is a workplace where everyone can flourish. I hope this review of the year illustrates the positive culture of DCU, a University that continues to grow in every sense.
Regards,
Prof Dáire Keogh
President, Dublin City University