DCU Research

This week's research impact case study is the Write to Read project: Strong literacy skills are key to success in school and in realising one’s potential in adult life. They are linked to levels of employment, income and participation in social and civic life. But writing is more than that, it is a fundamental human activity which we use to fulfil many purposes in life: to create, imagine, amuse, inform, stay in touch, explain, remember, learn, report, influence or discover new insights. There is strong evidence from international studies that writing supports development of other key skills such as oral language and reading. Importantly, providing opportunities for young children (4–6-year-olds) to compose even before they can spell conventionally, has been found to not only benefit writing processes but has also play a causal role in later proficient reading development. Despite such evidence, national and international studies reveal that rarely is sufficient time devoted to writing instruction in schools and that teachers require further support to optimise teaching in ways that align with research findings on effective practice. Additionally, children’s and teachers’ attitudes towards writing and their sense of self-efficacy as writers impact on writing development and how time is used in classrooms. This strand of research forms part of the Write to Read initiative which seeks to investigate how best to support schools in adopting research-informed approaches to literacy instruction that not only enhance literacy outcomes for children but support schools in developing as communities of engaged readers, writers, thinkers and creators. Customised onsite professional development was provided by literacy coaches to build teachers’ capacity to design and implement an evidence-based writing workshop. The study adopted a mixed methods approach and was conducted over several phases across four years in eight schools designated as disadvantaged. Questionnaires were administered to all classroom and learning support teachers in years one and three while in year four, individual in-depth interviews were conducted with randomly selected teachers across all class levels (4–12-year-olds). This allowed the team to explore how teachers’ practices and perceptions of children’s writing development had evolved over time, along with their views on successes and challenges. https://lnkd.in/egNhJwjK

📢 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences PhD Students! At tomorrow's Spotlight on Research event, Executive Dean, Professor Derek Hand, will be in conversation with three PhD students in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences who have published journal articles during their studies. kelly Adamson, School of History and Geography Nikita Khokhlov, School of Law and Government Aaron Gallagher, School of Communications Publishing during doctoral studies is vital to academic training and professional development. It can help students improve their doctoral thesis, develop new transversal skills, and enhance prospects for postdoctoral academic and professional jobs. This event aims to showcase the experience of three postgraduate research students who have published peer-reviewed journal articles, including the critical support they have received from their supervisors. 

The SHINE team is honoured to be part of this successful event. 👏🎉

#Capacity building is an essential component of an #equitable energy transition for international #shipping. Since 2022, I had the privilege of organizing and delivering #training at Dublin City University for delegations to the International Maritime Organization from over 50 #developing countries, especially African countries, LDCs, and SIDS. It was great sharing what I learned from this experience with colleagues at the DCU #Teaching & #Learning week. Many thanks to Barry Peak for organizing this session. Many thanks also to IrishAid, United Nations Foundation, The World Bank, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Department of Transport for making this possible. Dominik Englert Rico Salgmann Isabelle Rojon Sotiria Lagouvardou Jan Hoffmann Kerrlene Wills Simon Walmsley DCU Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences DCU Global Photo credit: Christy Ann Petit

University of Galway - J.E. Cairnes School of Business & Economics collaborates with Dublin City University in New Book Exploring Greener Uses of Digital Technologies.👨💻♻   On Tuesday, 15 October 2024, University of Galway - J.E. Cairnes School of Business & Economics celebrated the launch of 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲: 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐭 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 (Springer Link), an open-access book examining the long-term sustainable use of digital technologies and leveraging of digital technologies to combat climate change. Edited by Professor Theo Lynn (DCU), Dr Pierangelo Rosati, Dr David Kreps and Professor Kieran Conboy ( University of Galway), the book brings together insights from international experts on topics such as smart cities, smart agriculture, energy management and the circular economy. Insights are shared by researchers from institutions across Europe, the US and the UK. Pictured (L–R): Dr David Kreps, Dr Pierangelo Rosati (both University of Galway - J.E. Cairnes School of Business & Economics ), Professor Theo Lynn (DCU) and Professor Kieran Conboy (University of Galway - J.E. Cairnes School of Business & Economics). #JECairnesSchool #Collaboration #DCU #ResearchAndInnovation #ClimateAction #DigitalSustainability #ClimateChange #SustainableTech #DigitalInnovation #GreenTech #DigitalTransformation #SustainabilityGoals #UniversityOfGalway Meadhbh McNutt

Focusing on the Information and Communications (ICT) sector specifically, the aforementioned figure is even more stark, moving to 1 in 5 employees. This figure has reduced drastically by 10 points since 2004, far short of the country’s goal of a critical mass of 30%. Diversity interventions have not affected significant positive results. The problem of how to attract and retain women in this sector seems surprisingly intractable. Dublin City University is as the forefront of research tackling this issue. Ireland is one of the world’s leading technology hubs and as the pace of technology advances, the demand for engineering and ICT experts is only going to increase. However, over 94% of employers in Ireland have reported difficulties in attracting and retaining staff with engineering and ICT skills, despite offering higher than average remuneration. In this week's research impact case study, one unexpected and enduring finding relates to the role of men in encouraging women’s participation and retention in the IT sector. The data tells us that the STEM gender gap in Ireland starts to accelerate after the Junior Cert. Up to that point, fairly equal numbers of girls and boys study Science. When it comes to Leaving Certificate, girls are predominantly overrepresented in biological sciences but are underrepresented in physics, a trend that continues at third level. This finding raises the question as to how girls can be encouraged to continue studying physics and maths at a higher level in School. Our research showed that male family figures (fathers, brothers, uncles) in particular, exert an outsize and enduring influence in encouraging girls to choose to study higher level mathematics and physics in School, as well as subsequently persisting in STEM careers and helping them overcome gender-related and other obstacles. https://lnkd.in/guVyRCM8

Our "Future of Entrepreneurship" event this week began with a masterclass in Disciplined Entrepreneurship, Massachusetts Institute of Technology's flagship entrepreneurship training framework, led by Paul Cheek, Executive Director Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship. Over 300 students attended from DCU Business School's New Enterprise Development programme, Bord Bia MSc Insights & Innovation at DCU, and Dublin City University/Dundalk Institute of Technology's joint Enterprise Ireland's New Frontiers programme class of 2024. Here, some of those students share their very positive impressions of Paul's masterclass and just some of their key takeaways 🤩 👏 👏 👏 Eric Clinton Tudor Safta #FutureOfEntrepreneurship #DCUInvent #DublinCityUniversity

Wonderful keynote by Tomás Aylward DCU Research Maura Coulter PhD Orla Kelly go on use your big toe, get outside and teach outdoors!

Delighted to be part of this team working on finding solutions to tackle the ongoing Algae blooms in Lough Neagh NI. Dublin City University Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics DCU Research DCU Invent

On Tuesday October 8th, High Court Judge, Ms. Justice Siobhán Phelan launched a new report highlighting the success and key aims of the DCU Educational Disadvantage Centre’s local community outreach hubs to promote access to the teaching profession for socioeconomically excluded groups. The launch on DCU’s St. Patrick’s Campus was attended by 140 people, including representatives from local schools and community organisations, the Higher Education Authority, Academic staff,, hubs students from local DEIS secondary schools and DCU Institute of Education students who have gained entry to primary teaching with the support of the hubs. Since their establishment in 2017, the Higher Education Authority funded community outreach hubs in Darndale, Coolock, Kilbarrack and Finglas have enabled 47 students from the areas supported to gain entry to primary school teaching at DCU’s Institute of Education, from a baseline of close to zero. In the academic year 2023-2024 426 students attended 572 sessions at the Darndale-Coolock, Kilbarrack and Finglas hubs, up from 276 students attending 472 sessions in 2022-2023. Speaking to @The Irish Times, DCU student teacher Alex Grogan said "“We have the experience. We knew what it’s like to be in those kids’ shoes. You know there are kids that are going to have problems at home [and] not to give out to them if they are tired. We don’t know what might have been going on in their house the night before. At the back of your mind, you’ll know there are many challenges these kids have but we can show them they can strive and we can support them.” https://lnkd.in/eCVBxu6s