Bringing beneficial impact to individuals and communities is central to the DNA of Dublin City University. DCU’s aspiration is to be known as a University of Transformation and Impact that strives to deliver on the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The following is just a small example of how DCU has made a real difference in recent years, and in response to the SDGs:
Health and Wellbeing (SDG 3): DCU research is ensuring that the academic community adopts healthier lives and promote well-being for all ages. It has also played an important role in areas including cancer, dermatitis, sepsis, blindness, physical literacy and mental health. This can be seen in projects such as: DCU’s Moving Well-Being Well physical literacy project, in which 1,500 school children have taken part to date; SepTec, speeding up diagnosis to save patients with sepsis; or DCU’s Dementia Elevator Programme, through which 15,000 workers and caregivers have been trained in dementia awareness.
Fairer, Safer, More Inclusive societies (SDG 5, 10 & 16): The DCU community is enabling more diverse, inclusive and representative workplaces and organisations, and strengthening the fairness and safety of societies. An example of this is the launch of the DCU Centre for Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion – the first of its kind – which is driving change in workplace diversity.
Quality Education for All (SDG 1, 4 & 10): DCU is ensuring that more people can access and benefit from high-quality education and training. Its Access Programme, which was the first Higher Education Access programme to be established in Ireland, enables students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds to study at DCU.
The number of universities in the global Age Friendly University Network grew to 56 in total, an initiative which was led and founded by DCU in 2012 to promote the concept of universities being agents of healthy and active ageing in their regions.
Smarter Futures (SDG 8,9,10): DCU is supporting people with ideas and passion to change our futures. A total of five companies spun out of DCU in the 2018 – 2019 period alone. There was an increase of 300 digital economy jobs at the DCU Alpha Innovation campus and 15% of venture capital in Ireland was raised by companies at DCU Alpha.
This is reflected in the 2021 THE Impact Rankings, in which DCU was ranked among the top in the world in areas such as poverty reduction, educational access and gender equality. Read more
