3U Partnership Launches Pathway Programme for International Students
Friday 6th June 2014: Dublin City University (DCU) and the National University of Ireland Maynooth (Maynooth University) have launched a new support programme under the 3U Partnership which will help attract more international students to Ireland. The ‘3U Pathway University Foundation Programme’ is designed to prepare international students for undergraduate study in Ireland by providing a bridge between the education students have received in their home country and the requirements they must meet to study at one of the partner universities.
The Pathway Programme will allow international students to improve their English language skills, acquire greater knowledge around their chosen academic discipline while developing their intercultural skills and integrating into student life in Ireland. Launched in 2012, the 3U Partnership is a higher education alliance that combines the complementary strengths of DCU, Maynooth University and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) to deliver world-class education and research opportunities.
This is the first 3U initiative to focus on attracting international students to Ireland, which is one of the key strategic aims of the alliance. DCU and Maynooth University will partner with Emerald Cultural Institute (ECI) to develop the students’ knowledge of English for academic purposes. The first Pathway Programme students will arrive in Dublin in September 2014 prior to beginning their undergraduate studies in September 2015.
Discussing the new 3U Programme, Professor Philip Nolan, President Maynooth University said: “This is an important milestone in the journey of the 3U Partnership, which over the past two years has seen significant collaboration among Maynooth University, DCU and the RCSI in curriculum development, events and research. The 3U Partnership has a truly global perspective and our Pathway Programme is indicative of all three institutions’ commitment to creativity and innovation in promoting Ireland as an education destination abroad. Through collaboration such as this, we can provide international students with enhanced opportunities and also add to the diverse cultural fabric of our universities.”
The President of DCU, Professor Brian Mac Craith said “For most students attending university is a chance to explore their potential and ultimately pursue their dream career. By welcoming more international students to 3U Partnership universities, who would otherwise not be able to access an Irish university education, we also aim to expand our global awareness and bringing new perspectives to our university communities. We want all 3U Partnership students to graduate with an international perspective and believing that they can succeed and flourish in an increasingly global environment. By developing a strategic relationship with Emerald Cultural Institute, 3U Partnership will increase international access and add to a portfolio of initiatives which also includes intensive academic English language programmes.”
Dr Ruth Davis, Director 3U Partnership said: “We are excited by our relationship with ECI, an excellent educational provider which shares our values in delivering quality courses to international students. The time is right for us to extend our global reach. We are confident that international students can make the most of their studies both at DCU and Maynooth University. Dublin is a deeply multicultural place to live with all the right credentials to host international students from anywhere in world and we are looking forward to introducing students to this very special city.”
Mauro Biondi, CEO of ECI said: “Emerald Cultural Institute is delighted to have entered into this relationship with 3U Partnership. We are extremely impressed by the innovative, committed and forward-thinking approach that all three institutions bring to international diversity, and we are excited by the prospect of developing the 3U Pathway University Foundation Programme into one of the most outstanding and quality-focused pathway programmes in Ireland.”
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See more at: www.3u.ie and www.eci.ie
3U Academic Programmes
The 3U Partnership brings together the complementary strengths of DCU, Maynooth University and RCSI across a broad spectrum of disciplines to deliver a number of new joint academic programmes, and to share the delivery of existing programmes.
- 3U MSc in Humanitarian Logistics and Emergency Management – Launched in November 2013, the 3U MSc in Humanitarian Logistics and Emergency Management is the first such programme in Ireland and is being delivered jointly by the DCU Business School and the Maynooth University School of Business.
- 3U Master in Engineering in Healthcare Technologies – first student intake due in September 2014, the 3U Master of Engineering in Healthcare Technologies is jointly offered by the Department of Electronic Engineering in Maynooth University, the School of Electronic Engineering in DCU and a range of medical science expertise in RCSI.
3U Research Programmes
A key objective of the 3U Partnership is to catalyse research and innovation across a range of key areas of importance to society. Major joint initiatives that are being supported by the 3U Partnership are:
3U Biomedical Research is a major initiative between the 3U Partner institutions focussed on translational research to enable advanced treatments of diseases. Its joint activities include:
- 3U Translational Cancer Research which combines scientific and clinical findings, and works with industry to turn these into real, practice-changing methods that could be used against cancer. By bringing researchers from DCU, RCSI, Maynooth University and industry together as a network, 3U Translational Cancer Research draws on a broad range of complementary expertise and allows pooling of resources to accelerate advances. While the grouping has expertise in lung, breast and paediatric cancers, many of the discoveries made apply to other types of cancer as well.
- The 3U Diabetes collaboration aligns a number of interlinked areas of research into this chronic and costly condition. Researchers in Maynooth University are teasing out the molecular mechanisms by which cells become insensitive to insulin, while experts at DCU can view the issue from a more whole-body level, and RCSI offers the clinical perspective and samples from patients with diabetes.
- The 3U Tissue Engineering collaboration brings researchers from RCSI, DCU and Maynooth University to working on a project to regenerate tissue of the cornea, the clear transparent ‘dome’ in the eye. The goal is to improve transplant options for people who have suffered corneal damage. The project combines expertise in bioscaffolds from RCSI with research into corneal stem cells in DCU and an understanding at Maynooth University of immunology, or how the immune system reacts to transplanted material.
- The 3U Human Disease Proteomics collaboration brings together a suite of experts in ‘proteomics’, or the study of these protein profiles, to look at cancer, diseases of the lung and eye, and what happens when we get infected by a fungus or a bacterium. The aim is to do new biology and find new models of how organisms are working and how disease processes work. Ultimately this should translate into real-life products - diagnostics and therapies that will help the patient.
- 3U Global Health combines the scientific, engineering, medical, sociological and anthropological expertise required to develop appropriate technologies for the developing world and to support countries and communities to establish sustainable solutions for their health and development. Specific projects included under 3U Global Health include solar disinfection of drinking water, which uses energy from sunlight to kill pathogens in water stored in plastic or glass bottles, and the development of mobile phone-based diagnostic and analysis technologies for the poorest communities in the developing world.
Recent achievements and activities of the 3U Research Programme
- 3U Partnership Centre for Excellence in Neurodegeneration (COEN) - The Centres of Excellence in neurodegenerative disease (CoEN) initiative, launched in 2010, funds collaborative research in the field of neurodegenerative disease, spanning disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Motor Neurone Disease. The 3U Partnership is one of three such centres of excellence recognised under this programme for funding in Ireland.
- 3U Partnership: Bench to Bedside Translational Research - Summer Programme July 2013 – This collaboration involved 3U research programmes in tissue engineering, proteomics, cancer and diabetes in association with the George Mason University, Virginia USA and was aimed at postgraduate students across the 3U Partnership and from the George Mason University.
- Global Health Horizon 2020 Symposium - The 3U Global Health research consortium hosted an international workshop entitled “Research Challenges & Opportunities in Global Health” in November 2013 in Dublin City University.
- 3U Diabetes 2nd Annual Conference - World-leading diabetes expert, Professor Lou Phillipson, spoke about new treatments for childhood diabetes at 3U Diabetes Conference on Friday 17th January 2014, which was attended by researchers from the United States, Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, as well as from 3U institutions.
- 3U Education - Together with their affiliated colleges, the 3U Partners RCSI, DCU and Maynooth University have combined expertise at all levels of education, from early childhood to third-level. Combining such expertise in a smart and complementary way offers new insights into how we learn, and new solutions to the challenges facing modern education.
- 3U Master Class Series Strategic Leadership & Management 2013/2014 - The series is aimed at those currently in or aspiring to, leadership/management roles across both the public and private sector. The format includes facilitated table discussions/workshop format will allow for debate, discussion and dialogue. The inaugural 3U Master Class in Strategic Leadership & Management took place in Maynooth University on Friday 27th September, with attendees from business, financial and research sectors and the 3U partner institutions: DCU, RCSI and Maynooth University.