At the recent event Moira Maguire, Head of Learning and Teaching in DkIT kicked off the proceedings by introducing the project and thanked the National Forum for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching’s SATLE funding in Higher Education who funded the student internship programme.

Over 6 weeks during this summer the DkIT interns had the opportunity to collaborate with staff and other students on a range of enhancement activities and the theme this year was ‘Programme design for a time of change’ project. Over 47 students applied for these summer intern roles, the following students were shortlisted to undertake this internship, Anita Chioma Ogueri, Áine Cleary, Sofia Fedane, Harjappan Singh, Ben Mc Keever, Conor McCabe, Louise Duffy and Gracie Chaudhary

These successful applicants completed 22 hours per week on this project which started on the 21st of May and ran until the 2nd of July. The Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) provided a full induction day plus a meet and greet with all the staff from the Student Learning and Development Centre, this occasion also included a session with Adrian Harrison who is a specialist in Team Building.

The student participants received training around inclusive approaches to learning, teaching and assessment and they collaborated with staff on a range of initiatives to enhance the student experience.  There was particular focus on Universal Design for Learning (UDL), Academic Integrity and digital technologies.  The successful applicants took an active part in the project, making sure that the student perspective informed the work.

The outputs of this project culminated from all the student’s training, discussions, sharing of experiences, gathering feedback, reviewing and then developing materials and resources. The students have created some wonderful resources including a comprehensive DkIT Class Rep’s handbook and a ‘Stepping out in Dundalk’ book created specifically for international students. The student interns were also involved with staff in the creation of an employability digital badge which is ongoing, and they collaborated with the Disability office on some useful resources too. These newly created resources will be uploaded to the National Resource Hub on the HEA website.

DkIT President Dr Diarmuid O’Callaghan attended the event and was very impressed with the quality of assets that were created by the students in such a short time frame. Dr Sheila O’Flanagan Vice President for Academic Affairs & Registrar thanked all involved in the coordination of the project along with a special shout out to the students for their commitment and the resources they created.