Discipline teams from three Irish higher education institutions are being recognised today through the National Forum’s Disciplinary Excellence in Learning, Teaching and Assessment (DELTA) Award. This prestigious national award is granted to discipline groups who demonstrate a record of excellence in teaching and learning enhancement and who commit to an ongoing, clearly articulated, shared process of continued enhancement. While restrictions precluded the possibility of an award ceremony this year, it is important that the impressive achievements of these DELTA Award teams are celebrated.
Teams from Munster Technological University, University College Cork and University of Limerick were all successful in their award applications this year, as follows:
Hincks Centre for Entrepreneurship Excellence, School of Business, Munster Technological University
MTU’s multidisciplinary DELTA Award team of academics, support and professional staff, and students brought a strong student-centred approach to entrepreneurship teaching and learning. They are to be commended for their vision of entrepreneurship that makes MTU an internationally recognised centre of excellence in the provision of career-focused education which produces effective, ethical professionals capable of entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity.
The awarded team included: Helen McGuirk (team lead), Breda Kenny, Caroline O’Reilly, Lisa Murphy, Hugh McCarthy, Trudie Murray, Paul Healy, Carole O’Leary, Breda O’Dwyer, Eilis Seoigh, Josette O’Mullane, Dylan Hennessy, Catriona Fenton and Clionadh Fahy
Elevate Team (led by the School of Microbiology), University College Cork
UCC’s DELTA Award team, known as the Elevate Team described themselves as a collaborative group of educators, researchers, and technical staff from the School of Microbiology, working with their colleagues in the School of Applied Psychology and the School of Computer Sciences/IT. Their successful submission was strongly influenced by the desire to engage students in active learning to access challenging concepts in virology, cellular and molecular biology. The Elevate Team were noted for being passionate about accessing new modalities of teaching for understanding, guided by digitised immersive learning approaches.
The awarded team included: Jerry Reen (team lead), Martina Scallan, John Morgan, Brian McSharry, Owen Jump, Niall O’Leary, Carmel Shortiss, David Murphy, John O’Callaghan, Sheila Ryan, Ay’sha Moore, Jordyn Lynch, Diego Bethencourt, Erin Dalton, Grace McEvoy, Christine Walsh, Ciara Ferris, John Brendan O’Leary, Kelsey O’Connor, William Wallace, Kelan Murphy and Darragh Kelleher
School of Allied Health, University of Limerick
UL’s DELTA Award team is a multidisciplinary group of academics, practice education staff and students from across the School of Allied Health who demonstrate a strong commitment to teaching and learning. Members are drawn from the disciplines of human nutrition and dietetics, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and speech and language therapy. The team’s application focused on inter-professional education (IPE) and showed a clear commitment to the future enhancement of teaching, while placing a high value on student commitment and engagement.
The awarded team included: Roisin Cahalan (team lead), Jimmy Burke, Anne Griffin, Ann-Marie Morrissey, Michelle O’Donoghue, Christine Langan, Noreen O’Leary, Eoghan Casey, Rebecca LaPeyre, Lauren Connolly, Ashley Booth and Stephanie McInerney
Presidents of all three institutions recorded messages of congratulations to the successful teams, commending their efforts and appreciating their commitment and collaboration which have had positive impacts across their institutions and beyond. You can view the messages from the Presidents below.
All discipline groups across Irish higher education who can demonstrate specific achievements in teaching and learning enhancement and a clear commitment to future enhancement of teaching and learning are eligible to apply for the DELTA Award. A discipline group can be a school, department, a programme team or any established collaboration/group of teachers within a subject/discipline recognised by their host institution.
The next deadline for expressions of interest in the DELTA Awards is 20 June 2021. See more details here.
