UCD Access & Lifelong Learning was delighted to attend the European Access Network conference on June 10th and 11th at the University of Galway. Staff were delighted to be joined by five students who presented about their work with us during the conference. The theme for this year’s conference was Universal Design and presented an opportunity for the team to share various aspects of our work including our All Welcome Programme, Toolkit for Universal Design in Higher Education and our University for All research showing progress in student perception of inclusion across UCD. One of our students was awarded a bursary by the EAN organising committee at University of Galway and took part in additional activities at the conference.

In a fast paced 36 hour trip to Galway the team made connections with colleagues from across Europe and Ireland and even took the time to take a quick dip in the Atlantic! UCD has a long history of engagement with the European Access Network having hosted the conference here in 2016. Our Access Leaders Blessed Rita Fonkoh, Niamh Andrews Fraher and Soffiyah Adewoyin ran a fantastic workshop showcasing how to embed Universal Design across the student support lifecycle. One of the highlights for us was hearing our Student Partners Eleanor O’Kelly and Zara Brennan sharing the phenomenal work of our University for All student partners. They got great engagement from the audience and were able to share the student partner’s work on our 2025 Inclooza Palooza!

Alina Kostenko (Roma poet) and Fióna Bolger (poet and facilitator) facilitated a wonderful one day workshop focusing on the next generation of Roma and Traveller poets.

The PATH 5 funded workshop provided space for young Roma and Traveller poets to explore, experiment and share their writing.

We were delighted to welcome so many of our colleagues and students from UCD and further afield on Wednesday for our University for All Symposium. The sun shone, the conversation was engaging and the ice cream van arrived on cue!
Entitled 'Fit in or lose out', this year's symposium had a specific focus on classism and its impact on belonging within the higher education experience.
A big thank you to our Registrar and Deputy President, Professor Colin Scott
who provided the event welcome, our tremendous speakers: keynote Professor Jo Littler, Goldsmiths, University of London and our colleague Marlene Douglas who presented on her research, ‘The lived experience of social class in education: student perspective.’
Bairbre Fleming and Lisa Padden situated the discussion within the Universal Design for Learning Framework 3.0 with its focus on learner identity. Our student Access Leaders Blessed Rita Fonkoh, Niamh Andrews Fraher and Soffiyah Adewoyin facilitated a session with Daniel Elliott, focusing on classism through the lens of student case studies.
The morning provided an opportunity for many thought provoking and rich discussions on an often overlooked area and sought to move the discussion beyond simply looking at finances and income which is often seen as the only remedy to supporting students from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Participants were encouraged to consider a Plus One change they may wish to apply to their own practice in teaching, in practice or in student support. Professor John Brannigan provided an elegant and positive overview to close the symposium.