Enhancing Student Engagement and Belonging through Collaborative Partnership is a Higher Education Authority report prepared by a UCD research team led by Professor Barbara Dooley. The resource provides an evidence-informed framework for strengthening student belonging across Irish higher education institutions. Drawing on staff interviews, Healthy Campus survey responses, and analysis of Healthy Campus and NStEP case studies, it identifies practical approaches to improving student engagement, wellbeing and inclusion.
The report frames belonging as a multidimensional and co-constructed experience shaped by social, academic, personal and environmental factors. It highlights that student belonging is affected not only by relationships and participation, but also by structural issues such as housing, commuting, financial pressure, campus spaces, timetable design and access to supports.
The resource is particularly useful for staff and student partners working on Healthy Campus, student success, student engagement, access, inclusion, mental health promotion, orientation, peer support, student partnership and campus development initiatives.
This OER presents an updated Assessment Redesign Framework for higher education in the age of GenAI. It supports educators and programme teams in designing valid, transparent, and scalable assessments, integrating AI literacy, process-focused approaches, and guidance on AI detection, large cohorts, and emerging agentic AI challenges.
This guideline document seeks to support the implementation of MTU policies and procedures which underpin Academic Integrity and help to address the implications of Generative Artificial Intelligence on assessment practices.
This landscape report provides an overview of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) practice across the higher education sector in Ireland. It draws together publicly available institutional strategies, HEA Performance Framework Agreements 2024–2028, Climate Action Roadmaps and ESD to 2030 progress reports to outline current approaches to embedding ESD.
Structured as a series of institutional case studies, the report highlights how ESD is being addressed across teaching and learning, research, engagement and whole-institution practice, and identifies opportunities for collaboration and shared learning across the sector.
This video provides a step-by-step guide on how to submit your SATLE-funded Open Educational Resources (OER) to Ireland’s National Resource Hub. It outlines the submission process, key requirements, and best practices to ensure your resources are accessible, discoverable, and aligned with national open education goals. Whether you're new to the Hub
In this 360 immersive video, Dr Mary Moloney – head of the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering at Munster Technological University – gives a guided tour of the "Red Shed" at Cork City's Marina Park. Dr Moloney highlights key structural features.
This video provides a clear and accessible introduction to cryptocurrencies, explaining what they are, how they function, and their role in today’s digital economy. Designed for beginners, it offers a foundational overview for learners exploring blockchain technology and digital finance.
Practical self-paced lesson introducing effective prompt writing techniques for students new to genAI tools. Covers prompt structure, iteration, critical evaluation of output, and ethical considerations. Teaches effective genAI communication techniques. Primary intended audience is university students.
An interactive, beginner-level, asynchronous resource designed to equip students with foundational knowledge on genAI ethics, applications, and academic use. It covers genAI fundamentals, responsible use, academic integrity considerations, and practical scenarios. The primary intended audience is university students.
This report presents findings from the HEA Student Success Survey 2025, capturing how students across Ireland define, experience and achieve success in higher education. Based on responses from over 3,400 students across publicly funded higher education institutions, it provides a national, student-centred perspective on success.
The report explores students’ definitions of success, the supports and enablers that help them thrive, and the barriers that can hinder progress. It highlights the relational and holistic nature of student success, encompassing academic achievement alongside well-being, belonging, personal growth and future readiness.
This paper entitled 'Developing an Academic Integrity Policy and Academic Misconduct Procedures in an Era of Generative Artificial Intelligence: Five Tips for Success' may be of interest to policy developers and educators in further and higher education and training organisations as they adapt to challenge of AI.
This document sets out a detailed, values-led framework to support the ethical adoption of generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) in teaching and learning across Irish higher education. It builds on the HEA Generative AI Policy Framework by translating high-level principles into concrete provisions to guide institutional policy, governance and educational practice.
The principles address five core areas: academic integrity, equity and inclusion, critical engagement and AI literacy, privacy and data governance, and sustainable pedagogy. Together, they provide institutions with a practical reference for navigating the ethical, pedagogical and organisational challenges associated with generative AI, while safeguarding academic standards, student rights and institutional autonomy.
This policy framework provides national guidance for the responsible and values-based use of generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) in teaching and learning within Irish higher education. It is designed to support educators, academic leaders and professional staff in making informed decisions about the adoption and integration of gen AI technologies in educational practice.
The framework focuses specifically on teaching and learning, addressing issues such as academic integrity, assessment design, equity and inclusion, AI literacy, privacy and data governance, and sustainable pedagogy. It sets out five core principles to guide institutional policy development and practice, while allowing for local adaptation and institutional autonomy.
This poster offers educators an overview of designing a syllabus on the Canvas learning management system that supports personalised learning pathways. It highlights (1) a gamified pedagogy grounded in gaming principles and (2) adaptive learning strategies using MasteryPaths.
BSEditor is a multi-platform software tool designed to aid educators in the creation of computer-based quiz questions. It provides a powerful editor to easily control every detail of a question, from integration of files and images, to elaborate scoring approaches.
The Manifesto for Generative AI in Higher Education is a living resource for educators, students, and institutions. It invites reflection and dialogue across thirty statements exploring teaching, ethics, and imagination – helping higher education navigate AI with curiosity, integrity, and humanity.
This Toolkit was created by students at University College Dublin, for students, to break down sustainability in a way that’s simple and easy to understand. Climate change is something that affects all of us—no matter what you’re studying, where you’re from, or what you do. It’s here, and it’s impacting our world—but many of us aren’t sure what we can do about it.
The purpose of this toolkit is a starting point for what students need to learn about living more sustainably on and off campus. We hope it’ll inspire students to take small steps that make a big impact, and they can do it all at their own pace. You can access the Moodle page to view the Toolkit. There are also Zip files of the SCORM packages used to create the Toolkit (Part 1 and Part 2) that can be downloaded and imported into a Virtual Learning Environment.
• Part 1: Climate Change → Watch short Youtube videos followed by a little quiz to brush up on your sustainability knowledge.
• Part 2: What Can You Do? → Find tips and tricks to incorporate sustainability into your day-to-day life, this is a resource tool to help you get started!
We were both impressed and worried to witness the rapid escalation in the ability of tools like ChatGPT to conjure credible-seeming scholarly prose ex-nihilo. Rather than leaving the assessment strategy in MEEN3010 exposed to AI plagiarism, we decided to shift the focus towards a more authentic and interactive learning activity; a poster session.
During the Spring trimester of 2024, in the UCD ‘Robotics Design Project’ (EEEN10020) module with 54 first-year undergraduate engineering students, we deliberately revised the assessment strategy. We evolved a take-home assignment into a pair of supervised in-class exercises.
A. Hickey, C. O’Faolain, J. Healy, K. Nolan, E. Doheny and P. Cuffe, “A Threat Assessment Framework for Screening the Integrity of University Assessments in the Era of Large Language Models”, presented at 8th IEEE International Forum on Research and Technologies for Society and Industry Innovation, Lecco, Italy, September 2024
Y. Mormul, J. Przybyszewski, T. Siriburanon, J. Healy and P. Cuffe, “Gauging the Capability of Artificial Intelligence Chatbot Tools to Answer Textbook Coursework Exercises in Circuit Design Education”, presented at IEEE International Conference on IT in Higher Education and Training, Paris, France, November 2024
A. Hickey, C. O’Faolain and P. Cuffe, “Large Language Models in Power Engineering Education: A Case Study on Solving Optimal Dispatch Coursework Problems”, presented at IEEE International Conference on IT in Higher Education and Training, Paris, France, November 2024
Y. Mormul, J. Przybyszewski, A. Nakoud and P. Cuffe, “Reliance on Artificial Intelligence Tools May Displace Research Skills Acquisition Within Engineering Doctoral Programmes: Examples and Implications”, presented at IEEE International Conference on IT in Higher Education and Training, Paris, France, November 2024
The OER Recommendation aims to assist Member States to support the development and sharing of openly licensed learning and teaching materials, benefiting students, teachers, and researchers worldwide. It supports the creation, use and adaptation of inclusive and quality OER, and facilitates international cooperation in this field through five Action Areas, namely (i) building the capacity of stakeholders to create, access, re-use, adapt and redistribute OER; (ii) developing supportive policy; (iii) encouraging inclusive and equitable quality OER; (iv) nurturing the creation of sustainability models for OER, and (v) facilitating international cooperation.
The OER Recommendation aims to assist Member States to support the development and sharing of openly licensed learning and teaching materials, benefiting students, teachers, and researchers worldwide. It supports the creation, use and adaptation of inclusive and quality OER, and facilitates international cooperation in this field through five Action Areas, namely (i) building the capacity of stakeholders to create, access, re-use, adapt and redistribute OER; (ii) developing supportive policy; (iii) encouraging inclusive and equitable quality OER; (iv) nurturing the creation of sustainability models for OER, and (v) facilitating international cooperation.
These guides have been prepared by UNESCO, as part of its programme of support to governments and educational institutions in implementation of the UNESCO OER Recommendation.
The self-assessment guidelines contain policy-oriented questions with good practice examples from countries that have successfully implemented policies for FLPs in their higher education systems. These examples are drawn from the national case studies implemented under the IIEP research, as well as from a broader review of the literature. The guidelines also include key bibliographical references for further reading related to these policy questions.
These guides have been prepared by UNESCO, as part of its programme of support to governments and educational institutions in implementation of the UNESCO OER Recommendation.
These guides have been prepared by UNESCO, as part of its programme of the support to governments and educational institutions in the implementation of the UNESCO OER Recommendation. They draw heavily on the in-depth background papers prepared by OER experts from around the world in each of the five Action Areas: Prof. Melinda dP. Bandalaria (building the capacity of stakeholders to create, access, re-use, adapt and redistribute OER); Dr Javiera Atenas (developing supportive policy); Dr Ahmed Tlili (encouraging inclusive and equitable quality OER); Dr Tel Amiel (nurturing the creation of sustainability models for OER), and Ms Lisbeth Levey (facilitating international cooperation). We are deeply grateful for their assistance and expert knowledge. Preparation of the text of the final guides was done with support from Neil Butcher and Alison Zimmermann of OER Africa.
The “Recycling Art” project engages children in transforming waste into creative toys, fostering sustainable living habits and environmental consciousness in line with SDG 13, through imaginative and fun activities.
AI is expected to bring about profound changes for the higher education sector, presenting numerous opportunities as well as serious and urgent challenges that must be addressed in the transition towards AI-driven systems. This chapter provides a Practical Guide targeted at higher education leaders, setting out actionable recommendations and steps that can be taken at an institutional level to adapt to AI in a responsible and ethical manner. The Practical Guide has been designed with HEIs in resource-constrained contexts in mind, but it is also intended to be flexible and responsive to a range of local/ global institutional and regulatory situations. It signals actions that affect internal capacity building, institutional governance, teaching, research, and community engagement. These actions also include specific recommendations on gender equality that can lead to transformation by addressing the root causes of gender inequalities.
UNESCO’s first global guidance on GenAI in education aims to support countries to implement immediate actions, plan long-term policies and develop human capacity to ensure a human-centred vision of these new technologies. The Guidance presents an assessment of potential risks GenAI could pose to core humanistic values that promote human agency, inclusion, equity, gender equality, and linguistic and cultural diversities, as well as plural opinions and expressions. It proposes key steps for governmental agencies to regulate the use of GenAI tools including mandating the protection of data privacy and considering an age limit for their use. It outlines requirements for GenAI providers to enable their ethical and effective use in education.
This Quick Start Guide introduces ChatGPT, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool that has taken the world by storm, reaching 100 million users just two months after being launched. The Quick Start Guide provides an overview of how ChatGPT works and explains how it can be used in higher education. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a rapidly developing field. This guide is based on GPT-3.5, the latest free version of ChatGPT available at the time of writing. As well as dynamic changes in technology, the ethical implications of ChatGPT and other forms of AI are also swiftly advancing. Readers are advised to constantly check reliable sources for the latest news and updates.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies and related automated decision-making processes are becoming increasingly embedded in the tissue of digital societies. Their impact cuts across different political, social, economic, cultural, and environmental aspects of our lives. On the one hand, AI can be used to drive economic growth, enable smart and low-carbon cities, and optimize the management of scarce resources such as food, water and energy. On the other hand, AI can also be used in a manner that infringes on human rights and fundamental freedoms, such as freedom of expression and privacy, and risks exacerbating existing socioeconomic and gender inequalities. Furthermore, the implementation of AI systems may lead to values-driven dilemmas and complex problems, often requiring trade-offs that can only be addressed through broad societal consensus.
This guide focuses on the question of how the development of AI policies can be made inclusive. Multistakeholder approaches to policymaking are part of the answer because they create the space for learning, deliberation, and the development of informed solutions. They help decision makers consider diverse viewpoints and expertise, prevent capture by vested interests, and counteract polarization of policy discourse. A multistakeholder approach to AI policy development and the consultation of stakeholders from different backgrounds and expertise are necessary to be able to develop a relevant and applicable policy for the national context.
The objective of this guide is to support policymakers in ministries and parliaments in the design and implementation of inclusive AI policies, while empowering stakeholders including civil society, businesses, technical community, academia, media, and citizens, to participate in and influence these policy processes
The report includes a ‘baseline’ of the challenges, practices and new developments during the pandemic, examples of research and innovation in online assessment, and the supportive (or non-supportive) national policies and frameworks that define the context of assessment for the institutions. It also includes practical examples (‘Good practices’) from SIG members that can help, if not inspire developing better practice and new thinking in other member institutions.
The Irish Journal of Academic Practice (IJAP) is published online once annually at Technological University Dublin. IJAP is a peer-reviewed journal that welcomes scholarly and practice-based articles, case studies, opinion & reflective pieces and reviews relating to learning, teaching, assessment and technology within higher education.
This Facilitator Checklist has been compiled from our experience as facilitators delivering the PACT Open Course with the National Forum. From our reflection, we created this resource to aid fellow facilitators save time and outlined key pre-Course, during-Course, and post-Course activities essential to the smooth running of all Open Courses.
This resource is a digital toolkit to support students in health and social care professions who are learning clinical and professional competencies through technology (including telepractice and simulation). The toolkit includes interactive resources to support learning and enhance technology-enabled practice education.
The aim of this report is to explore how stronger relationships between higher education and business can address barriers to mainstream adoption and development of innovative and sustainable models and policies for Open Educational Practices (OEP). In this report, we explore how educational institutions and business interests can work together to better leverage the potential of Open Educational Resources (OER) in the service of OEPs. The report provides an overview of existing literature and research in the field of OER and presents a series of business models and approaches to supporting the development of OER, as well as their policies and practices. The issue of sustainability and longevity of OER materials, content and communities is discussed and three case studies are presented to illustrate different business models for supporting capability development, knowledge exchange and Communities of Practice. The report concludes with recommendations and provides some points to consider for organisations interested in developing business models, policies and practices to support the development of sustainable OER and in promoting OEP. The term OEP is used in this report as an umbrella concept reflecting the wider goals of creating more open educational and organisational cultures that support more diverse, equitable and inclusive approaches to teaching, learning and assessment (Cronin, 2017, p.1). Seminal and commonly accepted definitions of key concepts are provided as part of the report.
The Higher Education Language Educator Competences (HELECs) Framework has been developed by
an inter-institutional team of language teachers and applied linguists in Ireland. The project was
funded by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
and supported by the four partner institutions, University College Cork (lead), Dublin City University,
Maynooth University and Waterford Institute of Technology. The aims of the HELECs framework are:
• To work toward the goals of the national languages strategy, Languages Connect: Ireland’s
Strategy for Foreign Languages in Education (2017), with particular reference to increasing
capacity and enhancing the learning environment.
• To provide a tool for language educators and their managers with which they can self-assess
and articulate their competences.
• To work toward a professionalisation of the field of language teaching and learning in higher
education in Ireland.
In the following sections we outline our target audience for this framework, describe the
development process, and provide the details of the framework including the competence
identifiers, the competence domains and the competence descriptors.
This report is a resource developed from the SATLE 2018 Initiative: Professional Development Capacity Building in Higher Education: Extending provision for national impact through a flexible pathways approach.
This report is a resource developed from the SATLE 2018 Initiative: Professional Development Capacity Building in Higher Education: Extending provision for national impact through a flexible pathways approach.
The Graduate Certificate in Academic Practice recognises that each participant has a preferred mode of professional development (PD), consequently, the programme aims to combine a variety of methods of PD to provide an optimum flexible professional development pathway for all those who teach. This guide provides an overview of the mentoring model adopted as part of the Graduate Certificate in Academic Practice and guidelines based on best practice to help to maximise the mentor-mentee relationship. We realise that every mentoring relationship is unique and so they can be adapted as required to meet the individual needs of both mentor and mentee. It is recommended that mentors and mentees discuss the models below and decide what approach will best suit their context and objectives. Mentoring is a supportive process in which a mentor and a mentee engage in semi-structured dialogue over a period of time with the objective of assisting a mentee achieve a specific set of goals. Rather than providing advice, mentoring is concerned with empowering mentees to
critically consider and identify their own goals in a mutually respectful manner (Cambridge University 2020).
This recommendation approaches AI ethics as a systematic normative reflection, based on a holistic, comprehensive, multicultural and evolving framework of interdependent values, principles and actions that can guide societies in dealing responsibly with the known and unknown impacts of AI technologies on human beings, societies and the environment and ecosystems, and offers them a basis to accept or reject AI technologies. It considers ethics as a dynamic basis for the normative evaluation and guidance of AI technologies, referring to human dignity, well-being and the prevention of harm as a compass and as rooted in the ethics of science and technology.
The online EDIN Impact Analysis Tool, is an easy to use, step-by-step, online tool that allows you to plan, evaluate or think more generally about the impact of an educational development activity.
Open Education Now. The potential benefits of open education are often considered in three areas: expanding access to education, enhancing pedagogy, and advancing equity.
To help staff in designing an effective blended approach, LEaD have developed an online resource to support staff in planning, designing, teaching and evaluating blended learning programmes, modules and activities.
Several micro courses focused on learning in a digital age, digital literacies for online learning, digital citizenship, open education, copyright, open licensing, media literacies, digital skills.
An EDTL webinar presenting the importance of student partnership underpinning the EDTL project, with students being the heart and core feeding through each of the themes of the work.
The IUA’s EDTL project have developed a popular and engaging webinar series, with each video hosted on their vimeo channel. Go to the channel now to view content that will certainly be of interest to you.
This book represents a starting point towards curating and centering marginal voices and non-dominant epistemic stances in open education, an attempt at critical pluriversalism.