Teenagers from DEIS schools in central Dublin introduced to third level education as a realistic and achievable goal.
Workshops delivered with the focus on STEM subjects such as product design, architecture, robotic programming, forensics.
Participating DEIS schools in central Dublin which are exclusively funded by basis.point.
The Junior Cycle Workshop Programme aims to highlight higher education as a realistic and achievable goal for students from DEIS schools. Campus visits allow them to fully visualise a future in education.
The relocation of TU Dublin to their new campus in Grangegorman offers additional opportunities to expand the programme.
The Junior Cycle Workshop Programme
Demystifying Higher Education and making it an accessible option for teenagers from disadvantaged areas of Dublin.
The Junior Cycle Workshop Programme delivered by TU Dublin
Statistically and historically, individuals from areas of socio-economic disadvantage have considerably lower progression rates to third level education than those from more affluent areas. By inviting students from disadvantaged status schools to visit the campus and take part in a fun, hands-on workshop, we aim to help demystify Higher Education and give students the opportunity to make a positive association with going to college.
Inspiring engagement through broad range of programme workshops
A limited number of college awareness programmes are available for young people prior to their Transition Year. To bridge this gap and engage with students early in their educational pathway, TU Dublin developed the Junior Cycle Workshop Programme. The STEM related workshops introduce 1st, 2nd and 3rd year students to different fields such as forensics, renewable energy, electronics, robotics and architecture and in doing so, capture the imagination of as many junior cycle students from disadvantaged status schools as possible.
basis.point Funding TU Dublin
2017 - €102,000
2019 - €45,000
2021 - €232,000
2023 - €243,350
Download Evaluation Report 2023
5984 students from DEIS schools in Dublin experience on campus visits and are introduced to a wide range of accademic disciplines .
Inspiring junior cycle students to consider 3rd level education as an achievable goal by helping them to visualise themselves as students studying exciting topics. "If you can't see it you can't be it"
Funding
€379,000
Programme Feedback
Each school year, the Junior Cycle Workshop Programme facilitates 45 workshops, encouraging 1250 students from 13 different partner secondary schools to consider 3rd level education.
The best thing I can say is that the students enjoyed the session, participated positively, came back to school with new energy and would love to do more of that type of work. There was a great rapport between the instructor and the students”.
Feedback from a Guidance Councillor
I have never seen students running to complete a task in school. They love the competitive nature to the challenges. They learned the importance of attention to detail, how coding works and how achievable it is for them to participate in coding activities”
Feedback from Maths Teacher
