'The Laurels'
University College Cork
Western Road, Cork
| T | +353 (0)21 4902301/4904739 |
|---|---|
| F | +353 (0)21 4276619 |
| E | ace@ucc.ie |
Interim Director:
Dr Seamus O'Tuama
UCC Graduates Celebrate 65 Years of Adult Learning
UCC's Centre for Adult Continuing Education began celebrations of its 65thyear with conferring ceremonies in 26 programmes on Saturday, 3rd December, 2011.
Students from all over Munster and other parts of Ireland received awards in a wide range of programmes from the Certificate in Legal Studies up to the MA Learning and Development (Consultancy).
Lifelong learning began at UCC in 1946, when then President Alfred O'Rahilly made it the first Irish University to launch outreach education programmes. The diversity of programmes and the backgrounds of students have changed considerably over the decades, but the Centre has maintained a commitment to delivering programems to the highest academic standards by combining the academic wealth of UCC with the wider education and training community.
The graduation ceremony acknowledged the educational achievements of the students, many of whom have combined their learning with work and family commitments. In the traditions of lifelong learning the ceremony engages with the wider community through family and friends and also by including commencement addresses from former graduates of the Centre. This year former graduate Commodore Frank Lynch (Rtd) gave the commencement address.
Professor Grace Neville, Vice-President for Teaching and Learning presided over the event. The newly appointed Director Dr Séamus Ó Tuama also delivered an address at the ceremonies. A special visual retrospective of the 65 years of lifelong learning at UCC also formed part of the day's events.
Photo: Dr Séamus Ó Tuama - newly appointed Director of Adult Continuing Education, UCC with Diploma in Youth and Community Work graduates Noreen Moore, Mary O'Brien, Kieran McNamara, Aisling McSweeney and Programme Coordinator Christine Chasaide.
Our Programmes
The Centre for Adult Continuing Education (CACE), University College Cork offers a wide range of accredited Certificate, Diploma, Higher Diploma, Postgraduate and Masters programmes to suit all interests and levels some of which include Chinese Studies, Government and Political Leadership, Philosophies of the World, Geology, Youth and Community Work, Supply Chain Management, Personnel Management, Relationship Studies, Fieldwork Practice and Supervision (Social Work), and Learning and Development (Consultancy). For those unable to commit to a one or two year programme, CACE also provides an exciting variety of short courses (non-accredited) in areas such as Genealogy, Digital Photography, Permaculture, Nutrition and Health, and Forensic and Criminal Psychology. For further information please visit http://study.ucc.ie/ace
Limited Second Round Offers for the New Higher Diploma in Facilitating Inclusion (Disability Studies)
Successful first round applicants for the new Higher Diploma in Facilitating Inclusion (Disability Studies) have now been awarded places and CACE is now inviting a limited number (5) of second round applications for this two year part-time course (HETAC Level 8) major. The aim of this programme is to provide participants with the skills, understanding, awareness and knowledge to be able to support the fuller participation of people with disabilities in education, training, work and leisure and to be able to contribute constructively to the ongoing debate around disability and inclusion, nationally and internationally. Modules on this course include an introduction to sign language and course design, social media and assistive technology, sport and leisure and creative arts and culture. To facilitate those who are travelling, (one student is commuting from Spain). The course which begins on the 16th September, 2011 is held on Friday nights and Saturdays every three weeks throughout the academic year.
For more information on the programme, click here
Grundtvig awards CACE European project funding
The Centre for Adult Continuing Education has been awarded funding through a Grudtvig Learning Partnership. The two-year partnership project, starting in October 2011, entitled: “Teaching and Learning As a Systemic Process in Lifelong Learning” will be co-ordinated at Cork by James G.R. Cronin (CACE & School of History, UCC). Across Europe there is a lack of comprehensive research data about teachers involved in continuing education. The purpose of this partnership, comprising representatives from Poland, Turkey, Spain, France, Germany, and Ireland, will be to establish a common ground, from the European dimension, for innovative teacher training in continuing education which could be transferred to different fields and contexts such as the teaching of languages, vocational training and in the teaching of different social groups. The results of the partnership will be disseminated through a handbook for teachers, drawing on the experience of teachers in continuing education across the European Union, due for publication at the end of the partnership in 2013.
Higher Diploma in Facilitating Inclusion (Disability Studies) Launch
The Higher Diploma in Facilitating Inclusion (Disability Studies) was launched recently by Kathleen Lynch TD Minister of State (with responsibility for Disability, Equality, Older People and Mental Health).
Part theoretical and part practical this new and unique course is a long awaited progression route for graduates of the very popular part-time Diploma in Disability Studies NFQ (Level 7). It is an opportunity for people working in the area of disability to enhance their knowledge and skills to enable them to support the fuller participation of people with disabilities in education, training, work and leisure. It incorporates the twin aims of lifelong learning i.e. active citizenship and employability. The programme includes an introduction to sign language, inclusive media and the skills required to successfully design a programme or course that maximises the inclusion of people with disabilities. It also looks at the social context of mental health and autism. Accessibility to sport and leisure, the creative arts and culture also form part of this Higher Diploma and participants are encouraged to contribute constructively to the ongoing debate around disability and inclusion locally, nationally and internationally. To facilitate those who are working in different areas of the country, this course is held on Friday nights and Saturdays at selected weekends throughout the academic year beginning on the 16th September, 2011. For further information please go to http://study.ucc.ie/ace
The Higher Diploma in Facilitating Inclusion (Disability Studies)
On Monday, 23 May 2011, Minister of State, Kathleen Lynch TD, launched the Centre for Adult Continuing Education’s innovative new programme, Higher Diploma in Facilitating Inclusion (Disability Studies).
The first of its kind in Ireland, the course is designed to enhance the knowledge and skills of the participants while incorporating the twin aims of lifelong learning i.e. active citizenship and employability. It is a part-time course to facilitate people who are working, caring, volunteering or just have an interest in the area of disability. The first year includes an introduction to sign language and inclusive media. It also looks at the social context of mental health and autism. In the second year students develop the skills required to successfully design a programme or course that maximises the inclusion of people with disabilities. Accessibility to sport and leisure, the creative arts and culture in the context of disability also form part of this programme. An exploration of how disability is perceived in developing countries for those who may wish to volunteer or work abroad is also explored. For further information please go to http://study.ucc.ie/ace
Photo: L-R Mairead O’Sullivan Disability Support Service, Sheila O’Driscoll CACE, Noreen Power-Waldron CACE, Minister Kathleen Lynch, Con O’Brien Vice President for the Student Experience, Mary O’Grady Disability Support Service
Diploma Graduate guides the Queen through the English Market
Sheila Fitzpatrick of Cork's Alternative Bread Company, and former CACE student, was one of the traders guiding HM Queen Elizabeth II when she visited the English Market on Friday afternoon 20 May 2011 on the last day of her state visit to Ireland. The four-day state visit of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh is the first visit by a British monarch to Ireland in one hundred years and the first since Irish independence. Sheila graduated from the diploma in European Art History in 2010.
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CACE flies the flag for lifelong learning in Europe
CACE’s Sheila O'Driscoll and James Cronin recently attended a five-day Grundtvig European learning partnership, discussing education access issues for older learners across the European Union, hosted by VUC in Fyn, Denmark. The theme of the Danish learning partnership was the challenge of e-learning. CACE’s contribution was a workshop presented to partners from Austria, Spain, Belgium, Denmark and Germany. The presentation discussed findings of collaborative research carried out in Cork by Cronin and colleagues in Adult Continuing Education, whereby, assumptions relating to e-learning/"blended" learning and the older learner are challenged. The presentation discussed the need to challenge assumptions for older learners regarding deficiencies in technical proficiency, perceived deficiencies in media literacy skill acquisition, and perceived reticence to online engagement. A review of Cork’s contribution is discussed by John Wollard in Psychology for the classroom: E-learning. (Routledge, London, 2011).
The VUC is Denmark's national adult education service and the programme included school visits to VUC institutes of continuing education. Many of the students studying at these VUC schools range in age from 18 years and upwards. The VUC works with local groups to foster community education so an institute may share resources with job centres or may use converted factory or shop spaces as innovative teaching and learning sites. Evidence from the visited host schools indicated that Denmark places the learner at the centre of teaching enactments and an emphasis is placed on engaging students holistically. A pilot scheme to introduce parallel teaching through video streaming is being introduced by VUC, Fyn, in September 2011. The scheme hopes both to bridge physical distances and to promote educational access for dispersed communities living on the scattered islands making up the Danish archipelago.
Participants have much to learn from one another through European exchange projects. Grundtvig learning partnerships are an enriching experience for institutional partnerships by helping to promote a shared understanding of different educational systems across the European Union. Through such mutual exchanges, Europe appears less as a homogeneous unit and more as a patchwork of diverse practices, traditions, and experiences.
Photo: Parallel teaching through video conferencing, VUC, Fyn, Denmark
Launch of Programme Guide 2011-12
CACE in a Celebratory Mode
To mark its 65th year, UCC’s Adult Continuing Education Centre launched its Programme Guide for 2011/12 on Tuesday last. Mr. Paddy O’Brien, 2010 Cork Person of the Year formally launched the programme guide and congratulated the Centre for its contribution in providing a quality educational service to the community since 1946. While he himself didn't have the opportunity to complete a third level programme he recognised the progress the College has made with regard to access and flexibility for the non-traditional student. Professor Grace Neville, Vice-President for Teaching and Learning, UCC welcomed Mr. O'Brien and presented him with "The Atlas of Cork" a Cork University Press Publication. For further information on all programmes offered by the Centre please see above contact details or go to http://www.ucc.ie/en/study
Photo: Dr Tom Mullins, Former Director of Adult Continuing Education, UCC, Professor Grace Neville, Vice-President for Teaching and Learning, UCC and Mr Paddy O'Brien, 2010 Cork Person of the Year
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CACE Grundtvig Learning Partnership Feb 2011
The Centre for Adult Continuing Education (CACE), UCC, hosted the fifth meeting of a European Project in Adult Education, The Grundtvig Learning Partnership. The Project initiated in 2009 is concerned with developing new approaches to life-long learning. The two-day meeting, held on 14th and 15th February 2011 was attended by six participating countries: Denmark, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Spain and Ireland.
Group photo:
Grundtvig Learning Partnership Meeting, UCC, 13-15 February 2011
Seated L-R: Sheila O’Driscoll Co-ordinator CACE; Dr. Koen De Pryrck, Coordinator, CVO Belgium; Dr. Michael Murphy, President UCC; Dr. Tom Mullins, Acting Director CACE, UCC
Adult Continuing Education Conferring Ceremonies, Saturday, 27th November 2010
The Centre for Adult Continuing Education, UCC hosted its annual Conferring ceremonies on Saturday, 27 November 2010. Over 700 students from all over Munster received awards from Certificates, Diplomas, Higher Diplomas and for the first time a Masters degree programme was awarded by the Centre. These awards were in a wide range of fields. Guest speakers included Ms Darina Allen, Ballymaloe Cookery School and Mr Sean Kelly, MEP. These guest speakers gave a short presentation on the general topic of adult and life-long learning in the challenging circumstances of today’s Ireland.
The speakers have achieved significant profile and success in their own careers and had much to say to inspire adults to venture on new paths of learning.
