News Archive
Award Ceremony - Certificate in Women's Studies
Adult Continuing Education (ACE), University College Cork is hosting the Award Ceremony for the Certificate in Women’s Studies on Tuesday, 11th November 2014 at 6.30pm in the Knocknaheeny Community Centre, Foyle Avenue, Knocknaheeny, Cork.
This is an Adult Continuing Education pilot outreach access initiative in Knocknaheeny, which is a partnership between UCC, Cork Education and Training Board (ETB), Cork City Partnership and the Knocknaheeny Community Centre.
The programme on offer is the UCC accredited Certificate/Diploma in Women’s Studies delivered in the local community as a pilot initiative involving the three partner institutions and the local community. There was very positive 1.community uptake, a total of 20 students registered (19 women and 1 man). The programme is delivered on a part-time basis, with lectures and tutorials delivered in the community and additional workshops held on the UCC campus
There are two potential exit awards, at the end of Year One students are eligible for a Level 6 Certificate (30 ECTS credits); at the end of Year Two students are eligible for a Level 7 Diploma in Women's Studies.
The initiative is a pilot cooperation facilitated by the three partners. From a UCC perspective it is part of the strategic mission of ACE to support access to third level education. It is also part of ACE's strategic mission to engage on behalf of UCC as a networking university. This means that we aim to be responsive to educational needs in the community and that we shape our responses in cooperation with other agencies and partners. The cooperation with Cork ETB and Cork City Partnership is an excellent demonstration of how collaboration at this level can lead to a targeted response with tangible positive outcomes at community level.
The course aims to facilitate people in a socio-economically disadvantaged area of Cork city to gain access to UCC. Through this engagement we successed to remove at least some barriers to entry and offer a genuine third level experience to people who would not otherwise have any opportunity of entering third level education. For the people involved it is just one element in their overall lifelong learning journey. We hope it will enhance their opportunities to progress with their education and also to enhance their chances of transitioning to work. International research demonstrates that this sort of programme has significant knock on impact for the individuals themselves. It transforms their roles as key influencers on the value of education for family members (children, siblings and other relatives) and the wider networks of people they interact with. It also has significant tangible impact in terms of their employability, their identities and their roles as active members of their communities.
ACE would like to emphasise that it would not have been possible to engage in the community and recruit and support these students without the support and ongoing commitment of Cork ETB and Cork City Partnership.
Check out our Facebook page www.facebook.com/ace.ucc for photographs after the Award Ceremony