Free university courses for people in Northeast Dublin

Northside Partnership is offering access to a free university course in the New Year to people living in Dublin North East.

The Communiversity programme is a gateway for people to enter higher education, but it’s much more than just another education project or programme.

It can be the first point of contact for people who would not normally think of university as a place for them.

It can also give them the ability to find out for themselves whether they would like to go further without having to commit to years of study or fees.

But it goes further than that and hopefully it gives people the chance to explore just who they are and where they fit in.

How it works is that the participant attends one evening per week in their local library for two to two and a half hours.

They take subjects such as local history – which is nearly always the first module as everybody knows something about their only area and it’s a good way to make people comfortable in the course.

Other choices include Critical Thinking, Psychology & Criminology.

One of the most unique features of the Communiversity is that it is a real partnership arrangement.

It is based on a common purpose which is to provide the participant with an educational and social opportunity that they would never have had before and one that is shared by all three partners – Northside Partnership, Maynooth University & Coolock Library.

Maynooth University provides the lecturers, facilitators and tutors and co-ordinates the programme. Coolock library provides a venue that is used for delivery of the Communiversity programme.

In many cases, Communiversity participants are new to library services and continue to use the library when the programme has concluded.

Communiversities have been successfully rolled out in a number of Dublin areas which have been identified as having low participation rates in higher education such as Coolock, Darndale, Crumlin, Dolphin’s Barn and Ballyfermot.

This free university course is discussion led with no exams or essays; curiosity and willingness to learn are all that’s needed.

The course begins on Tuesday 25th January at 6pm. The first meeting on 25th January is a taster session where you can find out more and register for the course.

It runs every subsequent Tuesday for a period of 17 weeks.

It consists of 4 modules of 4 weeks duration each, one evening per week, 2.5 hours per session.

The modules for the course are: Local history; Critical Thinking; Psychology; Criminology.

Communiversity is organised by Northside Partnership in association with Maynooth University and Coolock Library.

For more information please contact Paul Hayes (Northside Partnership) on 01 848 5630 or by email – [email protected]