Minister Mitchell O’Connor congratulates the inaugural DELTA awardees

Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD, Minister of State for Higher Education, last night presented the inaugural DELTA (Disciplinary Excellence in Learning, Teaching and Assessment) awards. Eleven projects were successful in receiving awards, from nearly 50 applications.

The DELTA awards are organised by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. Working in close partnership with the sector, the National Forum is ensuring that our students enjoy a learning experience of the highest quality.

These awards recognise the value of teaching at a national level. They demonstrate an outstanding commitment by institutions to enriching teaching and learning in their disciplines, and preparing graduates for the working world. The projects showcase the range of innovation, disciplinary excellence and dedication in our higher education institutions, that all contribute to improving teaching and learning across the sector.

The Minister said:

“These Awards are strongly aligned with the principles and ambitions of the 2018 Action Plan for Education. It is particularly heartening to see the wide range of institutions and discipline areas of the projects. It highlights something that is very important to me – that there is clear, focused and ongoing commitment to teaching and learning enhancement in our institutions; as this is one of the fundamental foundation stones for an excellent and renowned higher education sector."

The winning projects are:

Discipline	Institution	Project Name
Arts/ Law	University of Limerick, School of Law	Clinical Legal Education through Experiential Learning
	IADT, Faculty of Film, Art, and Creative Technologies	Critical Thinking and Creative Practice
Health	University of Limerick, The Graduate Entry Medical School	Integrated Medical Education – Learning for Life
	UCD, Radiography and Diagnostic Imaging	Incorporating educational and healthcare technologies to enhance Radiography and Diagnostic Imaging education and training
	Dublin Institute of Technology, Higher Cert. in Pharmacy Technician Studies	Innovations in Pharmacy Technician Studies
	University of Limerick, Department of Clinical Therapies	Interprofessional Education at the University of Limerick: Training allied healthcare students for best practice
Sciences	Dublin Institute of Technology, Chemical Education Research Team	Supporting, Engaging and Challenging DIT Chemistry Undergraduates by Emphasising Real World Applications and Applying Technology Effectively
Engineering/Construction	Galway Mayo Institute of Technology, Building Information Modelling Implementation Group GMIT (BIGG)	Using a collaborative academic-industry reciprocal learning framework to establish GMIT as an international leader in Building Information Modelling (BIM) education and campus management
Business	Dundalk Institute of Technology, Department of Hospitality	Embedding Graduate Attributes into all Programmes
	Cork Institute of Technology - ACE (Accelerating Campus Entrepreneurship)	Entrepreneurship Education at Cork Institute of Technology
Social Sciences	Dublin Institute of Technology, School of Hospitality Management and Tourism	Students in Action Initiative

ENDS

Notes to the Editor:

The National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education was initiated in 2012 by the Minister for Education and Skills to enhance teaching and learning in higher education. The Forum engages collaboratively with students, teachers, managers and leaders, to devise and drive enhancements to teaching and learning. The Forum mobilises expertise and inputs from across the sector in Ireland and globally to extend and shape best practice in all institutions of higher education in Ireland.