News & Events University of Galway Wins SATLE Impact Award for Pioneering Project on Inclusive Learning

Dr Shivaun Quinlivan of University of Galway recently received a SATLE Impact Award for the project ‘Inclusive Learning’ at the University. Dr Shivaun Quinlivan (University of Galway School of Law) and Professor Lucy-Ann Buckley (a former colleague of University of Galway School of Law) co-led the project and worked alongside other team members including Dr Dinali Wijeratne, Mx Cameron Keighron, Ms Imelda Byrne, Ms Jane Ennis, Dr Niall Madden, Dr Miriam Byrne, Mr Daniel Savery, Ms Anna Ní Fhalatharta, Ms Kate Molloy, Mr Michael Coyne and Dr Sharon Flynn.

The award celebrates excellence and impact in key areas of teaching and learning enhancement, including digital transformation, academic integrity, education for sustainable development and interdisciplinary work in any of these areas.  Each awardee receives €25,000 to develop their project further or explore a new research avenue.

This interdisciplinary project which was funded by National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, the primary goal of the project was to centre the student voice, to hear directly from our students and to learn from their lived experiences, with a view to improving the learning experience for all students.  To that end the project focused on inclusive teaching and learning at University of Galway and had four aims: 

1. To develop a model to empower the postgraduate student voice in inclusive teaching and learning, through student research and partnership.
2. To develop a model for raising staff awareness about inclusion in teaching, learning, and assessment practices, at University of Galway and further afield, through a series of seminars and an international symposium on inclusive learning.
3. To build capacity through the provision of practical supports and resources to embed inclusive practices at University of Galway, including training in Universal Design for Learning (UDL), the adoption of (and training on) Ally for LMS (now Anthology Ally for LMS), and the development of an inclusive learning resources repository for staff.
4. To develop an evidence-based model for monitoring progress on inclusion, drawing on student experiences to guide policy development and identify strategic priorities at an institutional level.

The project report is available here. The report focused on postgraduate experiences in five selected Schools of the University: the School of Law; the J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics; Shannon College of Hotel Management; the School of Mathematics, Applied Mathematics and Statistics; and the School of Physics. The range and choice of school were broadly representative of the University. The five schools included both STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine) and AHSSBL (Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, Business and Law) schools, as well as a professional discipline and a satellite campus. The participating students included both students from taught and research programmes.

We would like to extend our sincere congratulations to Dr. Shivaun Quinlivan and Professor Lucy-Ann Buckley and the Inclusive Learning team on this fantastic award.