Dundalk IT awarded second Bronze Athena Swan

Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) has been awarded its second international Athena SWAN Bronze Award by AdvanceHE in recognition of the Louth institute's commitment to advancing gender equality in academia, and in promoting diversity and inclusion for staff and students in higher education.

The Athena Swan Ireland Charter offers a framework for progressing gender equality in higher education and research.
It is run by Advance HE, which has worked in partnership with the sector for 10 years, supported by the Higher Education Authority.

Commending DkIT’s renewal of the award, Sarah Fink, Head of Athena Swan Ireland, said: “This Bronze Athena Swan award highlights the fantastic commitment of Dundalk Institute of Technology in bringing about change through impactful and sustainable gender equality initiatives in higher education across Ireland. Congratulations to all those who work so hard to achieve and sustain this recognition.”

DkIt says that the renewal of the prestigious award, first achieved by DkIT in 2021 is a testament to the Institute’s continued commitment to advancing gender equality and having an inclusive culture among staff and students.

Welcoming the announcement, Dr Diarmuid O’Callaghan, President of DkIT said: “The Institute’s Strategic Plan 2024-2028 embeds equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) across all activities. We are very proud of what DkIT has achieved to date. Impressive progress has been made on implementing our Athena Swan plan and I look forward to seeing what our DkIT community will achieve next.”

DkIT’s submission was developed by the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion officers Donna O’Connor and Ciara O’Shea in collaboration with the Athena SWAN Self-Assessment Teams (SAT). The self- assessment teams were chaired by members of the Institute Executive Board, demonstrating the strong support of senior management for EDI.

Breda Brennan, Head of School of Engineering and Chair of the DkIT EDI Committee said: “I am delighted that DkIT’s continued commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion has once again been recognised by the Athena Swan evaluation team. DkIT is committed to facilitating and driving changes which will remove any barriers to equality, diversity and inclusivity for both students and staff across campus.”

She added, “the engagement of staff and students across the institute has been fantastic and the desire to make positive changes towards an inclusive campus is one that is clearly shared by so many across DkIT.”

In 2024, the School of Engineering became the first academic faculty in DkIT to be awarded an Athena Swan school-specific award, which was a fantastic recognition of the wonderful efforts to promote gender equality in the school.

Donna O’Connor, a member of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion team at DkIT said: “It is fantastic to be recognised with our second Athena Swan Award which is a testament to the hard work by teams across the institute to achieve gender equality in higher education and ensure an inclusive culture within our community. Since beginning our Athena Swan journey, we have made huge progress across a number of wonderful initiatives, and I cannot wait to see what we can collectively achieve next.”

A number of initiatives across the institute were commended by the Athena Swan team. These included: The RiVeR project (where DkIT aims to become the national centre of excellence in the provision of education and training initiatives that includes active engagement in research, dissemination of information and capacity building in domestic, sexual and gender-based violence); the ‘DkIT Loves STEM’ roadshow, which has reached around 1,000 students in two years; International Women’s Day events; and the establishment of a Race Equality Committee and College of Sanctuary Working Group.

The Headstart Programme, which was developed with Louth Local Development and aimed at those thinking of going back to Higher Education, was also given a special mention by the judging team. The impact of this programme was recently recognised by the HEA, when DkIT was awarded €1 million in funding to support and recognise exemplary performance.

Jennie Rothwell, Centre of Excellence for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Higher Education Authority, said:
“Action plans developed through the Athena Swan Ireland Charter enable higher education institutions and departments to take an evidence-based approach to addressing gender equality challenges. Congratulations to Dundalk Institute of Technology in taking this step forward to advance gender equality for all staff and students.”