The department welcomed the Higher Education Lifelong Learning in Ireland Network (HELLIN) for their Spring Seminar and the ComMUniversity Network Spring THINK IN to Renehan Hall on Thursday 13 March 2025.
Ann Gorman, Principal Officer Student Support & SUSI Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science spoke on the Part-Time Fee Scheme for Specified Undergraduate Courses as part of a facilitated discussion in the morning session. The mix of academics and administrators from Registry, Records, Fees and Grants offices from various Third Level institutions from all across Ireland and Community based Adult Education/Lifelong Learning Programme coordinators and Adult Guidance counsellors involved in engaging adults in Access and Widening Participation allowed Ann to remark that 'This meeting is exactly the kind of assembly that we as a government department need to get the message out there to the people this new scheme is trying to reach'.
The blend of people with different areas of interest contained at each table allowed for Freirean Dialogue to come to the fore and more than one member of the audience noted that this 'Maynooth way' of hosting events that values the expertise in the group and not just contained in one speaker makes for a very fruitful and enjoyable discussion.
After a lunch where more connections were made the audience reconvenend in Rehenan for the second session the ComMUniversity THINK IN led by Andrew Connolly City of Dublin ETB Regional Literacy Co-ordinator who led the discussion into the improving picture of digital literacy among the adult population. The discussion turned to the need for Critical Literacy in an age of disinformation/misinformation as well as the new opportunities that Artificial Intelligence affords as Prompt Engineering becomes a sought after skill. It was another absorbing session where participants were left with as many questions as answers (the way all good learning encounters should be) but contained and held until the next time.