National College of Ireland’s mission is ‘to change lives through education.’ For more than 70 years, the college has worked to deliver that mission by continually responding to the everchanging needs of staff and students. National College of Ireland is delighted, and proud to announce that we have successfully renewed our Athena Swan Bronze Award in recognition of our commitment to gender equality and to developing an environment that is inclusive of our diverse communities.

Athena Swan Charter in Ireland
The Athena Swan charter is a framework that is used across the globe to support and transform gender equality in higher education and research. The charter launched in Ireland in 2015 with a specific remit to encourage and recognise commitment to advancing the careers of women in STEM. The charter has since been expanded to include arts, humanities, social sciences, business and law, and staff working in professional, managerial, and support roles.

The Athena Swan Bronze Award affirms that an institution: 

• Is aware of gender equality issues at an institutional level.
• Understands that intersectional gender equality is critical.
• Has identified and embraced challenges. 
• Has clear and achievable future plans. 

Engagement with the charter is a key pillar of Ireland’s national strategy for gender equality in higher education and institutional access to the charter is nationally funded by the Higher Education Authority. As an independent, not-for-profit institution, with a significant focus on access to higher education, NCI occupies a unique and prominent position within the Irish Higher Education sector, one that has been built on the college’s impressive history of inclusivity. 

Our student body has always reflected the diverse population of north inner-city Dublin, both economically and ethnically, due to our location in the heart of Dublin city centre. Therefore, we pride ourselves on being an institution that makes considerable efforts to encourage, support, and include students who are from communities that have traditionally not entered higher education at the same rates as their peers. The leadership of National College of Ireland, driven by President Gina Quin, has embedded our commitment to gender equality in our Strategic Plan. 

Aurora at NCI
Another fantastic example of one of the many actions taken at National College of Ireland, is our involvement with Aurora. Aurora is Advance HE's leadership development initiative for women. This initiative is a unique partnership bringing together leadership experts, higher education providers, and research institutes to take positive action to address the under-representation of women in leadership positions in the sector.

National College of Ireland is a proud supporter of Aurora and have had many women participating since 2018. Our most recent Aurora Graduation ceremony took place today, September 3rd, 2024. A brilliant time was had as we applauded and celebrated the achievements of this year’s programme graduates. Aurora Alumni also shared their experiences from their time taking part in the programme. 

“I applied for the Aurora programme as it was a specialised initiative for women to help them develop and explore issues relating to leadership roles and responsibilities. From the beginning of the leadership programme, we learned as a group how to step through challenging areas, using a mix of self-directed and action set learning, while also working with a mentor. I found the entire process greatly beneficial. For Aurora, the more you put into the programme, the more you will get out of it." – Caroline Dolan, HR Consultant at National College of Ireland. 

“What I got out if it was an expanded professional network and an increased understanding of leadership such as the similarities and differences between leadership and management, the importance of authenticity, and the power of positive influence.” - Dr Musfira Jilani, Assistant Professor in Computing at National College of Ireland. 

Each year, participants in the Aurora Programme, led by a leadership experts’ team, explore four key areas associated with leadership success: Identity, Impact & Voice, Core Leadership, Politics & Influence and Adaptive Leadership Skills. This is in addition to an action learning set. Since launching in 2013, more than 10,000 women from almost 200 different institutions across the UK and Ireland have participated in Aurora, and at NCI, we are committed to continually offering opportunities for members of staff to expand and further enhance their skillsets. 
Learn More About Aurora and How You Can Get Involved.

In our Strategic Plan, clear objectives have been laid out. Simply put at National College of Ireland, we will continually strive to measure, celebrate, and support equality, diversity, inclusion, and sustainability. Since first being awarded the Athena Swan Bronze Award in 2020, we have taken many significant steps to achieve our goals, such as the development of remote and hybrid working methodologies, the Ending Sexual Violence and Harassment framework, an autism friendly campus accreditation, the creation of a sensory room for students and staff, and the provision of a range of training in areas such as unconscious bias, inclusive leadership, consent and disability in the workplace. We have also developed specific initiatives such as The Menopause Workplace Guide, and the Brigit’s Basket campaign which supports the provision of free period products for all staff and students at National College of Ireland. 

We are particularly proud of the work that our Self-Assessment Team (SAT) has undertaken in preparing our application and the development of our action plan. This consultative and reflective process has identified areas where further focus and progress is required. Key priorities have been identified, which include developing an Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) strategy which will be driven by Prof Jimmy Hill, Vice President of NCI, embedding EDI practice in curriculum development and review, progressing anti-racist policy and practice, and further developing our autism campus initiative and data collection. The cornerstone to National College of Ireland’s submission for the renewed Athena Swan Bronze Award is the College’s 2024-2029 Gender Equality Action Plan which outlines measurable and impactful actions NCI will undertake over the next five years.

National College of Ireland’s Self-Assessment Team:

The Self-Assessment Team would like to thank all NCI staff members who responded to calls for involvement in the process, and to those who provided data and information as required. 
At National College of Ireland, we would also like to extend our thanks to the Athena Swan team in Ireland and the other HEIs whose ongoing peer support has been invaluable in this process. It is fantastic to be able to celebrate such significant achievements, and we look forward to the progress that will continue to take place here at NCI. 

#ChangingLivesThroughEducation