Learning for the information age

The school of Communications at Dublin City University (DCU) will launch a new course in information media and the Internet, starting this September. The one year certificate course is aimed at those working in the community and voluntary sectors and it requires attendance at DCU on Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings over an academic year. The fee for the course is £1,500. For those interested in follow-on study in this area, a diploma qualification will be available from September 2002.

The programme aims to help administrators, project workers and others in the community and voluntary sectors to make the best use of information resources and electronic media for their organisations. Apart from IT and the Internet, the programme covers information policy development, media relations and analytical skills.

According to Dr Roddy Flynn of the School of Communications, DCU has a stated strategy to address the needs of society. "We recognised the increasing need for lifelong learning, including professional development and adult education, and we believe that programmes such as information media and Internet facilitate voluntary and community organisations who are making an important contribution to the fabric of democracy in Ireland."

DCU decided to design this course following extensive research by the School of Communications into the impact of the information age on the voluntary sector. These findings were published in a report called Weak Connections and were taken on board by the course designers who have planned the curriculum to teach students both media skills for external purposes and how to manage and disseminate information within their own organisation or sector.

No formal educational qualifications are required by prospective students. The essential prerequisite is that they are active in the community or voluntary sectors. Evaluation is by continuous assessment which will take the form of seminar presentations, written assignments and one-to-one interviews where tutors will asses students on their comprehension of certain aspects of the course.

"There will also be substantial qualitative feedback which we feel will be important from a personal development point of view. We believe that organisations which release people to go on this course stand to gain a great deal," says Brian Trench, senior lecturer in the School of Communications.

For more information contact Dr Roddy Flynn at (01) 7008385 or email roderick.flynn@dcu.ie. See also http://www.comms.dcu.ie/cimi