Deirdre Kennedy
Enterprise Academy Fellow, Lecturer, School of Media, TU Dublin Tallaght Campus
Email: Deirdre.Kennedy@TUDublin.ie
Increasing Student Engagement through Socially Engaged Practice in the Creative, Cultural and Social Enterprise Sectors
Deirdre’s fellowship project is informed by her multimedia and community arts background, and her fundamental belief that students and graduates have a great deal to contribute to the ongoing formation of a new educational model in the technological university sector and most importantly, to TU Dublin’s strategic vision of ‘creating a better world together’, though the pillars of people, planet and partnership. Through her fellowship, Deirdre aims to build on the strong examples of practice-based projects she has already established with both national and international partners in three key areas: the engaged curriculum; engaged research; and socially engaged practice.
Two projects have been identified as case studies: a collaboration with the Irish Museum of Modern Art called “An Uncommon Practice” and the trans-disciplinary "Nuada Project" with engineering colleagues and 3D Assist, a registered charity based in TU Dublin. Deirdre’s fellowship plan is for these collaborations to become embedded in the university’s practice in a research-informed and reflective way which would add value for all partners involved.
The fellowship also plans to complete the establishment phase of the Future Makers Collective, a networking group of students, educators, researchers, industry experts, creative professionals and cultural and professional institutions coming together to explore and support socially engaged creative practice in the field of media, arts and emerging technologies.
