TU Dublin Develops a Suite of E-learning Resources for Persons with Disabilities who Intend to Start a Business
A team of academics and researchers at TU Dublin have developed a suite of resources that could make entrepreneurship training more widely available to persons with disabilities. TU Dublin has become known for its provision of inclusive entrepreneurship training, with its over-subscribed Self-Employment for People with Disabilities course, running for a fourth consecutive year from September 2024 to January 2025. The course, funded by AIB and supported by the Open Doors Initiative, is limited to 20 spaces each year. According to Professor Tom Cooney, course coordinator, this newly developed suite of free e-learning resources available will empower persons with disabilities to undertake entrepreneurial training at a time, location and pace that suits them.
The team at TU Dublin, led by Prof Tom Cooney and Martina Brophy, created a 12 session e-learning course (6-hour completion time), PowerPoint slide deck, workbook, teacher's guidebook, case studies and video interviews with entrepreneurs such as Mark Pollock, Mairin NiBheachain and Paul FitzSimons. The team worked closely with Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Office network to ensure that these resources are hosted and freely available on the website www.localenterprise.ie. The development and hosting of the e-learning course was delivered by UAB Learnkey in Lithuania (https://www.learnkey.lt/en) and was funded by Growth Hub at TU Dublin.
The suite of e-learning resources have been designed in such a way to enable two modes of learning. The first mode is self-directed learning where an individual undertakes the e-learning course on their own and at their own pace. Resources, including a workbook, case histories and video interviews, can be utilised to supplement an individual’s learning. The second mode is facilitated learning where an organisation (public, private or third sector) utilises the resources to deliver a course to a group of learners. The provision of PowerPoint slides and a teacher’s guidebook have been developed for this mode of learning and are available to access from the local enterprise network website.
The suite of e-learning resources are now freely available under the Tailored Supports for Persons with Disabilities tab of localenterprise.ie.