ENTREPRENEURSHIP &
EDUCATION
Prof Brian MacCraith, President, Dublin City University
From problem to prototype
Dublin City University President Brian MacCraith
is using everything at his disposal to ensure that
Ireland’s University of Enterprise bridges the gap
between academia and industry.
W
hen I took on the
role of President
of DCU five years
ago, we developed
the strapline Ireland’s University
of Enterprise and it deliberately
had a double meaning. Firstly, it
demonstrated our clear commitment
to proactive engagement with
the enterprise sector but it also
indicated our commitment to
fostering an innovative and
enterprising mindset in our students
and staff.
Through the DCU Ryan Academy
of Entrepreneurs, we have made
some significant developments,
such as UStart, Ireland’s first student
accelerator programme. We have a
number of accelerator programmes
now including one specifically
for women, as well as themed
accelerators – software, ed-tech,
agriculture, etc.
About three years ago, we
became one of two European
universities to be designated an
Ashoka Changemaker Campus, for
fostering social entrepreneurship
in our students. This generation
of millennials clearly responds
to that commitment to effecting
societal change and when we
intersect that with learning business
principles and setting up sustainable
enterprises, they get very excited.
We believe that with all our
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assets and capabilities, we have a
responsibility to contribute to the
development of the wider society.
The ‘job for life’ is long gone, so
we look to move our students from
being job-seekers to being jobshapers or even job-creators and
we do that by putting together a
framework of opportunities for our
students.
This is demonstrated by
our approach to the learning
experience around innovation and
entrepreneurship. Our hackathons
are by far the best things we have
done in the context of experiential
learning. While you can be taught
innovation theoretically in a lecture
theatre, experiencing that process
over an intense 48-hour period,
starting with the articulation of a
problem or opportunity statement
on Friday afternoon and ending with
a working system by Sunday is just
incredible. This kind of experiential
learning is so valuable, we have
committed to hosting at least one
student hackathon every semester
and we use them in part of the
selection process for our accelerator
programmes.
About 18 months ago, we were
putting together a set of graduate
attributes that employers from all
sectors said were most valuable to
them. These included graduates
being creative and enterprising,
taking the initiative, and being
problem solvers and good
communicators. And we found
that the hackathons and student
entrepreneurship init X]]