Dublin City University, the country’s fastest-growing university, has announced the first funding step of an ambitious €323m development programme which aims to future-proof the university’s graduates and align DCU’s research objectives with modern, global challenges.

The programme will see DCU deliver significant global impact in areas such as education, connected health, 21st Century media, conflict resolution and water security; increase its geographical footprint in the North Dublin region through multi-campus growth; and double its student body.

The launch of DCU/Shaping the Future – a €100m fundraising drive – will be followed by a series of significant announcements before the end of this year on major capital investments.  The campaign will seek philanthropic support from private and corporate donors for 21 key projects, aimed at securing DCU’s international leadership in areas such as research, innovation, teaching and learning, student experience and human capital.

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Professor Brian MacCraith outlined DCU’s strategic ambition in launching this unparalleled development plan,

“DCU has a reputation as an innovative force within the most rapidly expanding region in the country.  We are recognised for our focus on innovation, matching our enterprising efforts to future trends in employment, industry, science and technology.  Today’s announcement signals DCU’s ambition to show leadership in this space, to radically scale our future development to meet the challenges of a world grappling with realities such as an ageing population, natural resources under threat, preparation for the jobs of the future yet to be imagined, and an increasingly digitally connected global family where concepts of information, community and conflict transcend borders.”

Professor MacCraith continued,

“DCU has as its mission the formulation of responses to, as yet, undefined needs at local, national and global levels.  This development plan, unparalleled in our institution’s short history, is the blueprint for a challenging new direction which will enable DCU to grow and deliver impact by aligning its research priorities with global challenges and by preparing our graduates for the jobs of the future.”