Talented youth gain university experience

DCU's Irish Centre for Talented Youth has announced the launch of the Early University Entrance Programme, the only programme of its kind in Ireland. It will give eight Transition Year students the opportunity to begin a degree programme at DCU as a part-time student.

The first students will be enrolled in February 2009. The eight students are of high-ability and are enrolled as members of the Irish Centre for Talented Youth. They will participate in this pilot programme as part of their Transition Year experience.

The students will take a selection of modules on one of three degree programmes participating in this pilot project - BSc in Engineering, BA in Economics, Politics and Law, and BSc in Applied Physics. They will participate alongside regular first year students.

CTYI was established in 1981 and runs specialised courses in DCU and in centres around the country for students functioning in the 95th percentile, verbally and mathematically. The Centre works with children aged from 6 to 16 years, providing Saturday and summer courses to help further stimulate and challenge them. Courses at CTYI give children the opportunity to study a diverse range of subjects, including
architecture, engineering, physics, creative writing and zoology. The quality of students participating in the CTYI secondary school summer programme is usually at university standard, so this new initiative gives these students the opportunity to participate in regular university courses.

Colm O'Reilly, Director of the CTYI said, "Although this scheme is the first of its kind in Ireland, similar programmes have been running in the United States for many years. Never before have secondary level students been able to access true university education prior to their Leaving Certificate".

Early University Entrance was developed by Catriona Fitzgerald of CTYI, as part of her PhD thesis at the School of Education Studies, DCU. The participating students will be monitored over the next three months to assess their performance and integration into university life, to see if such a programme has a permanent place in the education field.

Catriona Fitzgerald said, "Early University Entrance is new educational territory, and we are very excited to be embarking upon it. It is a pioneering programme that has been developed according to the best practices learned from the US programmes. We are covering all bases, as obviously the students are our foremost priority."

Martin Conry, Secretary of DCU, commented that DCU has a long established involvement with special education for young people with exceptional academic ability, and is home to the Irish Centre for Talented Youth. "We are delighted to be the first university in Ireland to offer an Early Entrance programme and we are confident that these students will enjoy great success in their time here at DCU", he said.

Following the end of the semester, the students will return to full-time to school. It is hoped that they will have had a favourable experience at DCU and will consider picking up where they left off, after their Leaving Certificate.