email enquiries
telephone enquiriesThe uni4u initiative
A new initiative, called uni4u, has just been launched at Ulster (Spring 2009). It is set to look at the barriers and issues which young people (16-18 years old) in Northern Ireland face in trying to access and study at university. We are looking to hear the views of parents, carers and young people about what they feel would improve the transition from school to university. The uni4u initiative will establish partnerships and build substantive dialogue with the University, leading to widening participation and access to Ulster's resources and courses. Education plays a key role in determining a person's life chances and opportunities in terms of social and economic mobility. There is clear evidence that not all young people in the North of Ireland are accessing higher educational opportunities equally (Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, 2007)
Our Aims
The uni4u initiative aims to
Examine how the University can engender socially inclusive access to its educational provision, in particular for the section of the younger population aged 16-18 that is traditionally excluded by disability or personal situation.
Work with a significant number of external partner organisations including schools and charitable organisations
Work with careers teachers and SENCOs within the NI secondary school network and their pupils aged 16-18.
Talk to parents/carers of young people aged 16-18 to identify the reasons why parents may think their child is excluded from academic pursuits in higher education.
Work with the above users/user groups and external organisations to develop inclusive University support services that will help to make the move from school to university easier.
What is happening next
The project will last three years. Starting in September 2009 the uni4u team will visit selected schools and charitable organisations to ask people if they would like to take part and to give some more information about the project. There will be a chance to ask questions about the project and people do not have do take part if they do not want to.
Who's Involved
There are a number of people in the project team at Ulster: Patricia Kearney (Project Administrator), Peter Nicholl, Maurice Mulvenna, Suzanne Martin, Jonathan Wallace and George Moore. They work at the School of Computing and Mathematics and the School of Health Sciences at the University of Ulster. All have experience of working with children and young people, and their parents, in a range of settings including schools, colleges and out-of-school groups. The project is being carried out with the funding help of the Department of Learning, Northern Ireland.
An Ethical Approach
The project will take an ethical approach, which means that it follows strict guidelines from the University of Ulster's Research Governance Policies and Procedures about how projects should be carried out. This includes things like making sure people understand why they are doing the project and that they can stop at any time. There will be a written report about the project and people's names are never used when we do this. No-one else will know who has taken part in the project.