Students, Collaboration Partners and Academic Leads Celebrated at Sustainability Action Lab 2026 Event
Students, academics, and collaboration partners gathered at TU Dublin’s Grangegorman Campus for the Sustainability Action Lab Celebration and Roundtable 2026, marking a year of activity focused on advancing sustainability through education-based collaboration.
The event brought together participants from 27 projects spanning inclusion healthcare, circular economy, housing, education, advocacy, sustainable communities, and environmental action, that explored sectoral, local and regional sustainable transitions. The celebration was followed by a roundtable discussion, where attendees shared experiences of their sustainability-focussed projects and reflected on the impact and shared value created.
Recognising Impact Across Sectors
Sustainability Action Lab engages TU Dublin students and academics, and a wide range of community, education, industry, and public sector partners.
During 2025-2026, this included: Capuchin Day Centre, Naas Men’s Shed, Dublin Zoo, Global Action Plan Ireland, Fingal County Council, WALK, Ava Housing, St. Brendan’s GAA, Eve Goirtín Hub, St. Paul’s CBS, CBS James Street, Stanhope Street Primary School, St. John of God Services, St. Michael’s House, St. Gabriel’s National School, Mater Transformation, The Civic Theatre, Gaelscoil Inse Chór, Presentation Primary School George’s Hill, The Liberties Community Project, Change Clothes, An Post, Breeding Waders EIP Project and Irish Rural Link, Columban Missionaries Ireland, Focus Ireland, and Climate Cocktail Club.
Sustainability Action Lab also supports internal collaboration and TU Dublin Access and Outreach, TU Dublin Healthy Campus, TU Dublin St Vincent de Paul Society and TU Dublin Chaplaincy were collaboration partners over the last year. 2025-2026 marked an expansion of the initiative’s international reach through a new partnership with An-Najah National University in Palestine.
Vice President for Sustainability at TU Dublin, Jennifer Boyer, acknowledged the breadth and depth of collaboration achieved and highlighted how the programme, guided by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, has enabled students to apply their academic knowledge in real-world contexts.
“Sustainability Action Lab exemplifies TU Dublin’s strengths in practice-based learning and employer-engaged educational programmes. Students work directly with communities and organisations, applying their knowledge in contexts relevant to their discipline, while our partners benefit from the expertise, creativity, and energy of our students. These projects develop sustainability competencies, foster collaboration, and create opportunities for knowledge exchange that extend well beyond the classroom.”
A Vision for the Future
Head of Societal Engagement at TU Dublin, Helena Fitzgerald emphasised the importance of partnership in driving progress to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. She described Sustainability Action Lab as a “distinctive, whole-of-university initiative” grounded in co-creating reciprocal, education-based collaborations between the university and society.
Head of Societal Engagement at TU Dublin, Helena Fitzgerald, said:
“Education for Sustainable Development lies at the heart of TU Dublin's desire to develop graduates who have gained the attributes that society needs - who have developed the attitudes, knowledge and skills to care and think about sustainability; to imagine what sustainability might mean when applied in their disciplines, organisations and communities, and to then act on this.”
Looking Ahead
Sustainability Action Lab 2026–2027 will launch in mid-May, with plans to build on this year’s momentum and expand collaborations across disciplines and sectors.
Sustainability Action Lab is supported through the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) strand of the HEA’s Strategic Alignment in Teaching and Learning Enhancement (SATLE) initiative.