Students, Communities and Partners 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 impactful, real-world projects focused on advancing sustainability in particular contexts and places.
The event brought together participants from 27 projects spanning inclusion health & wellbeing, circular economy, housing, education, community development and environmental action, exploring sectoral, local and regional sustainable transitions. The celebration was followed by a roundtable discussion, where attendees shared their experience of collaboration and reflected on the impact and shared benefits of the programme.
Recognising Impact Across Sectors
Sustainability Action Lab engaged TU Dublin students and academics, and a wide range of community, education, industry, and public sector partners.
This includes: 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, TU Dublin Healthy Campus, St. John of God Services, St. Michael’s House, St. Gabriel’s National School, TU Dublin Access and Outreach, Mater Transformation, The Civic Theatre, TU Dublin St Vincent de Paul Society, TU Dublin Chaplaincy, 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.
This year also 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 over the past year.
She 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 engage directly with communities and organisations, applying their knowledge in real-world contexts, 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 “unique, whole-of-university initiative” in Ireland, grounded in co-creating reciprocal collaborations between academia 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 skills 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.