TU Dublin hosts the 2024 International Forum for Peer Support in Grangegorman
The School of Tourism and Hospitality Management at TU Dublin hosted the 2024 International Forum for Peer Support at the East Quad in Grangegorman last month.
This was a one-day international event to share best practices and the latest research in HE peer-supported initiatives from around the world that showcase students as partners. The event was the result of a collaboration between TU Dublin lecturer Dr Nevan Bermingham and the event co-hosts, Dr Catherine McConnell of the University of Brighton and Lise-Lotte Mörner of the European Centre for Supplemental Instruction at Lund University.
Over 120 delegates from 40 different HEs across 19 other countries attended this conference in person. In addition, 36 delegates attended the live-stream event from the main lecturer hall in the East Quad. Presentations and discussion forums included topics about building peer communities, the role of peer learning in widening access and transition to university and developing student resilience and well-being.
The event was opened by the Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Humanities, Dr Orla McDonagh, and helped showcase the Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) initiative currently running for TU Dublin’s International and Access Foundation Programmes, where a team of former students deliver weekly tutorials and workshops for current students. This PAL programme has seen a notable increase in progression rates across STEM modules seen as “traditionally difficult”, whilst also improving the reported well-being and overall learning experience of our students enrolled on these modules.
NTUTORR funding helped to equip the Student Leaders with technology to help them create a virtual community of practice that improved the delivery and efficiency of these peer-led tutorials. This conference highlighted and shared some of the data gathered from our students as to the PAL Tutorial’s effectiveness for improving well-being, understanding of material, retention and creating support networks.
Supporting the conference on the day were eight of these former TU Dublin Foundation Programme students who acted as Ambassadors to guide and help the delegates on our campus, and this group was recognised at this event for their amazing work as peer student leaders and tutors. Also launched at this event was a new network to share best practice initiatives and research around student-staff partnership in Higher Education from around the island of Ireland. This new network, called INPAL (Ireland Network for Peer Assisted Earning), is the result of a collaboration effort between TU Dublin, ATU and the University of Galway and has already started to inform new HEI initiatives on how student peer partnerships can benefit all participants in education.