Builder's return to education features on RTE documentary

Documentary series shines a light on seven university students helping to change the face of higher education

Cathal Blake from Mornington spent 30 years working in construction before he decided to go to Dublin City University as a mature student. He is now a doing a PhD in Psychology focusing on young unset dementia.

The Irish Universities Association has partnered with RTÉ to create 'My Uni Life', a five-part series which follows the lives of seven students at various stages of their university journey, including Cathal.

Whether it’s dealing with the challenges of having a disability, the stereotypes associated with socially disadvantaged backgrounds or having the courage to go to university at a later stage in life, these students represent just seven out of more than 5,000 students each year whose desire to succeed at third level education is facilitated and supported by the Access and Disability programmes run by Irish Universities.

Each student comes from a different background, accessing university through a variety of routes, but with determination that is key to the personal difficulties they have faced.

Filmed over the past 12 months, the series provides a unique and authentic insight into the lives of seven students across the country, as they navigate through personal challenges and the current Covid-19 pandemic while trying to grapple with the move to remote learning.

Cathal Blake says: “Participation in the documentary has been a fantastic experience. It has given me the opportunity to reflect on my academic career and life to date and helped me focus on my future. I have also gained an insight into the work that goes into documentary/TV making. I hope that my input will show others from a similar background to me, that no matter what you did previously, or what age you are, attending university and doing really well both personally and academically is a realistically achievable goal.”

DCU has the oldest and largest Higher Education Access Programme in Ireland. Some 93 per cent of Access students who enter DCU complete third-level education and over the last 3 years 437 mature students entered first year at DCU.

Cathy McLoughlin, head of the Access Service at DCU said: “In DCU, we are fortunate as access and widening participation is part of the university’s DNA, access students were part of the very first cohort of students who entered this new university in 1990. We encourage those who believe they do not have the ability or they will not fit in, to realise that a University is a community of people from different backgrounds – there is no right or wrong ‘person’.”

Jim Miley, Director General of the IUA said: “Irish universities play a crucial and growing role in fostering and enabling social inclusion and mobility. The many access routes the universities support are key to building a long-term inclusive society in Ireland. As a result of the work done by the Access and Disability programmes run by Irish Universities the student body is becoming a more and more diverse group. It is incredibly positive to see that in the 2017/18 academic year 15 per cent of entrants were from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, while almost 10 per cent of new entrants had some form of disability and 6.6 per cent were mature students. But, we have much more to do. It is paramount that we do everything possible to support increased access for all students who need it.”

The series is running on Fridays at 7.30pm on RTE One.