Certificate in Contemporary Living Students Graduate
Posted on: 20 November 2013
Sixteen students were awarded the Certificate in Contemporary Living, run by the National Institute for Intellectual Disabilities, when they graduated on November 15th last.
This is the sixth year that students with intellectual disabilities have graduated from Trinity College Dublin. Since 2008, approximately 90 students have graduated from the Certificate programme, providing a rich and varied network of relationships within Irish communities and organisations.
Evan Hogan, Clara Keogan and Mark Claffey celebrate after graduating with a Certificate in Contemporary Living from Trinity
Speaking at the graduation ceremony, course co-ordinator Dr John Kubiak said: “The fact that the awarding of the Certificate has become a regular procedure in the Commencement ceremonies speaks volumes not only for the National Institute for Intellectual Disability, but also for the wider college. Now we are so used to seeing our students in college that it is easy to forget a time when the sight of a person with a disability on campus was either rare or non-existent”.
“Everybody in the college community gains when members of so-called ‘non-traditional’ groups attend a university such a Trinity College. Students gain from the peer learning and social interactions that take place. Teaching staff gain when they realise that all students in their classes – not just students with intellectual disabilities – learn in different ways. The college community gains when the university campus becomes a true reflection of our diverse and varied society. I’m proud that the Certificate in Contemporary Living is a living example of a programme that embraces and works with the diversity of its students and their individual ways of learning,” Dr Kubiak continued.
The annual Margaret McLoughlin Student Prize was awarded to graduating student Margaret Turley.
About the National Institute for Intellectual Disability
The National Institute for Intellectual Disability (NIID) was established at Trinity College to promote the inclusion of people with intellectual disability and their families. The Institute works to ensure that the basic human rights of people are upheld associated with access to:
– Appropriate tertiary education
– Employment placement opportunities
– Community presence and participation
The Certificate in Contemporary Living (CCL), an inclusive education programme, aims to promote full citizenship for its students through the development of learning networks and career opportunities. The two-year course consists of 10 modules that cover the humanities, the expressive arts and transferrable skills. Students are taught in their group and also audit undergraduate courses of their choice. Undergraduate students are paired with CCL students as peer mentors to encourage Certificate students to engage with social activities and to support social networking on campus.
NIID’s development to date has been made possible through the support and funding of the following: The Atlantic Philanthropies, The Ireland Funds, Joe Corcoran, The Kathleen Rooney Miller Fund, Special Olympics Ireland, Denis O’Brien and Thomas Crosbie Holdings.