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Anti- Racism and Cultural Awareness Action Plan: Student consultation 2025

Anti- Racism and Cultural Awareness Action Plan: Student consultation 2025

The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Unit and the UCD EDI Anti Racism and Cultural Awareness Sub-group are inviting UCD students to participate in consultation sessions to further enhance the Anti-Racism and Cultural Awareness action plan prior to finalisation. It is important that this Action Plan reflects the reality and the lived experiences of students across UCD. We really need and value your input to this important consultation. This will be a confidential and safe space in which to share your experience and make suggestions on how UCD could make enhancements to create a more inclusive environment and sense of belonging for people from all backgrounds. Student support will be on hand should anyone wish to avail of it. Please join us to share your experiences and views. 

Light refreshments will be provided from 12:45. 

Participation is only open to those 18 years of age and over.

There are two sessions:

Undergraduate students: Monday 22 September 2025: 12:45 - 2:15

Register via this link

Postgraduate students: Monday 29 September 2025: 12:45 - 2:15

Register via this link

The Sub-Group has been working on the development of this action plan over the past year based on feedback from UCD consultation to date, national action plans and recommendations from a previous report on Race Equality in UCD. These current rounds of consultation will enable us to finalise the action plan from the student perspective.

Areas covered at the focus groups will include

  • incorporating race equality and equality, diversity and inclusion more broadly into curricula, pedagogy and assessment; 
  • creating a safe and respectful environment for those across all equality grounds with a particular focus on race;
  • equality, diversity and inclusion in student intake, engagement and activities including those from minority ethnic backgrounds.
  • Supporting the integration of students from minority ethnic backgrounds into the university

We would like to re-assure all participants that these sessions are confidential and any feedback received will be anonymised so only themes will be fed back. Please refer to the Participant Information Leaflet here for further information on how our data will be used and protected. 

In case of any questions, please contact edi@ucd.ie

D&RSS adviser will be present if any support is needed. Focus groups will take place in a confidential setting that is accessible. The focus group will normally take approximately 1 hour 15 min.

Consent Form

You will be required to complete a consent form to participate in the focus group. The form will be send to the participant ahead of the session.

Internal and External Supports:

Students: If you have experienced bullying and harassment, or find that some questions or aspects triggered distress, please contact:

Institutional Anti-Racism Action Plan project manager: [Marcellina Fogarty]

(opens in a new window)edi@ucd.ie

External Supports

(opens in a new window)Immigrant Council of Ireland

The Immigrant Council of Ireland is an independent organisation working with and for immigrants in promoting their rights through information, advocacy and awareness.

(opens in a new window)INAR (the Irish Network Against Racism)

The Irish Network Against Racism (INAR) is a membership organisation. Our strength is in our Members, a growing, national Network of diverse Civil Society Organisations committed to combating racism and all related forms of discrimination in every sphere of life in Ireland.

(opens in a new window)Irish Traveller Movement (ITM)

The Irish Traveller Movement (ITM) is a national network of organisations and individuals working within the Traveller community.

Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) – Phone 1800 77 88 88

The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre is an external source of support that offers counselling services to help people recover from the trauma of sexual violence. 

Their telephone counsellors are available 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year, to listen, provide information and organise counselling if desired. The Helpline is available to people who have experienced rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment or childhood sexual abuse. It is also available to those supporting victims -family, friends and professionals.

Pavee Point

Pavee Point Traveller & Roma Centre is a national non-governmental organisation comprised of Travellers, Roma and members of the majority population working in partnership at national, regional, local and international levels.

(opens in a new window)Irish Refugee Council

The Irish Refugee Council is an independent, membership-based, non-governmental organisation (NGO). It seeks to ensure that Ireland's asylum policy and practice accord fully with international law and the human rights of asylum-seekers and refugees

Akidwa

Akina Dada wa Africa-AkiDwA (Swahili for sisterhood) is a national network of migrant women living in Ireland. AkiDwA consults with migrant women and other key stakeholders, identifies discriminatory practices and develops evidence-based and representative solutions that address key issues like health, sexual and gender-based violence, and discrimination.

Phone: 01 8349851

Participant Information Leaflet (PIL) and Data Protection

The EDI Unit would like to invite you to take part in a research study. This Participant Information Leaflet and Consent Form tells you about the study. It explains what is involved if you agree to take part. Knowing what is involved will help you decide if you want to take part in the research. Please read this information carefully. Ask questions about anything that you don’t understand or want to know more about. Before deciding whether or not to take part, you might want to talk about it with a relative, friend or other trusted person.

Participation in this research is voluntary. If you don’t wish to take part, you don’t have to.

If you decide you want to take part in the research project, you will be asked to sign the consent form at the end of this document. By signing it you are telling UCD that you:

  • understand what you have read;
  • consent (agree) to take part in the research project;
  • consent to participate in the research processes that are described;
  • understand how your personal data will be used.”

Contact details:

  1. Researcher’s name and descriptor: Marcellina Fogarty
  2. Researcher’s School and Institution: EDI Unit, UCD
  3. Contact details – edi@ucd.ie

Title of the research

Development of UCD EDI Anti-Racism Action Plan

The Higher Education Authority requires higher education institutions to develop anti-racism action plans in line with the HEA Anti-Racism Principles, which the UCD President has signed up to. The HEA Race Equality Implementation Plan for the sector guides the development of the action plan. The development of this action plan is in line with UCD’s EDI Strategy 2021-2024 and UCD’s Gender Equality Action Plan 2024 - 2029.

This research is being undertaken to support the development of the University Anti-Racism Action Plan.  As part of this, the University is undertaking a consultation with students to get a deeper understanding of race/ethnic equality and inclusion in UCD.

UCD wants to get your views and experience of race/ethnic equality and inclusion at UCD which refers to people of all ethnic backgrounds being equal, especially in status, rights, or opportunities.  

No, you do not have to take part in this study. It is your choice. If you choose not to take part in this study, it will not affect your current or future grades. You do not have to give a reason for not taking part in this study.

The following provides answers to question you may have in relation to participating in the study:

  • how long will participants be involved in the research – 1 Focus Group for 1.5 hours
  • how long the research will last (if different) - until December 2025
  • how often will participants need to attend, or participate - 1 Focus Group
  • Is there support for those who need reasonable accommodations/support to participate (e.g. for someone with disabilities, including communication disabilities) – Reasonable accommodations will be provided for any participant that requires them.
  • how long will the sessions/sampling take – the focus group session will be 1.5 hours
  • where will the sessions/sampling take place – the sessions will take place in the Global Lounge on the UCD Belfield Campus
  • who will the participant be dealing with -The participant will be engaging with members of the EDI team and the co-chairs of the EDI Anti-Racism sub-group
  • what exactly will happen, for example: is personal information being collected? Are questionnaires, interviews, focus groups being carried out and how long will these take? Are samples being taken and if so, how much? - All of the data collected will be anonymous and it will be analysed together with the other participants’ data. Any data published will be part of the collective and no data will be attributed to any individual. Data will be used to support the development of the Anti-Racism Action Plan.
  • if audio or visual recordings are being taken, can the participant request that this will not be done in their specific case? - There will be no audio or visual recordings.

You can change your mind about continuing participation up to the time of the focus group taking place without giving a reason. If you choose not to continue to take part in this focus group, it will not affect your grades. If you wish to withdraw, please contact Marcellina Fogarty, EDI Unit at edi@ucd.ie who will be able to organise this for you.

If you choose to withdraw up to the point of the focus group, any data you have provided will be securely deleted so that it will no longer be part of the study going forward, and there will be no consequences for your decision. If the focus group is taking place or has taken place, there are limits to this being possible. For example, if the data has been fully anonymised and the researchers can no longer tell which is your information within the dataset.

Taking part in this study may not directly benefit you but will support students from minority groups in UCD. However, the UCD hopes that this research may help to better understand the experiences of those from minority ethnic backgrounds, to understand the barriers that exist to progression and to contribute to the development of actions to remove these barriers. The researchers may benefit from completion of this research study in terms of the publication of a UCD Anti-Racism Action Plan.

There are minimal risks in participating in this focus group. You are not required to answer any questions you feel uncomfortable answering. You can refuse to participate if you wish. If a question or topic makes you feel uncomfortable you can leave the focus group at any time. If you need support, let the facilitator/notetaker know. Section two provides a list of contacts should you seek support (internal and external supports).

There are no consequences from taking part in this focus group.

 

Once the Anti-racism action plan is completed, the findings of the focus group will be available to you upon request from the EDI Unit carrying out the focus group. In addition, Action Plans are published on the EDI website.

You can be assured that all of the data collected will be anonymous and it will be analysed together with the other participants’ data. Any data published will be part of the collective and no data will be attributed to any individual. Data will be used to support the development of the Anti-Racism Action Plan.

Your data will be entered into a secure database, where it will be combined with the data from other participants in this research study. The data will be analysed to obtain a better understanding about race equality in UCD.  Data collected will be stored securely on a google drive with limited access.

Given the nature of focus groups, confidentiality cannot be guaranteed but it will be made clear to all participants at the beginning of the session that adherence to ground rules (including confidentiality) is expected. Any emerging themes will be anonymous and not attributed to a particular individual. Any data collected and included in the application will be anonymised. Only the action plan will be published on the website.

The data will be destroyed at the end of the project once the action plan is published (end December 2025)

Only the principal researcher will access the feedback to identify emerging themes. No feedback will be linked to any individual, it will all be collated together on the day. 

Your privacy is important to UCD. All information which is collected about you during the course of the research will be kept strictly confidential, and any identifiable information about you will be removed from all samples/records/reports so that you cannot be recognised.

All the members of the Research Team have taken General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) training at University College Dublin (or equivalent)”

The data will be destroyed at the end of the project once the action plan is published (end December 2025)

 UCD will rely on the legal bases of Article 6.1(a) consent, Article 6.1(e) ‘public interest’  and for data that are more sensitive on the condition in Article 9.2 (j) ‘scientific research purposes’ of the General Data Protection Regulation to process your personal data.

You are entitled to:

  • object to UCD use of your personal data or any further use;
  • request access to your personal data and to receive a copy of it (up to the point of anonymisation);
  • request inaccurate personal data be corrected or deleted;
  • request restriction of UCD use of your personal data (if it is inaccurate);
  • request deletion of your data, if no longer needed.

By law you can exercise the above rights in relation to your personal data, unless certain limitations apply, for example if the request would make it impossible or very difficult to conduct the research, or put the quality of the research findings at risk. For example, if the study results / information has already been published then UCD will not be able to delete it.

Principal Investigator(s): Marcellina Fogarty, Senior EDI Manager, edi@ucd.ie

UCD Data Protection Officer: Email gdpr@ucd.ie

Data Protection Commission: (opens in a new window)https://forms.dataprotection.ie/contact

Contact UCD Equality Diversity and Inclusion

University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
E: edi@ucd.ie