🇮🇪 International Exchange with HZNU, China 🇨🇳

🇮🇪🇨🇳We recently welcomed colleagues from Hangzhou Normal University (HZNU)(杭州师范大学) to TU Dublin for an international exchange focused on sharing insights into STEM education through our STEAM: Try Five+ project. 🚀 The two-day visit also radiated outward to showcase a wider range of related STEAM/school outreach projects across Access & Outreach and TU Dublin. Together, we engaged in inspiring cultural and academic dialogues, exploring future possibilities for collaboration.

The exchange kicked off with a tour of our Grangegorman campus, alongside a sneak peek into the Sports for Life Workshops with Junior Cycle⚽️. To introduce our creative arts and primary level engagement, Conor presented our innovative music workshops, while Ana Cañizares Bejarano and Zhuoqun Zhang delivered a detailed presentation on the STEAM: Try Five+ project and our ARISS contact initiative 🛰️.

A major highlight of the visit was bringing everyone to our partner school, St. Gabriel Primary School. Our guests observed a live STEAM session—The Sustainable Space Explorer: Make a Wind Turbine—and connected directly with local teachers and students⚡️. It was wonderful to see the cross-cultural exchange between the educators and students during the school tour.

We also had a fantastic time sharing insights with other STEM projects. Our team introduced core initiatives including Junior Cycle Workshops by Ana Cañizares Bejarano and STEM Passport by André Almo and Bernadette McDonnell, and John S. Butler was invited to introduce his amazing project Maths in the Wild interactively. Our manager Riona Fitzgerald provided an insightful A&O department overview and targets, while HZNU gave us fascinating insights into STEM education and Project-Based Learning (PBL) in Zhejiang, China.

We are grateful for the guiding support throughout the planning process, especially to Riona for her leadership, and to Ana, Zhuoqun, Qingxiang Yang and all Access and Outreach – TU Dublin team for coordinating and hosting the event. A huge thank you also to all the colleagues who stepped in to present and host, and to the teacher Niall Smith and principal Suzanne Comerford for welcoming us so warmly, hosting the school tour and supporting the workshop. Looking forward to more cross-border collaborations that enrich our educational practices! 🚀

Our amazing funders:
Research Ireland
Department of Education and Youth
Technological University Dublin
Workday