University of Limerick (UL) has been shortlisted for three DELTA (Disciplinary Excellence in Learning Teaching and Assessment) Awards. The inaugural DELTA Awards seek to recognize ambitious and innovative approaches to teaching. The School of Law, the Graduate Entry Medical School (GEMS) and the Department of Clinical Therapies have been recognized.
The School of Law’s project ‘Clinical Legal Education through Experiential Learning’ is the only legal project on the shortlist. Dr Eddie Keane, lecturer in the School of Law, was responsible for drafting the submission. “If the School were to be successful, a DELTA award would be a prestigious national recognition of the suitability of the teaching practices currently undertaken and those envisaged for the future,” he told An Focal.
Professor Shane Kilcommins, Head of the School of Law, welcomed the nomination and praised the School’s consistently innovative approach to legal education. “The School of Law at UL has always been a pioneer in this regard, as evident in our mooting practices, advanced lawyering projects, cooperative placements, Erasmus programmes, and internships,” he explained. “Since coming to UL four years ago, it has been very obvious to me that the School of Law is leading the way among Law Schools in Ireland in our approach to innovative pedagogy and curriculum design.”
UL also has two shortlisted projects in the medical category. Professor Des Leddin, Head of GEMS, expressed delight over the nominations. “We are awaiting the final decision eagerly,” he told An Focal. Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) and University College Dublin (UCD) are also nominated in the medical category.
Six Institutes of Technology and four universities are featured on the shortlist, which consists of 18 projects.
The award ceremony will take place on the 21st of March in the Round Room at the Mansion House in Dublin.
Molly Cantwell 
Daragh De Klein