UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science awarded Athena Swan Silver Award
The UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science was awarded the prestigious Athena Swan Silver Award following a successful review by the Athena Swan Ireland panel.
Professor Akke Vellinga, who led the review process at the School, said, “This award is an important recognition of our School’s ongoing commitment to advancing equality, supporting staff and students, and fostering an inclusive and equitable environment”.
The award was achieved following an evidence-based review of progress and impacts made against the School’s Action Plan developed in 2021, when the School was awarded the Athena Swan Bronze Award.
Commenting on the Award, Head of School Associate Professor James Matthews said, “It reflects the hard work, dedication and collaboration of so many people across our School and we want to extend our sincere thanks to everyone who contributed to this achievement”.
The School will continue to build on its Action Plan and embed good practice into all that it does with a focus on a number of key priority areas.
The School is now one of seven schools in UCD to have achieved a departmental Silver Athena Swan Award. University College Dublin achieved the institutional Silver Athena Swan Award in September 2024.
About Athena Swan Ireland
The Athena Swan charter launched in the Republic of Ireland in early 2015. The extension of the charter to Ireland was made possible through funding from the Higher Education Authority (HEA), which covers applications to the charter from 21 higher education institutions. Engagement with the charter is a key pillar of Ireland’s national strategy for gender equality with progress linked to institutional eligibility for funding from Ireland’s major research agencies. All of Ireland’s universities and institutes of technology and several colleges participate in Athena Swan Ireland.
The Athena Swan Ireland charter has recently undergone a re-development in line with the findings of a national consultation and offers a framework for progressing equality in higher education and research that is unique to Ireland. The objective of the Athena Swan Ireland 2021 charter framework is to support higher education institutions, academic departments, and professional units in impactful and sustainable gender equality work and to build capacity for evidence-based equality work across the equality grounds enshrined in Irish legislation.
22nd September 2025