€5m Funding Announced for Strategic Alignment of Teaching and Learning Enhancement (SATLE) in Higher Education

Posted: 16 September, 2024

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Patrick O’Donovan TD, has today announced a €5m funding allocation as part of the Strategic Alignment of Teaching and Learning Enhancement (SATLE) initiative, administered by the Higher Education Authority and its National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education.

The €5m fund will build on existing SATLE priorities, providing higher education institutions with the resources to support a long-term strategic approach, focusing on the key priority areas of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), digital transformation, and the promotion of academic integrity.

Announcing the funding today at the National Forum Associates Assembly in Mary Immaculate College, Minister O’Donovan said:

“I am delighted to announce this €5m in SATLE funding, which marks another important step forward in our focus to elevate teaching and learning across Ireland’s higher education institutions. The SATLE fund has played a crucial role in supporting institutions to take a long-term, strategic approach to enhancing teaching and learning.

Building on the success of previous funding rounds, this funding will allow institutions to prioritise key areas including embedding sustainability, digital transformation — exploring the potential of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence — and promoting academic integrity, ensuring our higher education system continues to meet the needs of students and society. I look forward to seeing the positive impact this will have in further shaping the higher education landscape and enhancing teaching and learning experiences.”

Welcoming the announcement, Dr Alan Wall, CEO of the Higher Education Authority, said:

“This €5m SATLE allocation provides important support for ongoing enhancement of teaching and learning in our higher education institutions and is essential in helping our higher education system to evolve and meet the needs of students. The renewal of the national teaching and learning strategy next year will further bolster these efforts, helping us to meet our shared goals for the future of education”.

Professor Marie Clarke, Chairperson of the HEA Student Engagement, Teaching and Learning Committee, added:

“This allocation supports institutions to prioritise the development of their teaching strategies and helps ensure that our approach to teaching and learning enhancement remains both innovative and sustainable. The continuation of SATLE funding also encourages institutions to take a strategic approach to teaching and learning strategies, fostering collaboration, sharing best practices, and promoting the development of impactful initiatives and resources.”

The funding will be used to support projects across institutions, addressing key themes and promoting transformative pedagogies, interdisciplinary approaches, and the adoption of new technologies. Institutions are encouraged to take a strategic approach over multiple years to ensure sustainable impact. Resources and best practices generated by these initiatives will be shared through national conferences and made available via the National Resource Hub.

The SATLE funding forms part of HEA’s broader strategy and commitment to excellence in teaching and learning, and student engagement, preparing institutions to continue to meet the needs of a dynamic and changing higher education landscape.

In the Photo at the SATLE funding announcement at Mary Immaculate College in Limerick (l-r): Dr Ross Woods, Senior Manager, Teaching and Learning, Student Success, Health and Wellbeing, HEA, Prof. Marie Clarke, Chairperson of the HEA Student Engagement, Teaching and Learning Committee, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Patrick O’Donovan TD, Prof. Niamh Hourigan, Acting President of MIC, Dr Katherine Whitehurst, Director of Teaching and Learning, MIC