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About

The Institute was established in 2010 and provides a unique forum within the University community for researchers and policy analysts interested in achieving social justice for our citizens in the 21st century. It provides a home to three specialist Centres in the University who have combined forces to ensure better impact for their work across the Lifecourse: the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, the Irish Centre for Social Gerontology and the Centre for Disability Law and Policy.

The Institute seeks to harness the research of these Centres to ensure the evolution of effective policy change across the Lifecourse and to avoid the policy gaps and conflicts that plagued the Irish social policy landscape in the past. Not only do these Centres focus on three different slices of the Lifecourse (childhood, age, disability) but they also emanate from three different disciplines: economics, sociology and Family Support practice and law. Through closer alignment the intent of the Lifecourse Institute is to facilitate inter-connectedness across the Lifecourse and to bring strong inter-disciplinary analysis to bear on the research agendas of the three centres.

Supported by the Atlantic Philanthropies Ireland as well as other private and state funders, the Institute will develop its own thematic research priorities across the Lifecourse. It will host collaborative teaching programmes at Certificate, Diploma, Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral levels on Lifecourse Studies. A dedicated Lifecourse Institute Building is expected to open in 2012 to provide a unique environment to enable the expected synergies to emerge. Through a range of unique conferencing and public facilities it will also enable a new model of academic interchange with the community to emerge based on an open philosophy of civic engagement.

Professor Pat Dolan of the Child and Family Research Centre was inaugural Academic Director of the Institute 2010 – 2012. The current Academic Directorship is held by Professor Tom Scharf of the Irish Centre for Social Gerontology who will serve February 2012 to January 2014.

The Lifecourse Institute, National University of Ireland, Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland.

This page was last updated Wednesday, April 25, 2012