Atlantic Technological University (ATU ) has launched its first Race and Ethnic Equality Action Plan 2025-2028, unveiled on May 14 at the ATU Galway City campus.
Warmly received by staff, students and community partners, ATU President Dr Orla Flynn described the action plan as both a milestone and a call to action. She noted that racism can be “subtle, systemic, and pervasive,” and must be addressed with honesty and determination.
“Today, we are committing ourselves to being an explicitly anti-racist university, one that does not merely respond to racism when it arises but actively works to dismantle it,” said Dr Flynn.
The work behind the plan has been extensive. It formally began in September 2024, led by a university-wide Race and Ethnic Equality Working Group chaired by ATU Sligo lecturer Dr Akinlolu Akande. Over two years, 22 members including staff and student representatives met regularly to shape a plan.
“Being ‘the only one’ shapes your experience in ways that are difficult to fully explain unless you have lived it,” Dr Akande explained.
“Trust is not built overnight. It is built through consistency. Through listening when it is uncomfortable. Through recognising that race equality work is not the responsibility of ethnic minority students and staff alone, but a shared institutional responsibility.”
Consultation sat at the heart of the process, drawing on the voices of staff, students, senior management and external partners.
The resulting plan is structured around six themes and outlines clear actions, timelines and responsibilities. Those six themes are Culture, Leadership and Strategy, Data, People, Processes, Inclusive Teaching and Learning Practices, and Supports and Community Engagement. Priorities include stronger reporting systems, better representation, more inclusive teaching practices and improved transparency in data. It is aligned with national policy, including the HEA Anti-Racism Principles and the National Action Plan Against Racism.
Dr Akande shared his hope that real success will be measured not in documents, but in lived experience.
“My hope is that, 11 years from now, no member of staff or student will feel the isolation, micro-aggression and sometimes pure discrimination that many of us once experienced,” added Dr Akande.
“That they will see themselves reflected in leadership, in curriculum, in decision-making spaces, and in the everyday culture of this institution. That belonging here will not feel exceptional – but normal. We all belong.”
