There is a feature on DCU's website (www.dcu.ie) which allows the casual browser to see how the campus has developed over the last 20 years. The expansion has been nothing short of exponential.
From its beginnings in 1980 with one medium-sized Victorian building to the massive site with new student centre and library, concert hall, multi-storey car park under way and even a business-incubator unit, the college has come a long way, baby.
Starting as the junior, Dublin-based college of the the National Institute of Higher Education (NIHE), DCU enjoyed success right from the start. The more vocational, practical and up-to-date courses NIHE offered meant that its graduates had a far higher employment rate than those from the more traditional universities. This was the 1980s, after all, when one-way tickets abroad were in vogue for students.
As the decade progressed, so did the college with the addition of the major Henry Grattan Building, sports pitches, science buildings and creches. In 1989, the last act of the outgoing Dail was to re-define the NIHEs in Dublin and Limerick as DCU and UL respectively, much to the chagrin of the colleges of NUI - which lacked the autonomy given to presidents Daniel O'Hare (of DCU) and Edward Walsh (of UL).
DCU did not have it all its own way however. Speaking at the first graduation ceremony of the university, O'Hare was still speaking of a "crippling" lack of space, saying DCU was more than twice as packed as the any other university. Students were not happy either, and held a mock funeral for the death of social life on campus.
A £2.5 million sports centre in 1993 helped to alleviate this problem, but though it was in the running for the country's first 50metre swimming pool, the university lost out to UL. DCU's sports facilities were further enhanced when in 1995 it bought a 35-acre site to provide soccer, rugby, gaelic, cricket and all-weather hockey pitches.
The development of an on-campus scene of sorts has been helped by the addition of student accommodation beginning in 1991.
By the time of the college's 20th birthday in 1998, students' union president David Flynn spoke of the personal atmosphere at Glasnevin. "You go into the bar, the sports hall and the canteen, you always see the same faces. You never feel a stranger, it gives new students a secure feeling. Its a vibrant and exciting place to be."
Over its lifetime DCU, has carved out a series of niches for itself with pioneering courses in many fields.
"We were the first university to offer degrees in analytical science, biotechnology, computer applications, in business with languages, accounting and finance and mechatronics," O'Hare pointed out in a recent interview.
The college was also ahead of the pack when it came to including placements on courses. O'Hare said that working with business helped colleges to assess what was relevant for students. "Fear of employers calling the tune is usually a lack of confidence," he said. This business-oriented approach extended to research, which brings in about £7 million a year to the college.
