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ATU launches first Race and Ethnic Equality Action Plan
Atlantic Technological University (ATU) has taken a significant step forward with the launch of its first Race and Ethnic Equality Action Plan 2025/28, unveiled on 14 May 2026 at the ATU Galway City campus.
Warmly received by staff, students and community partners, the plan Race and Ethnic Equality Action Plan 2025/28, signals a clear and sustained commitment to tackling racism and embedding equality across every part of university life.
ATU President Dr Orla Flynn described the action plan as both a milestone and a call to action. Speaking at the launch Dr Flynn said, “Today, we are committing ourselves to being an explicitly ant-racist university one that does not merely respond to racism when it arises but actively works to dismantle it,” noting that racism can be “subtle, systemic, and pervasive,” and must be addressed with honesty and determination.
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 grounded in lived experience and tangible change.
Dr Akande reflected candidly on why the work matters. “Being ‘the only one’ shapes your experience in ways that are difficult to fully explain unless you have lived it,” he said, recalling earlier moments in his own career when he felt both highly visible and unseen at the same time. He emphasised that progress takes time and that,
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. ATU Galway Mayo Student’s Union Vice President for Welfare Conor Southby highlighted just how important student input has been. “For many minority ethnic students, including Travellers and students of colour, ATU hasn’t always felt like a space that fully sees or supports them,” he said. “This action plan is about changing that in concrete, visible ways—so students don’t feel they have to shrink themselves to fit in, but know the university is willing to change too.”
The resulting plan is structured around six themes and outlines clear actions, timelines and responsibilities. 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.
- Theme 1 – Culture, Leadership and Strategy
- Theme 2 – Data
- Theme 3 – People
- Theme 4 – Processes
- Theme 5 – Inclusive Teaching and Learning Practices
- Theme 6 – Supports and Community Engagement
Speaking at the launch ATU Galway/Mayo Lead Dr Mary Nestor, acknowledged that this kind of work can sometimes be viewed as performative, but stressed its importance. The plan, she noted, is about “signalling clearly to our university community that we are doing the work and that it matters.” She emphasised that meaningful change will be measured not by words, but by everyday experiences across campuses.
President Flynn echoed that sentiment. “This is not just another document,” she said. “It sets out in tangible ways what we will do to address race and ethnic inequality across all of our faculties and functions.”
The launch marks a beginning rather than an end. As Dr Akande reminded those gathered, real success will be measured not in documents, but in lived experience.
“My hope is that, eleven 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,” he said. “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.”
With this plan, ATU is setting out to make that vision real, step by step, and together.
Photo caption: (L-R) Sinéad Ní Bhroin EDI Team Administrator, ATU Sligo lecturer Dr Akinlolu Akande, Professor Jacqueline McCormack
Vice President EDI & Online Development, Dr Mary Nestor EDI Manager, ATU.
For media enquiries, contact:
Aidan Haughey
Communications Manager
Tel: 086 086 6913
E: aidan.haughey@atu.ie
