Founded By The
Erasmus⁺ Programme
of the European Union

Since its foundation in 1854, UCD has become one of Europe's leading teaching and research-intensive universities. The international standing of UCD has grown in recent years; it is currently ranked within the top 1% of institutions world-wide. UCD is also Ireland's most globally engaged university with over 30,000 students drawn from over 120 countries, and includes 5,500 students based at locations outside of Ireland. In 2013-2014 UCD researchers secured €114 million in research grants from national and international funding agencies, companies and foundations. Since 2004 UCD researchers have secured over €1 billion in such grants. UCD is Ireland's leader in graduate education with over 8,000 graduate students, almost a quarter of whom are graduate research students. UCD is the only Irish university to provide the EU Supplement Label to students for international recognition. As the largest and oldest University School of Nursing and Midwifery (SNMHS) in Ireland, we play a leading role in the development of nursing education, practice and research. UCD is the academic partner for the Ireland East Hospital Group, the largest of the country's hospital groups. The Group provides the School with enormous opportunities to expand the range of clinical and research experience available. UCD School of Nursing Midwifery and Health Systems has the view that health care professionals play a key role in the prevention and management of chronic disease.

Chronic disease will become the dominant global public health issue, and UCD SNMHS is leading on education and clinical practice in the context of chronic disease prevention and management. We teach Masters degrees in Nursing and in Advanced Pain Management, and Post-graduate diplomas in Public Health Nursing and in Diabetes Care. Our expertise in these areas, in curriculum development and in innovative delivery, and our outstanding facilities, will support our contribution to this project. Academic staff from UCD who will work on this project have wide experience of managing previous capacity building projects in the Tempus and Erasmus+ programme.

UCD will play the leading role in all work packages as Project Coordinator. A member of staff will be based in the partner countries as a project manager, whose role will be to expedite and coordinate all the activities of the partner universities. We will participate by conducting a survey and analysis of stakeholder requirements, hosting a study tour of partners, developing programme curricula in line with the ECTS guidelines, helping to developing the approach and requirements for the masters programme, and running competence enhancing courses. Developing the agreed modules and short courses, delivering train the trainers courses in our own university and in the partners, mentoring partner university colleagues, and hosting a one month visit by partner country students. We will organise quality assurance of the project and organise and participate in dissemination activity. Finally, we will take the lead on all management aspects of the programme.