NCI Renews AsIAm Autism Friendly Campus before new course exploring Harnessing Neurodiversity in the Workplace

The National College of Ireland has announced that its Autism Friendly status has been renewed by the Autism advocacy group AsIAm.

NCI was first accredited as an Autism Friendly Higher Education Institution by AsIAm in 2021, being the second HEI in the world to achieve this award.

Founder and CEO of AsIAm Adam Harris said, “We would like to warmly congratulate the National College of Ireland on achieving its second Autism-Friendly HEI Award, building on the success of the college’s first Autism-Friendly HEI Award, which was implemented over the course of the last 3 years.”

“In achieving and maintaining this standard, NCI is demonstrating its long-term commitment to breaking down barriers for Autistic students and staff and formally recognising the clear benefits of ensuring all in their college community have the same chance to access, engage with and contribute to NCI life,” said Harris.

AsIAm’s Autism Friendly HEI initiative addresses the fact that although more autistic people are entering higher education, the number who graduate is comparatively small. Furthermore, those who do graduate are likely to experience unemployment or underemployment. Nurturing an autism-friendly environment in a college can go a long way toward alleviating these problems.

“At National College of Ireland, we are delighted to continue our relationship with AsIAm and continue on our journey to making the college experience, for all staff and students, accessible, welcoming and positive,”  said Karen Mooney, Student Support and Welfare Manager at NCI.

NCI to launch brand new course focused on harnessing neurodiversity in the workplace:

National College of Ireland is proud to announce that NCI will now be offering a brand new course that explores neurodiversity with a view to graduates gaining a solid base of knowledge and skills to take advantage of the opportunities and develop strategies around the challenges for organisations gaining the full potential of Neurodiverse employees.

The Certificate in Harnessing Neurodiversity in the Modern Workplace course will take place online for 5 weeks.

This course has been carefully designed for:

• An individual who is working or planning to work in an organisation with a neurodiverse workforce
• Employers who want to understand and access neurodiverse talent and/or harness the neurodiversity of their current workforce
• Individuals within the neurodiverse community seeking a greater understanding of themselves and how they can better contribute to the workplace
• People with a Clinical / Psychological / Occupational Therapy background who assist people from the neurodiversity community seeking employment

“I am very proud of the National College of Ireland’s revalidation as an Autism Friendly HEI. This award represents an ongoing, collaborative, living commitment to make the College a welcoming place for autistic students,” said NCI President, Professor Gina Quin.