The GATE Centre

GATE provides two reservable physical spaces and access to technical resources to support the objectives of the GATE Centre. These facilities are designed as workspaces or developmental spaces where staff and postgraduate students can test and trial educational media and related approaches, as well as record materials for use in teaching and learning.

The space is not designed as a full production facility but instead may be considered as a lab and development space with access to guidance and equipment.

There are two bookable spaces:

HyFlex Room - JHN B10A

Capacity: 20 persons

As a larger working space, this room affords greater flexibility, including:

• Recording video and audio materials
• Video, lighting, Chroma key (green) screen and sound setups
• Technology exploration
• Professional development sessions
• Community of practice meetings
• Collaborative design work sessions
• HyFlex teaching practice
• Practice and rehearsals

Media Studio - JHN B10B

Capacity: 4 persons

The main use and purpose of this space is to allow for:

• Recording presentations
• Podcast or interview recording
• Practice and rehearsal
• Testing equipment and development of media skills
• Creating teaching resources

Requesting & Using GATE

GATE and its resources are intended for access in situ during College business hours. Individual staff members, postgraduate students and programme teams or departments may make bookings with GATE by contacting GATE@mic.ul.ie. To facilitate the effective use of GATE resources, the GATE coordinator will liaise with requesters to discuss the intended use so that we can ensure that facilities and colleagues are available, and that adequate time and suitable resources are available for requested use. 

Early booking and consultation are advised as availability cannot be guaranteed at short notice. Walk-up support cannot be facilitated. 

From time to time, LEAD will provide workshops, events and professional development training sessions that are publicly advertised and accessible by the MIC community. Details of these and participation arrangements are made available in LEAD information and on the LEAD website.

GATE does not provide or support off-site access to equipment.

The GATE Centre resides with the Centre for Learning Enhancement and Academic Development (LEAD) and is located on the John Henry Newman Campus. GATE supports the enhancement of teaching and learning and enables collegial collaboration and practice sharing, supports scholarly dissemination, and facilitates the development of professional and transferable skills.

Understanding what GATE is

• An Educational Media Development Space
• A location where staff and postgraduate students can develop practical skills in educational communication and media creation
• A Professional Learning Hub
• A space for workshops, seminars, accredited and non-accredited professional learning activities
• A Practice Laboratory
• An environment where educational approaches can be piloted, tested and refined
• A Demonstration and Discovery Centre
• A venue for exploring emerging technologies, tools and approaches within a pedagogical context

A community of practice Environment:

• A space that facilitates collaboration, networking and ongoing professional dialogue
• A Gateway to Innovation
• A structured pathway through which educational ideas can move from exploration to implementation

What GATE is not

• A Media Production Service - GATE supports capability development but does not operate as a production facility creating resources on behalf of staff.
• A Content Development Service - GATE develops staff capability rather than undertaking curriculum development work for academic units.
• A Media or Digital Technology Support Desk - Routine technical support remains the responsibility of existing support services.
• A Pedagogy or Programme Development Consultancy Function - GATE facilitates developmental and collaborative activity rather than delivering consultancy projects.

GATE exists for the benefit of the MIC community, primarily:

• Academic staff
• Postgraduate students with teaching responsibilities, including those with departmental and teaching assistant roles
• Staff involved in teaching enhancement activities
• Future educators and professionals in education
• Communities of practice and professional learning networks

Core Areas of GATE Activity

UN Sustainable Development Goal

Stakeholders & Partners

Through its operation, GATE serves a range of stakeholders and partners:

The Rationale

Teaching, learning, professional communications and scholarship take place through increasingly diverse media modes. Be it communication with students, teaching, presenting research or disciplinary knowledge, engaging in scholarship, facilitating discussion or contributing to broader discourse, academic staff and postgraduates are increasingly required to communicate effectively through a variety of media.

As a consequence, educational media has become a necessity as it forms a common means through which information and knowledge are represented, interpreted, collaborated on and distributed both within and beyond higher education. The capability to make informed decisions about media, to communicate effectively through media and to critically evaluate the role that media plays in educational practice has become an important dimension of professional engagement.

Concurrent with this, the evolution of digital technologies, media-enhanced communication environments, generative artificial intelligence and shifting learning expectations continue to grow both the opportunities and the complexities associated with media in education. Academic staff and graduate students are therefore required to not only understand media technologies and their relevance, but they are also required to develop the agency, confidence and capability to determine when, why and how media can and may be used in a purposeful manner in support of teaching, learning, scholarship and communication. 

GATE responds to this by providing a developmental environment that supports the exploration, experimentation, creation, shared practice, innovation and evaluation of media in education. Through this work, GATE contributes to the enhancement of teaching and learning while simultaneously strengthening the confidence and capability held institutionally in media-related practice. This, in turn, supports the scholarly investigation, evaluation and dissemination of experience through a community of educators skilled in contemporary educational communication. 

GATE complements the work of LEAD which already provides extensive support for academic development, learning design, digital learning and related projects in teaching, learning and assessment. Collaboration between GATE and LEAD facilitates synergies between media and digital learning technologies.

The Vision

In alignment with the MIC Strategic Plan 2025–2030; Pathways Lit, Futures Found, GATE’s vision is:

To develop confident, critical and innovative educational media practice in the service of human-centred teaching and learning.​

In so doing, the GATE Centre aligns with the objectives of the National Forum’s Strategic Alignment of Teaching and Learning Enhancement Funding, which seeks to promote the digital transformation of the Higher Education sector.

Principles Guiding GATE

GATE is founded upon the following principles: