UCD Physio Hub - University Award for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning
Led by colleagues in UCD Physiotherapy and based in UCD’s sports facility, UCD Physio Hub was launched in February 2015. Here, physiotherapists, supported by students, address the health needs of the local and wider community, promoting physical activity and healthy lifestyles through community exercise and health promotion programmes. Over a short few years Physio Hub has become an exemplar of innovation in health professional education, providing ‘real world’ learning opportunities for promoting positive health behaviours. Students engage with student and community clients on campus through the community programmes and through sports service provision. Community outreach activities see students learn in a variety of real-world settings including local sports clubs, primary schools, farmer events, and traveller community setting.
At Physio Hub, students are encouraged to be flexible, creative, to collaborate, to co‐construct knowledge, deliver and evaluate interventions addressing diverse community health needs. This active learning environment challenges students to develop solutions, encouraging deep learning with formal evaluation indicating high levels of student engagement and a positive student experience. To date 105 BSc and MSc Physiotherapy students have completed clinical work placements at UCD Physio Hub.