Quiet Spaces/Pods on Campus
The Inter Faith Centre Quiet Room
The Inter Faith Centre on campus is open to everyone, regardless of faith or none. It's a welcoming space for people from all cultures to connect and celebrate their differences. The Centre offers areas for eating and chatting, a comfortable living room for socializing, muslim prayer rooms, a hindu prayer space, and a Quiet Room for peaceful reflection. You don't need to book the Quiet Room, just knock before entering. To find it, follow the signs from reception.
The U Building - Sensory Pods
This area is a busy place for socialising and therefore can be noisy. There are two soundproofed Sensory Pods here. They are for everyone to use, and you do not need to book.
Albert College Park
Albert Park is right next to the Glasnevin campus. Feel free to take a stroll between classes to relax and recharge.
Grass Seating in Front of Library
A large circular seating area nestled in the long grass, offering a sensory green space.
The Cafe in Invent
A small, tucked-away ground-floor café in the Invent building, ideal for a relatively quiet lunch with friends.
Upstairs at the Helix Cafe
A quieter upstairs seating area in the Helix, perfect for enjoying coffee and views away from the busy ground floor.
Woodlock Hall Library
A tranquil library seating 70, featuring natural light, soft furnishings, with a space for focused work, open to all students.
The Quiet Room
A calm, comfortable, and acoustically designed space on the first floor of C-Block, open to all for escaping campus bustle and sensory overload.
Sensory Pods
Six Sensory Pods are located along the A Block outside student support services.
Church
St Patrick’s campus has a beautiful church which can offer peace during a long day.
Assistive Technology to help you study
Technology can help you with the day to day tasks of your learning journey here in DCU.
Read on or watch our video about technologies in DCU.
Your DCU Microsoft account has Microsoft Word and this has a tool called ‘Immersive Reader’ that reads out your writing. Just go to ‘View’ then ‘Immersive Reader’ and Word can read out your writing - Both Word and Google Docs have this option.
To use this in Google Docs, just go to ‘Tools’ then ‘Voice Typing’ and select the dictation icon that appears on your screen. Start speaking and see the words appear on your document.
- Sensus Access allows you to upload an article and to convert it into an MP3 (audio file) and then have it emailed to your DCU account. You can listen to the article.
- NoteBookLM, which is part of your DCU Google account, allows you to upload an article, or many articles and videos, to create an audio experience but this creates a Podcast, using AI, to bring the single or many sources together. It makes the audio conversational and for some people this may be more engaging.
- Presentations can be a possible assignment type. Practising your presentation is essential to help you to deliver your content as best as possible:
- Your DCU Microsoft account has PowerPoint, and in PowerPoint you can find a Coaching tool. Go to ‘Slideshow’ then ‘Rehearse with Coach’. Practice your presentation and when you finish, press escape and a summary of your presentation appears with points about what you did well and what you can improve on.
Visit Assistive Technology for more information.
Digital Accessibility
To make digital content accessible for all DCU members, we need content that is created with digital accessibility in mind.
Campus Amenities
Glasnevin Campus
-
Microwave area (U Building ground floor) - These microwaves are available to all students and make cooking or reheating your meals a smart option. Just remember to clean up after use.
-
Londis Food Hall (U Building)
-
Foodbox (Sports Hall) - Offers a wide variety of healthy food options including soup, sandwiches and wraps. There's also a Cafe at this location.
-
Free breakfast in the U Building daily 8:00 - 9:30 a.m. - Make sure you don't skip the most important meal of the day. Free breakfasts are offered during semester and exam time.
-
Nubar (U Building) - The DCU bar- A great restaurant, bar and venue available for food, drink & functions. Keep an eye out for food specials. Early morning coffee deals every day.
-
The Pantry ( U Building) - If you're running low on supplies, link in with the Support and Information Hub in the U building. This support is designed for all students struggling with the cost of living crisis.
-
Microwave Area (Inter Faith Centre kitchen facilities ) - These microwaves are available to all students and make cooking or reheating your meals an easy option. Just remember to clean up after use.
-
Coffee Cart (Outside the U Building) - A go-to spot for your to-go drinks - Barista coffee, and a range of other hot beverages and treats.
-
Student Restaurant and Cafe (to the left of the Henry Grattan building) - Offers the familiar range of hot drinks and snacks, plus some delicious homemade baked goods.
-
The 1838 Restaurant (Albert College) - The 1838's relaxed restaurant dining room welcomes staff and postgraduate students. Next door, the Common Room is a 'bring-your-own' lunch space and meeting point for postgrads.
-
O’Reilly Library Cafe - Take a break from the books in the O'Reilly Library Cafe. Located in the basement of the library, it offers a range of hot and cold food and beverages.
-
Nursing School Cafe (Nursing Building, ground floor)
-
Microwave area (Nursing building) - These microwaves are available to all students and make cooking or reheating your meals an easy option. Just remember to clean up after use.
-
Business School Cafe (Business School, 2nd floor atrium) - Offers a variety of full meals and healthy dining options as well as snacks and beverages.
-
The Helix Cafe (Ground Floor) - A multi-purpose, two-storey cafe for studying and group work. The upper floor offers couches, desks and power outlets, perfect for completing work. The bottom floor offers a social space with couches and armchairs where students can have a coffee, relaxed conversations, and collaborative sessions.
St. Patrick’s Campus
-
Cafe (Cregan Library) - Located beside the library entrance, this outlet offers a range of hot and cold food and beverages. The relaxed seating area here makes it a nice spot to take a study break.
-
Londis (Block E)
-
Java Cafe and Student Hub (Block D)
-
Microwave Point (Java) - These microwaves are available to all students and make cooking or reheating your meals an easy option. Just remember to clean up after use.
-
Free Breakfast (D112) - Free breakfasts are offered during semester and exam time.
All Hallows Campus
-
Student Restaurant - DCU's biggest restaurant offers a big range of food choices including full meals, healthy options, noodle bar, sandwiches, and treats. There's also a cafe here.
Sports Centre: Students have free access to showers in the Sports Centre until 9.45am Monday to Friday. Outside of these hours, there is a €2 charge for use of the showers – just present your student card at the reception.
Postgraduate Students have free access to showers all day in 1838
Campus Ambassador & Explorer
The Campus Ambassador and Explorer are more than AI powered way-finding tools, they are designed to make our campuses more inclusive and accessible. Whether you are new to DCU or simply unsure about finding your way, they will help ensure that you can fully participate in University life.
The Campus Ambassador provides quick and accurate answers to location and service queries on the DCU campuses. Campus Explorer provides seamless way-finding links to campus locations.
SafeZone
Dublin City University provides emergency support and communications to staff and students anywhere in the world through a free mobile safety application called SafeZone which links users with University Security.
Safezone allows you to make an emergency call to Security and instantly give them your location. You can also make first-aid calls for initial medical attention.
Download and register on SafeZone.