DCU has a long history of fully online education well before the Covid-19 pandemic. Did you know that DCU has been offering distance education since 1982? This was the year the National Distance Education Centre was established at DCU and ever since the University has been committed to providing wider access to higher education through flexible learning pathways.
The term 'DCU Connected' helps to convey that in today's new digital world students can be connected to DCU wherever they live. Through DCU Connected people with limited time or opportunity to study in-place on a DCU campus, can pursue part-time online study with flexibility that fits their life. Importantly, DCU Connected programmes make it possible to continue to learn and earn from anywhere, with potential to take you everywhere. We have many stories of students who began their study through DCU Connected when living in Ireland, and as new career opportunities arose were able to stay connected, and complete their DCU degree, from anywhere in the world.
As one of the world's top ranked young universities, a DCU degree is internationally recognised and importantly our online programmes have the same status and meet the same high-quality standards as any other DCU qualification. We offer the only online degree in Psychology that is accredited by the Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI), which ensures that the programme meets the highest standards. Moreover, DCU is the only Irish university that applies the internationally recognised Quality Matters (QM) standards to the design and delivery of our online programmes. These standards adopted by the world's leading online providers, including our US partner Arizona State University, ensure that students can have confidence in the quality of DCU Connected programmes.
Notably, over 85 per cent of our online students ranked the quality of digital learning on their DCU Connected course as good, excellent or best imaginable in the 2018 International Student Digital Experience Tracker Survey.
DCU is known around the world for our innovation and leadership in the design of online education. Our expertise is sought after by other countries. DCU is Ireland's only member of the European Association for Distance Teaching Universities (EADTU), which is an important professional body. The National Institute for Digital Learning at DCU leads a number of international research and development projects, including a major European funded initiative to support the development of online learning throughout South-East Asia. Further evidence of DCU's leadership is demonstrated by our contribution to the International Council for Open and Distance Education. In November 2019, for example, DCU hosted the ICDE World Conference on Online Learning at the Convention Centre Dublin, attracting over 800 delegates from more than 80 countries.
DCU is very proud of the fact that since 2018, over 70,000 people from more than 135 countries have participated in our fully online courses on Irish Language and Culture. Through our strategic partnership with FutureLearn, DCU continues to innovate and in February launched one of the world's first fully online, credit-bearing micro-credentials in the area of FinTech. Further initiatives are in the pipeline. In March, in response to the Covid-19 crisis, DCU was pleased to collaborate with FutureLearn in the rapid development of a course on how to teach online, which attracted over 50,000 educators. Building on this experience, DCU is currently leading the development of a free online course that will be available in September on 'learning how to learn online'.
Importantly, online learning is not going away. It will be a key feature of the future learning landscape in every profession as people need to continually learn, relearn and upskill due to the rapidly changing nature of work. A PWC report published by the European Commission last year estimated a compound annual growth in demand for online training and professional development of around 10 per cent each year over the next five-years. At DCU we have already experienced a 35 per cent increase this year in the number of applications from part-time adult students for study through DCU Connected starting in the new semester.
We expect the level of interest will grow even further when the Government announces this year's Springboard+ programme which enables job seekers and people wishing to upskill to obtain a university qualification at little or no cost. Visit the DCU Connected website or the Springboard+ page for the latest information.
While there is overwhelming evidence on the benefits of investing in higher education as people go on to earn more, have opportunities to advance their careers and pursue more interesting jobs, DCU is very proud of our scholarships which support online study for Irish-based refugees and asylum seekers. DCU was Ireland's first University of Sanctuary and each year the DCU Connected scholarship programme enables up to 15 students to undertake further study. Promoting wider access to higher education is part of our DNA and remains central to DCU's mission of transforming lives and societies.
With DCU's considerable expertise we know how to design highly interactive and impactful online learning experiences. Our award winning online learning platform known as Loop helps to keep everyone connected using the latest learning technologies. We will not compromise on our commitment to ensuring that everyone feels connected from anywhere and everywhere. DCU Connected students, for example, have 24/7 access to a live study coach and benefit from an online writing support service providing personalised feedback on assignments within 24 hours. We offer a range of other support services, including a world-class library and Discover DCU which provides a comprehensive fully online study skills programme.
When you choose to study through DCU Connected, we promise to bring the best of DCU to you. Online education at DCU is not something we do in half-part. Rather we fully infuse the potential of new digital technologies right to the heart of a transformative online learning experience. From your finger-tips at the convenience of your own time and study space, anywhere you live, DCU Connected enables you to pursue your dreams, life goals and career ambitions. Our fully online courses give you the chance to upskill, get an edge and thrive for the new digital world.