THE CHALLENGE:
University College Cork (UCC) is one of Ireland’s leading universities, a large, complex and values driven institution with a wonderfully diverse staff community that spans academic, research, professional, technical and administrative roles. Over many years, UCC has invested thoughtfully in the growth of its people, and we have been proud to be part of that journey. Our relationship with UCC’s People and Culture team and other programmes at UCC stretches back to 2014 and continues to grow, encompassing a wide range of learning and development workshops and programmes designed to strengthen leadership, communication, confidence and team culture at every level of the organisation.
A university of this scale brings a genuine and welcome challenge. The people who keep UCC thriving are researchers, lecturers, administrators and professional and technical staff, and each group brings its own priorities, pressures and ways of working. UCC wanted learning experiences that would speak clearly to this variety of roles while building a shared sense of confidence and capability across the whole community. There was a particular wish to support female leaders in developing their confidence, resilience and self belief, to create space for colleagues to connect and learn from one another, and to help teams communicate well as hybrid working became part of everyday life. The goal throughout was practical and human, to help people grow and realise their potential in ways that would make a real difference to their working lives.
THE SOLUTION:
Working closely with UCC’s People and Culture team, we designed and delivered a suite of workshops and programmes shaped specifically around the University’s own needs, with every session open only to UCC staff. Our approach has always been collaborative. We begin by talking with the client to understand which topics matter most to staff across the University, and we then design each experience around that insight so that the learning feels relevant from the very first moment. Since 2020 we have used a blended approach, offering sessions in person at UCC and virtually wherever that suits a particular group, and we take care to deliver thoughtfully and with a light environmental footprint, including by drawing on facilitators based locally in Cork.
Our work with UCC has grown to include several connected strands:
– Female Leadership Workshops, delivered from 2021 to 2024, supporting women across the University to build confidence, resilience and self belief.
– Virtual Communication and Hybrid Working Workshops, offering practical and accessible sessions for staff in every kind of role.
– Departmental and Executive Development, including bespoke team events and leadership development for senior and mid level managers across departments and schools.
– Current Leaders Level 1 and Level 2 Programmes, designed and delivered since 2017 in partnership with the Irish Management Institute.
– One to one coaching for colleagues who wanted individual support alongside the wider learning.
Celine also teaches the Cognitive Behavioural Coaching Module on the Personal and Management Coaching MSc since 2015.
The Female Leadership Workshops began with participants of the Aurora programme and were soon opened up to a much wider audience after the response proved so positive. Delivered as practical, interactive and reflective half day sessions, they invited participants to explore their strengths, purpose, values and the limiting beliefs that can quietly hold us back, and to see how all of this shapes our personal brand, which is simply what we put out into the world and how it influences our own success. Before each session, participants completed a short piece of preparatory work reflecting on their core values, which helped them arrive ready to share openly and created a safe space to talk honestly about the obstacles they face. The sessions drew on evidence from psychology, neuroscience and coaching, alongside fifteen years of expertise in helping people to grow and to overcome the barriers to change. They were led by our CEO and lead facilitator, Dr Celine Mullins. We used Mentimeter to invite anonymous reflections, alongside small breakout discussions and a generous set of tips and tools, and we followed up afterwards with further resources so that the learning could continue to embed.
The Virtual Communication and Hybrid Working Workshops responded to the realities of modern working life with a series of shorter, accessible virtual sessions open to academic, professional, technical, research and administrative staff alike. Topics included:
– Challenging Conversations in a Hybrid Working Environment,
– How to Win the Day in Hybrid Working,
– Communicating as a Leader,
– Managing Teams to Success in Hybrid, and
– Assertive Communication at Work.
Our departmental and executive work has allowed us to support specific teams in a more tailored way. This has included an Executive Management Team workshop for the College of Business and Law in 2022, a bespoke team event on Creating a Respectful Working Environment in 2023, and a series of leadership modules focused on communication for senior and mid level managers and their teams, delivered across departments and schools under the Enabling High Performance programme in 2024 – 2026,including with the Library Leadership and Academic Services teams.
The Current Leaders Level 1 and Level 2 Programmes are the UCC flagship leadership offering, delivered annually, and sometimes twice a year, in partnership with the Irish Management Institute. Dr Celine Mullins designed and delivered key modules on communication, emotional intelligence, feedback and coaching, using immersive and interactive formats such as forum theatre, roleplay with real scenarios and peer to peer learning. Level 1 is designed for senior staff who are in core leadership roles across the university, while Level 2 supports newer leaders. Since 2024, Kelly Agnew, who is based in Cork, has facilitated Current Leaders Level 2, in keeping with our commitment to responsible and sustainable delivery. Each programme closes with a capstone event in which participant teams research and present on a topic connected to the programme and aligned to UCC’s strategic vision, with senior leaders invited to attend and share in the moment.
Throughout all of this work, we have encouraged self-directed learning by sharing additional resources before and after each session.
THE RESULTS:
The partnership has delivered consistently strong outcomes, with every project milestone met and all work completed within budget. UCC’s HR team gathers feedback after each workshop, and that feedback has been overwhelmingly positive across the great majority of the topics we have designed and delivered. Participants point to the practical relevance of the content and to the engaging, insightful and reflective nature of the delivery, and they have asked us to repeat many of the topics well beyond their first outing, which is perhaps the clearest sign that the learning is landing.
The Female Leadership Workshops in particular have been described as transformational, prompting repeat requests across multiple departments and growing from a single programme into something offered far more widely. Across the wider partnership, colleagues have reported increased confidence, improved team dynamics and a stronger internal coaching culture as direct outcomes of the work. The success of these experiences has deepened a long and trusting relationship between UCC and Adaptas, with further sessions already scheduled into 2026.
FEEDBACK:
“In 2017, UCC began working with the IMI on our Senior Leadership Development Programmes. Dr Celine Mullins was one of three facilitators brought on board by the IMI. Celine has been responsible for the design and delivery of two separate two-day modules on ‘Communicating with Impact’ ever since. These programmes run annually, sometimes more than once per year. The first programme is for senior leaders (for those in leadership roles for many years) and the second programme has been for those who have recently transitioned into managing others. Communication skills training in a university environment can be challenging. Celine’s attention to detail and her work in advance in fully understanding the needs of our staff and their requirements has been exemplary. Year on year participant feedback relating to Celine’s module is very positive with reference to her encouraging, supportive and inclusive style. Celine’s ability to create a safe space where all are encouraged to participate is often remarked upon. With an in-depth knowledge of the higher education sector, Celine is very well placed to understand the nuances of academia and ensure content delivery is relevant and appropriate.
Staff Wellbeing & Development at UCC also work with Celine and her colleagues in Adaptas on a number of standalone workshops and other programmes. These have included but are not limited to:
– Challenging Conversations in the Hybrid Working Environment
– Assertive Communications
– Time & Energy Optimisation
Celine also facilitated an in-house workshop designed specifically for our Aurora participants in 2021 (which ran several times since) entitled ‘Confidence, Resilience & Self-Belief’. Again Celine did an excellent job in fully understanding the brief for this particular cohort of women. She delivered the training sensitively and it was clear from the feedback that participants came away from the session with renewed positivity and an enhanced feeling of their own self-worth. What stood out following this was Celine’s willingness to go the extra mile by providing additional resources and offering her support to anyone who wished to get in contact directly.
Early in 2024 we launched a new programme ‘Enabling High Performance’ and invited Celine to design and deliver a module on Leadership Communication. Once again, feedback to date has been excellent. With Celine and her team we do not receive a ‘generic’ workshop but one specifically designed each time to reflect UCC’s objectives and our desired learning outcomes. In our dealings with Celine, what stands out is her genuine concern and desire in working with us to grow and develop our staff.”
– Staff Development Advisor & HR Manager, Department of People and Culture, University College Cork