Lindsay Malone, IT Carlow
Lindsay Malone, Deputy Head of Faculty of Lifelong Learning at Institute of Technology Carlow
Lindsay Malone is Deputy Head of Faculty of Lifelong Learning at Institute of Technology Carlow. Having managed various community-based initiatives, Lindsay has gained significant practical experience of working in the area of Social Care, Family Support and Early Years. On a national basis she has led teams to take high level objectives set by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and translated them into workable actions at local and regional level.
Lindsay manages 180 Associate Lecturers across 3 Campuses and multiple disciplines, demonstrating her ability to work with others and build consensus across a broad range of stakeholders. Lindsay has an honours degree in Social Care, a Post Graduate Diploma in Childhood and Youth, a Masters in Teaching and Learning and is currently completing her PhD in Social Justice and Education with Lancaster University. Lindsay is a very proud Lifelong Learner, and a graduate of the Institute, who achieved all of her education awards as a part time student whilst juggling full time employment and more recently a young family. Lindsay is a firm believer that education, particularly part time education, has a transformational effect on people’s lives as it enables them to work, to care for their families and to upskill all at the same time.
Lindsay brings an outward facing approach to her role in Lifelong Learning which is evident through her recent work on the Family Carers Project. The Certificate in Family Caring is a national project between Family Carers Ireland (FCI) and Institute of Technology Carlow. The aim of the project was to support family carers from across the country to effectively engage in educational equality by providing access to family carers from low income backgrounds into a third-level programme.
During COVID-19, Lindsay demonstrated resilience by moving the programme online and working with FCI to ensure that family carers could access their online classes. When asked what they found most beneficial about the course, the themes that emerged most strongly were recognition of the importance of self-care, and the benefit of connecting with other carers. The identification of these themes highlights how the course achieved a reduction in social isolation for family carers, as well as giving family carers self-care techniques to support themselves and manage the psychological and emotional aspects of their role. This is particularly significant as COVID-19 has intensified isolation for family carers and the project acted as a positive outlet for them during the pandemic.
