Weaving a better well-being place for primary school students
‘It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken adults’ – F. Douglass This quote sums up the rationale behind Weaving Well-Being – a new, multi-level SPHE programme for primary school children from 2nd to 6th class. It draws on evidence-based skills from the field of Positive Psychology, which is the science of…
Michael
Vocal health is a key factor for teachers
Janet Shell was a Head of Music before retraining as a classical singer. She now teaches singing both in schools and privately and maintains a performance profile. She set up Talking Voice over 10 years ago after realising how many teachers suffer vocally. Janet’s unique combination of skills and humour make for a popular training…
The GDPR implications of Brexit for Irish Institutions
Steven Roberts is head of marketing for Griffith College. A certified data protection officer and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, he writes on strategy, marketing and data protection. The opinions expressed are the author’s own. They are not intended as a substitute for seeking professional legal advice. Third level institutions have undertaken substantial…
DiscoverEU – a journey that is just beginning
By Gerry Kiely. Head of Representation, European Commission Representation in Ireland A shared sense of belonging always requires personal connections. The European project is no exception. Every friendship, every bond between people is a concrete step towards a stronger shared European identity. This is the idea that DiscoverEU builds on. This summer thousands of 18-year-olds travelled…
Lurgan students showcase cross-community project at world’s largest Geographic Information Systems conference
Esri Ireland, the market leader in geographic information services, has announced that three schools from Lurgan, Co. Armagh, presented a cross-community project to 19,000 attendees as part of the opening session to Esri’s International User Conference in San Diego. The pupils became the first students from outside of the USA to present on the main…
Cork charity aims to foster wellbeing in the school community
Cork charity, Ag Eisteacht, is running a second summer training course for primary school teachers in Cork to foster well-being in the school community by helping teachers to build more responsive relationships. The DES-approved ABLE4Teachers course runs from the 19th – 23rd August at Cork Education Support Centre (CESC), The Rectory, Western Rd, Mardyke, Cork. Based on…
Aiming for excellence in academic writing
The Academic Writing Centre was founded at Athlone Institute of Technology in 2015. The centre’s aim is to promote excellence in academic writing, through a variety of means: individual support, small group sessions, large group classes, seminars and class presentations. By Emer Connolly Academic Writing Skills Tutor, Athlone Institute of Technology ACADEMIC writing has become an integral…
Green News
New scheme for biomass boilers and anaerobic digestion heating systems The Government has opened the second phase of the Support Scheme for Renewable Heat (SSRH), which will provide operational support for biomass boilers and anaerobic digestion heating systems. This round of the Scheme will support businesses and farms for up to 15 years for the…
GMIT sponsorship is on the ball
The Gaelic Players Association and the Women’s Gaelic Players Association in association with Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology unveiled new scholarships for members of the organisations. The partnership covers four scholarships for taught masters programmes as well as a number of research masters. Research will focus priority areas such as recovery, sleep quality and nutrition. The…
Government announces €7.5m capital funding to support apprenticeship programmes
The Government has announced capital funding of more than Ä7.5 million for nine Institutes of Technology and the Technological University (TU) Dublin. The funding forms part of the Government’s commitment, under Project Ireland 2040, to increase investment in higher and further education and training and to the modernisation of equipment available for craft apprenticeship provision….
UL says Call It Out
A groundbreaking LGBT+ public education and awareness campaign has been rolled out to the UL campus. Call It Out is a joint initiative of the Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI) and the Hate and Hostility Research Group (HHRG) at UL that seeks to shine a bright light on the sometimes visible, often hidden phenomena of…
Over 450 students from ‘non-traditional’ backgrounds get scholarships from UCD
Over 450 students from ‘non-traditional’ backgrounds have been awarded scholarships worth over Ä2m from UCD since 2012. The figures were released at UCD’s Access Symposium which celebrated the contribution UCD’s Access and Lifelong Learning Centre has made to widening participation at the university. The figures relate to the Cothrom na Féinne scholarship fund which supports…
TU Dublin is up and running
The brand new Technological University Dublin (shortened to TU Dublin) formally came into being on January 1st 2019. An amalgamation of DIT, Blanchardstown IT and IT Tallaght, the new university will have 28,500 students and over 3,000 staff. It will maintain its existing campuses while the focus in the coming years will move to its…
RCSI in line for university status
The Government has approved a move seeking to advance university designation for the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland (RCSI). An approved status for the RCSI would mean the institution could finally be recognised both in Ireland as well as abroad as a university. Minister Mary Mitchell O’Connor said: “The RCSI has for over 200 years,…
‘Dramatic’ shortage of engineers in building
The supply of third-level engineering graduates and professional engineering apprentices must dramatically increase to meet the country’s current and future needs, a new report by Engineers Ireland has stated. The report found that the 55% decrease in civil and building engineering graduates over the last five years was ‘a particular cause of concern’, although it…
New teacher sharing scheme for post-primary schools
The Government has announced a new scheme to allow post-primary schools to share teachers in priority subjects. The scheme will start from the beginning of the 2019/20 school year and will be reviewed after the first year of operation. Education Minister Joe McHugh said that the aim of this scheme is to alleviate some of…
Seven universities launch ‘Save Our Spark’ campaign
Ireland’s seven universities have launched a major campaign aimed at encouraging the public to demand that the Government tackles the funding crisis in third level education. State funding per third level student in Ireland at €5,000 is barely half of what it was a decade ago and a fraction of what it is in other…
UL launch campus safety information campaign
The University of Limerick, in conjunction with An Garda Siochana and UL Student Life, has launched a campus safety information campaign. The ‘Campus Watch Booklet’ is part of ongoing collaborations to raise awareness and provide campus safety information to students. The booklet is aimed at encouraging students to be safe on and around the UL…
Four in every five students complete their degree
The Higher Education Authority today published a study on the rates of completion of 34,059 students who entered Irish Universities, Institutes and Colleges full time at undergraduate level in the 2007/8 academic year. These students were tracked over the following ten years and the report finds that overall, 76% of them graduated within that period. …