“Trinity’s new Dean of Research Wolfgang Schmitt has said that PhD students should be considered workers and receive the benefits to match, opening the door for a major rethink of how Trinity’s doctoral candidates fit into the research process …” (more)
[Mairead Maguire, University Times, 12 October]
“Further Education Minister Simon Harris has criticised Dublin City Council chief executive Owen Keegan for ‘sarcastic’ comments made in a letter to UCD Students’ Union (SU). Mr Keegan said he was surprised that UCD SU hasn’t entered the property market in order to provide lower-cost accommodation for its members if it believes excess profits are being made from student lets …” (more)
[Ciara O’Loughlin, Independent, 11 October]
“The number of students enrolled in higher level education has increased by almost 17.5% over the past six years, according to new data released by the Higher Education Authority (HEA). The number of students enrolled in third-level institutions rose from 209,000 in 2014 to 245,000 in 2020 …” (more)
[Jade Wilson, Irish Times, 11 October]
“The Irish university which established the first LGBT+ staff and student groups in the 1980s has unveiled a rainbow path on campus to celebrate diversity and inclusivity …” (more)
[Eoin English, Irish Examiner, 11 October]
“On the 20th of September, the Biden administration announced they would be lifting the travel ban instated at the outset of the pandemic. For over 18 months, 33 countries including the members of the European Union, India, Iran and China amongst others have faced a blanket travel ban from the US …” (more)
[Rory Fleming, College Tribune, 10 October]
“The number of enrolments in higher education has increased by almost 17.5% over the past six years and new data released today by the Higher Education Authority reveals that more and more students are now achieving first class honours than before …” (more)
[Maura O’Shea, HEA, 11 October]
“As Ireland has begun to open up again, with restrictions being cautiously lowered, universities have begun to solidify their approach to the semester, heading into a new academic year with an overall trend of much more in-person learning and on-campus activities …” (more)
[Julia Bochenek, Trinity News, 11 October]
“The first increase in student grants in more than a decade will be announced in tomorrow’s Budget. Agreement has been reached on raising grant levels as well as changing the eligibility criteria to allow more students to fall within qualifying income thresholds …” (more)
[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 11 October]
“More than €17 million is being provided to help third-level students in financial difficulty, in recognition of the ‘incredibly difficult’ year and a half many have endured, and continue to face with spiralling accommodation and utility costs …” (more)
[Kitty Holland, Irish Times, 11 October]
“Queen’s University fined students more than £50,000 for breaching Covid-19 rules off-campus during the last year. Following media reports of widespread Covid breaches in the Holylands area in September 2020 …” (more)
[Thomas Copeland, Belfast Telegraph, 10 October]
“Criticism of the government’s National Development Plan, launched this week, has been widespread. Observers argue that the plan overpromises and will inevitably underdeliver. Its commitments are vague and its timelines are non-existent in some cases. Higher education is no exception to these observations …” (more)
[University Times, 10 October]
“This afternoon, the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris, revealed that 3,335 students have availed of vaccinations at over 30 HSE clinics across the country. In a video posted on his personal Twitter account, Harris said that he is ‘delighted’ with the number of students who availed of the vaccinations during ‘College Vaccination Week’ …” (more)
[Bella Salerno, Trinity News, 8 October]
“The University of Limerick (UL) has appointed Professor Kerstin Mey as its president for a 10-year term. Prof Mey has held the role on an interim basis since Septmber 2020, after the early retirement of Prof Des Fitzgerald took on the job in May 2017 …” (more)
[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 8 October]
“Sinn Féin spokesperson on Further and Higher Education, Rose Conway-Walsh TD, has brought forward proposals in her party’s alternative budget that include reducing fees for all and extending SUSI support to 15,000 additional students while also tackling the issue of core funding. Teachta Conway-Walsh said …” (more)
[Sinn Féin, 8 October]
“Student leaders have pleaded for immediate government support after their food bank ran out of supplies in less than 50 minutes following unprecedented demand from hungry students …” (more)
[Eoin English, Irish Examiner, 6 October]
“Christopher O’Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps that are being taken to address the current student accommodation crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 5 October]
“The IUA and EPA project will use university campuses as ‘living labs’, studying ways to improve waste management. A new two-year project aims to make improvements to the way waste is disposed and recycled on Irish university campuses …” (more)
[Vish Gain, Silicon Republic, 5 October]
“On the day that government ministers went to UCC to discuss the National Development Plan, the college’s Student’s Union has announced that they are being forced to reopen an on-campus food bank as the accommodation crisis has left a large number of students without money for food …” (more)
[Eimer McAuley, CorkBeo, 4 October]
“Changing the Leaving Cert assessment model to tackle the CAO points race would be a change based on a ‘misdiagnosis of the real problem’, an Oireachtas committee has heard …” (more)
[Shauna Bowers, Irish Examiner, 5 October]
“NUI Galway is among the eight Irish universities set to lose a combined €40 million in commercial income in the current academic year. These figures come from estimates by eight universities across the country including NUI Galway, University of Limerick and Trinity College Dublin, with the figures set to reach €270 million overall …” (more)
[Caoimhe Killeen, SIN, 5 October]
