Ninth Level Ireland

“A new co-operation agreement has been reached between DCU, SIPTU and IFUT on collective representational rights on behalf of the members of both unions in the University. The University recognises the positive role played by trade unions within the workplace and this agreement builds further on the existing positive industrial relations climate in the university between both SIPTU and IFUT …” (more)

[IFUT, 4 March]

“The Helix venue opened as a Covid-19 vaccination hub and began vaccinating over-85s on Wednesday, February 10th. The multi-purpose venue, located on DCU’s Glasnevin Campus, has been transformed with approximately 50 vaccination bays all located in the Mahony Hall within The Helix …” (more)

[Aoibhín Meghen, The College View, 15 February]

“Student nurses’ and midwives clinical placement has been suspended further until February 8 due to rising Covid-19 cases. The rising number of hospitalisations due to Covid-19 required the HSE to release senior nurses and midwives from supervision roles, for frontline duties …” (more)

[Muiris O’Cearbhaill, The College View, 2 February]

“In my department in DCU, our third year students will soon go out on work placement (INTRA). Most will be paid the minimum wage at least: that’s about €400 per week. There was a time, during the financial crisis, when employers took advantage of the situation and did not pay students at all but thankfully those days are behind us – as far as I know …” (more)

[Tales from Academia, 12 January]

“Dublin City University (DCU) has issued a warning to students living in on-campus accommodation, following a party in ‘serious breach’ of the college’s Covid-19 rules. The warning came following a party in a student apartment on November 11th in the College Park Residences. One source confirmed the gathering was hosted by a short-stay renter on the north Dublin campus and that people from outside of the college were also in attendance …” (more)

[Niamh Quinlan, Irish Times, 11 December]

“A series of gatherings in breach of Covid-19 restrictions have caused DCU Campus Residences to increase disciplinary actions towards tenants. This comes after a party with a gathering was hosted on the 11th of this month in House 11 in College Park Residences on campus. An inside source confirmed that the gathering was hosted by a short stay renter and had people from outside of DCU in attendance, including some students from Queens University Belfast …” (more)

[Niamh Quinlan, The College View, 25 November]

“I’m always astonished by the poor communication skills of people who should know better. When I was Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning in my faculty, I quickly realised that there were senior people with whom it was simply not worth communicating. No matter what the issue, there was a select few, often well-known celebrity academics, who simply lacked any sense of responsibility or respect and simply ignored me …” (more)

[Tales from Academia, 17 November]

“Some 1,600 student accommodation in Dublin City Centre will be used by tourists and other renters for short-stay rental after a deal was struck with Dublin City Council. The five accommodation facilities, operating under the Uninest brand, has had a low demand for student accommodation as predicted for the coming academic year due to Covid-19 …” (more)

[Niamh Quinlan, The College View, 11 November]

“Dublin City University (DCU), Maynooth University and the University of Limerick (UL) have all decided to remain online for next semester, the Irish Independent reported today. The move is a surprising one, considering the government has yet to publish public health guidelines for next semester …” (more)

[Cormac Watson, University Times, 6 November]

“A number of universities have told students that there will be no general return to campus for the second half of the academic year. It means that some students may not set foot on the campus for the entire 2020/21 year, with lecture halls remaining silent and students logging on to classes from their bedrooms …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 6 November]

“Trinity College was forced to spend €4,610 on upgrades to their campus’ hand sanitisation stations after criticisms. Upgrades to the hand sanitisation stations on Trinity’s campus were required after students complained about the lack of accessibility and Irish translations. The first installation of the stations included a foot pump to dispense the hand sanitiser. However, this was found to not be accessible, especially for people with physical disabilities and impairments …” (more)

[Shauna Bannon Ward, The College View, 28 October]

“Five of the State’s seven universities have confirmed they will refund students who leave their third-level accommodation, Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris has said …” (more)

[Marie O’Halloran, Irish Times, 21 October]

“Outgoing Erasmus students from DCU are unable to travel abroad this year due to the ever changing coronavirus pandemic. However, around 200 incoming international students arrived in Dublin to begin their fourteen-day quarantine …” (more)

[Róisín Cullen, The College View, 14 October]

“The first week of the semester was eventful, very busy but personally I didn’t find it remotely stressful. Yes, there were times I was mildly irritated with some aspects of my work – notably all the Health Declaration Forms I had to process – but being very busy and stressed are two different things …” (more)

[Tales from Academia, 10 October]

“Students at Dublin City University have been unable to access lectures and other online facilities due to a problem with the college’s virtual learning platform. The university reopened to students yesterday, with the bulk of learning to take place online …” (more)

[Emma O Kelly, RTÉ News, 6 October]

“More than 100 jobs are currently up for grabs in Ireland’s top education institutions. You could be paid more than €150,000 a year to work in some of the country’s best universities. And while you’ll have to be very well qualified to work in many of these jobs, it always worth having a look as there are some very varied roles available …” (more)

[Sam Roberts, Irish Mirror, 22 September]

“Dublin’s four universities have suspended the majority of on-campus activities and moved classes online as tighter Covid-19 restrictions look set to be implemented in the capital. UCD, Trinity College, DCU and TU Dublin announced that all teaching and learning will be online except for practical workshop and lab-based tuition that cannot be done remotely …” (more)

[Ceimin Burke, TheJournal.ie, 18 September]

“As the Leaving Certificate results date of September 7th draws closer, many students are facing uncertainty regarding where they will get accommodation for the academic year. Earlier in the summer, University of Limerick (UL) announced they have amended their accommodation offerings, allowing some students to avail of ‘flexible accommodation’ in recognition of the reduced on-campus time they will have due to Covid-19 restrictions …” (more)

[Muireann Duffy, BreakingNews.ie, 26 August]

“A number of colleges and universities across Ireland are planning to offer short-term rentals to students who will be completing the majority of their studies for the next academic year online. The Minister for Further Education Simon Harris asked that student accommodation providers, both university and privately owned, offer students flexible accommodation options if they do not need to attend classes in person this year …” (more)

[Shauna Ledwidge, The College View, 22 August]

“The summer of strange and unprecedented times, staycations and contact tracing begins to draw to a close. The start of an academic year like no other is no longer a far off deadline in the future, leaving students with far more questions than answers. DCU has adopted a policy of ‘blending learning’ for Semester 1. The traditional large lecture hall of old now brings a sense of nostalgia, a longing for the days where an overcrowded O’Reilly library at exam time would not be a health hazard …” (more)

[The College View, 18 August]