Ninth Level Ireland

“Sir, – The College Tribune’s report on Jim Miley’s concerns regarding Teaching and Learning in the next academic year hints at wider problems that UCD (along with all other universities) now has to face. In March and April, lecturers transitioned material designed for face-to-face delivery to the virtual realm, yet this stopgap measure is not something that can be repeated for a full trimester …” (more)

[Wolfgang Marx, College Tribune, 18 May]

“Online classes are likely to continue into next year, along with a return to real-life contact ‘in a responsible way’, Provost Patrick Prendergast said this evening. While large lectures will be delivered online, smaller lectures, seminars and tutorials will return to campus, Prendergast said, in a video released on Twitter tonight. Groups will, however, be moved into larger lecture theatres to allow for social distancing …” (more)

[Cormac Watson, University Times, 9 May]

“INDEx Survey Report Published by National Forum Reveals Digital Lives of Both Students and Staff Who Teach in Higher Education. The Minister for Higher Education, Mary Mitchell O’Connor, officially unveiled data capturing the first national picture of the digital lives of almost 30,000 students and staff who teach across 32 higher education institutions today …” (more)

[Maura O’Shea, HEA, 7 May]

“Ulster University has launched a series of virtual talks for secondary school children in Derry, allowing future applicants the opportunity to engage in career development conversations and to find out more about life at the university …” (more)

[Derry Journal, 3 May]

“The Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan and President Michael D Higgins have sent messages of congratulations to over 130 new doctors who have graduated from the University of Limerick. The final year students at the Graduate Entry Medical School (GEMS) are UL’s first ever cohort of students to be conferred remotely in absentia due to the Covid-19 crisis …” (more)

[David Hurley, Limerick Leader, 29 April]

“Taoiseach Leo Varadkar today told Trinity’s graduating medicine students that they’ll play a vital role in battling the coronavirus pandemic, in an online graduation ceremony held so students can join the frontlines in the next month …” (more)

[Donal MacNamee, University Times, 28 April]

“NUI Galway’s Undergraduate Open Day will be held online for the first time on Thursday, 7 May. The Open Day will give students, parents and guidance counsellors the chance to connect with staff and students at NUIG and explore the undergraduate courses on offer …” (more)

[Michael Malone, Galway Daily, 27 April]

“Tomorrow is going to be interesting! Saturday 25th April was scheduled to be an Open Day at Maynooth University for undergraduate admissions which would normally have led to thousands of students visiting the Campus …” (more)

[In the Dark, 24 April]

“Twitter, Facebook and the news media are filled with people lamenting their weariness after Zoom class sessions. I feel that, too. The first day I had two Zoom classes in a row, I ended up bleary-eyed and exhausted. I just sat and watched something silly on Netflix, drank a glass of wine and did nothing productive until I could finally go to sleep. I’d had countless Zoom meetings previously, many of which I’d hosted. Some were almost joy-filled. So what was different? …” (more)

[Susan D Blum, Inside Higher Ed, 22 April]

“Maynooth University has adapted its annual Spring Open Day for prospective students to a truly virtual experience of student life and third-level courses. Traditionally the Open Day attracts more than 5,000 visitors to the historic campus and gives potential students the opportunity to meet academics, university students and support staff …” (more)

[Donegal Live, 21 April]

“The Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar will address 197 medical graduates at University College Cork (UCC) in a special video message tomorrow (Friday, April 17th) as they take part in the University’s first-ever online graduation ceremony. Their graduation has been brought forward to assist the health service during the COVID-19 pandemic …” (more)

[Mary Corcoran, EchoLive, 16 April]

“Trinity will elect its Scholars and Fellows – a longstanding tradition that takes place every year as part of Trinity Week – online next Monday, amid the ongoing shutdown of the College due to the coronavirus pandemic …” (more)

[Emma Donohoe, University Times, 16 April]

“In a break from tradition for some departments, many final year students submitted their dissertations online this year due to college’s closure in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. Students were stripped of the opportunity to post photographs of their printed and bound thesis’ on social media, as typically occurs in mid-Hilary Term, as many final year project deadlines occurred after the shutdown of Irish colleges …” (more)

[Aisling Grace, Trinity News, 13 April]

“Some 532 Trinity students have been conferred with their degrees in absentia in a commencement ceremony on Zoom, marking the first time a graduation has been held online. Chancellor Mary McAleese conferred the degrees in the traditional Latin, in a ceremony that will be later uploaded online, according to Provost Patrick Prendergast …” (more)

[Emer Moreau, University Times, 7 April]

“The graduation of 190 medical students from NUIG has been fast-tracked to ensure more doctors are available to work during the Covid-19 pandemic. NUI Galway’s 2020 graduation event, which was held online for the first time, took place on Monday morning through a Facebook live event. The students’ final year exams had previously been brought forward to enable them to enter the healthcare workforce without delay …” (more)

[Sorcha Pollak, Irish Times, 6 April]

“As a result of the public health restrictions facing the entire country, higher education institutions have moved to host their classes and lectures online. Face-to-face exams are also being replaced by alternative online and remote assessment procedures. However, many students who face challenging and stressful circumstances worry that they are falling behind and their grades will suffer …” (more)

[Irish Times, 3 April]

“Universities say they will take into account the challenges and stresses facing students as a result of the Covid-19 emergency in designing and assessing end-of-year exams …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 3 April]

“Mayo third-level students have been informed that their college examinations will go ahead remotely as an alternative to the traditional hall exams. Students have switched to online tuition following the cancellation of all campus lectures a number of weeks ago …” (more)

[Connaught Telegraph, 3 April]

“PhD students defending their dissertations must do so remotely right now. Could videoconference defenses become the new normal? ‘Can you move the computer closer?’ asks a disembodied voice. ‘Because we see a lot of roof.’ ‘Ah, I think it looks much better’, another invisible person says a few minutes later …” (more)

[Colleen Flaherty, Inside Higher Ed, 27 March]

“NUI Galway will hold the majority of summer exams online to avoid bringing thousands of students to exam halls around the city. The university’s exams are due to begin at the end of April and will continue up to the 15th of May – with results expected in July …” (more)

[Galway Bay FM, 25 March]