Ninth Level Ireland

“Sinead O’Shea’s documentary, A Mother Brings Her Son to Be Shot, released in cinemas last September, provides a harrowing vision of Creggan, a working-class area in Derry city. Filmed over the course of five years, the documentary is a longitudinal observation of a family, the O’Donnells, who live in an area that is alarmingly disaffected by the post-Troubles political reality in Northern Ireland …” (more)

[Maurice Fitzpatrick, Irish Times, 2 June]

“Scholars voice outrage at Ulster University’s plans to confine ‘impartial’ records of conflict to history. It is one of the most important sources of information about the Troubles in Northern Ireland, a historical memory bank of data, stories and images used by scholars around the world. The Conflict Archive on the Internet (Cain) website, based in Derry, has taken two decades to build up an unrivalled encyclopaedic digital record of the conflict …” (more)

[Rory Carroll, Guardian, 30 April]

“Ulster University spent £226k on settlements to staff that included ‘gagging clauses’ in the past two years, it has been revealed. The BBC has reported the figure was made up of six separate payments to staff, which included non-disclosure agreements (NDA) …” (more)

[Belfast Telegraph, 18 April]

“Sinn Féin MP Elisha McCallion has said there is an urgent need for approval for a medical school to be established at Magee. The Foyle MP said: ‘The latest report from the Auditor General details the amount spent on locum doctors highlights the shortage of doctors and the need for more to be trained …'” (more)

[Sinn Féin, 9 April]

“Sinn Féin has called for the Irish government to commit funding for City of Derry Airport, the A5 and Magee University under its contingency planning for a ‘no deal’ Brexit …” (more)

[Kevin Mullan, Derry Journal, 13 February]

“Northern Irish universities made only 10 unconditional offers to prospective undergraduates in 2018. That is far lower than most universities in England or Wales. An unconditional offer guarantees a pupil a university place regardless of their A-Level results …” (more)

[Robbie Meredith, BBC News, 31 January]

“Ulster University has finally sealed the deal on the purchase of the former Foyle College site in Londonderry, allowing expansion plans to proceed. A year after it was expected, the university (UU) confirmed it now owns the Duncreggan Road site …” (more)

[Donna Deeney, Belfast Telegraph, 29 January]

“Plans to expand Ulster University’s Magee Campus are said to be progressing well following the acquisition of the former Foyle College site. The Magee Medical School will be at the core of the expansion …” (more, audio)

[Highland Radio, 25 January]

“Sinn Féin MP Elisha McCallion has welcomed the acquisition of additional land by the Ulster University’s Magee campus which will allow for further expansion. The Foyle MP said …” (more)

[Sinn Féin, 25 January]

“A move by University of Ulster to erect Irish language signs across campus has been labelled as a ‘political stunt’ by the Ulster Young Unionists. A University of Ulster Students’ Union (UUSU) council meeting was held in mid-November where a new bilingual signage policy was agreed. This would see Irish language signs replacing existing signage over time across the university’s four campuses in Belfast, Coleraine, Jordanstown and Derry …” (more)

[Catherine Gallagher, The College View, 12 December]

“An Ulster University lecturer has threatened to take legal action against her employers after being barred from standing in elections to its governing body. The University Council is responsible for oversight of all the institution’s affairs …” (more)

[Mark Bain, Belfast Telegraph, 7 December]

“Ulster University (UU) is to review a decision not to let a leading trade union member stand for election to its governing body. Goretti Horgan, a lecturer at UU and a member of the University and College Union (UCU), wanted to stand for election to the university’s council. In a letter, UU said she would not be allowed to go forward for election …” (more)

[Robbie Meredith, BBC News, 5 November]

“An investigation has found that a Ulster University campus was not responsible for high levels of cancer among staff. The BBC has reported that a Northern Ireland Cancer Registry (NICR) investigation found insufficient evidence that the Jordanstown campus was responsible for causing higher than average levels of cancer among the staff …” (more)

[Belfast Telegraph, 30 November]

“A cancer agency has investigated allegations of a ‘cancer cluster’ in part of an Ulster University’s (UU) campus, BBC News NI has learned. A inquiry by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry (NICR) found insufficient evidence that UU’s Jordanstown campus was responsible for any cancers among staff …” (more)

[Robbie Meredith, BBC News, 30 November]

“Plans to include the Irish language on all students’ union signage at one of Northern Ireland’s two universities is designed to make unionists feel uncomfortable in their own surroundings, it has been claimed …” (more)

[Lauren Harte, Belfast Telegraph, 22 November]

“The proposal was given the go-ahead at a meeting of Ulster University’s Students’ Council on Tuesday. The Ulster University has four campuses, one in Belfast, Coleraine, Jordanstown and Londonderry. Each location has their own students’ union …” (more)

[Belfast Telegraph, 21 November]

“In a whopping 90.2%–9.8% result, Ulster University Students’ Union have voted to remain members of NUS-USI. Voting took place this week from Tuesday 13th to Thursday 15th November across all UU Campus’. Members and Officer Board of the trilateral agreement flocked to Ulster University throughout the week to campaign in favour of the long standing membership and outline its benefits to students around campus …” (more)

[USI, 16 November]

“It’s been confirmed that the opening of the Medical School at the Magee Campus in Derry has been put back by at least a year. It had been hoped that it could open in 2019, but that will not now happen, with one former Stormont Minister saying this is a direct consequence of the current political stalemate …” (more)

[Highland News, 10 November]

“The planned medical school at Magee is too crucial to allow it to be delayed or frustrated any further, Sinn Féin MP Elisha McCallion has said. The Foyle MP was commenting after Ulster University Vice-Chancellor Paddy Nixon warned that it would not be in place in time for the 2019 academic year …” (more)

[Sinn Féin, 8 November]

“A planned medical school at Ulster University’s campus in Londonderry has been shelved because there are no ministers in Stormont. The first intake of 60 students at the Graduate Entry Medical School at Magee Campus had been scheduled for 2019 – but the future of a medical school any time in the future is now in doubt …” (more)

[Donna Deeney, Belfast Telegraph, 19 October]