ATU Open Days

ATU and Junk Kouture celebrate successful partnership in inspiring sustainable fashion innovations

Always ATU

ATU Alumni can stay connected and tap into the lifelong support an Alumni network offers. Among ATU Alumni is any person who has ever studied at one of our ATU campuses, whether they graduated or not. ATU Alumni also includes organisations and people affiliated with ATU. The ATU Alumni Office helps connect the ATU Alumni community to each other and to the university through lifelong learning, networking opportunities and invitations to participate in programmes and events. Visit atu.ie/alumni for more information.

Leaving Certificate Revision

Academics from across ATU were delighted to host Leaving Certificate revision classes again this year. A combination of online and on-campus classes took place throughout March, April and May for Accounting, Maths, Computer Science, History and Physics. Everyone at ATU wishes all students sitting state exams in 2023 the very best of luck!

Taster Days

Secondary schools from all over our region visited our campuses to take part in Taster Days across lots of programme subjects this year. These days give secondary school students, normally fourthand fifth-year students, the chance to start considering which area of further study might be for them. The students engaged with ATU academics and students in various workshops, from lecture theatres to hands-on lab experiments. They enjoyed being university students for the day, soaking up the university atmosphere and getting to discover each campus they visited.

More than 10,000 prospective students attended Open Days across ATU this year. Events were held on all campuses on multiple occasions which started October 5th at the Mountbellew campus and ended at the Mayo campus on May 11th. St. Angela’s College hosted a joint Open Day with ATU Sligo for the first time this year. Prospective students came from all over Ireland, with people also travelling from Europe and the United States.

International Women’s Day at ATU

SciFest at Atlantic TU

Second-level students participated in SciFest in Galway City, Sligo and Donegal across April and May. SciFest is Ireland’s largest second-level STEM fair programme. It takes place locally, regionally and nationally. The event is inclusive and free to enter.

ATU host VEX IQ Robotics Competition

We celebrated our first International Women’s Day (IWD) as a university on March 8th. ATU’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) team organised several events to mark the day. The first of which was an ATU photography exhibition. This gave staff and students the opportunity to create a visible space for a woman who has inspired them. Other events included a monoprinting workshop, an IWD lunchtime seminar, networking events for females in engineering and construction, and Irish food and beverage. ATU Libraries held a lunchtime talk on Aleen Cust, the first woman veterinary surgeon in the world.

ATU partner with Sea Sessions Surf and Music Festival for 2023 Surf Open

With only weeks to go, Sea Sessions Surf and Music Festival have announced they are building on their partnership with Atlantic Technological University with plans for a massive Surf Open at Tullan Strand, otherwise known as Surfers Paradise, in Bundoran Co Donegal. New for 2023, The ATU Surf Open will be hosted by surfing’s National Governing Body Irish Surfing and will see the best male and female surfers on the island compete against top international surfers from the likes of the UK, France, and Australia. Alongside the ATU Surf Open, the ATU Surf Expression Session will see surfers truly express themselves in a 'best move' contest.

Festival Director Ray O’Donoghue says, “The ATU Surf Open is very much an integral part of Sea Sessions and along with the beach sports, skating, and BMXing it’s the thing that sets us apart from all the other festivals. Not only have we a great music lineup with the likes of Kasabian, Becky

ATU sees double at inaugural Apprentice of the Year Awards

Two Atlantic Technological University apprentices were among the winners of the inaugural Apprentice of the Year Awards announced by the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris TD, in the Mansion House, Dublin.

ATU participated in the national final of Junk Kouture, the internationally renowned sustainable fashion competition, in Dublin in May 2023. Students, lecturers, and marketing staff from across ATU attended the event, showcasing the university's commitment to design and creative excellence.

ATU has worked closely with Junk Kouture to develop a strong and meaningful alliance between the university and the competition, inspiring young creative minds in Ireland and beyond. Fostering deep collaboration and offering schools and students a creative platform to actively engage in climate change initiatives. Many ATU graduates now work for and lead the Junk Kouture organisation, a testament to the fruitful partnership between the two institutions.

One of the collaborative projects involved outdated promotional marketing material from the legacy institutes of technology brands being sent to post-primary schools participating in the Junk

Kouture competition. The ATU campuses donated brochures, promotional merchandise and other reusable materials to second-level students competing in Junk Kouture 2023 and 2024. Ursuline College Sligo students joined ATU at the national finals in Dublin to model their upcycled dress made from such materials.

The recent highlight of the partnership was the creative design of the awards presented at the Junk Kouture World Finals in Abu Dhabi by ATU Donegal fashion students. This collaboration provided ATU students with an opportunity to share their values and objectives, promoting innovative design for a more sustainable future. Sixteen trophies were designed for categories including World Designer, Purposeful Plastic, Best Performance, Wearable Art, Dear to Wear, Best Make-up, Innovation, Cultural Couture, Glamour, and Junior Designer. Additionally, six trophies represented the six cities: Abu Dhabi, London, Paris, Dublin, New York, and Milan.

ATU campus designated as Ireland's first Autism Friendly Technological University

Hill, and Groove Armada, but we also have a really talented bunch of Irish and international surfers lined up. We are delighted to be in partnership with ATU once again.”

Dr Orla Flynn, President of ATU added, “We are excited for this partnership as Sea

Sessions attracts up to 10,000 young people annually and promoting culture, sport and the arts scene in our region is important to our university. The ATU Surf Open is a chance to experience the Atlantic and all its power, naturally fitting with the vision for Atlantic TU.”

ATU hosted the VEX IQ Robotics regional finals for both primary and secondary schools on our campuses in Galway, Donegal and Sligo.

The competition includes awards for excellence and teamwork. The VEX IQ Teamwork Challenge consists of a series of matches where participating schools design and build a robot to play with other teams in a game-based engineering challenge. The competition also includes awards for driving and coding skills.

December 7th, 2022, with ATU Sligo receiving this accolade. ATU Sligo joins DCU and NCI in being designated as Autism Friendly and is the first in the west of Ireland to achieve the award. ATU’s Disability and Inclusion Officers, Dr Shelley Brady and Linda Mulligan, have worked with the national autism charity AsIAm’s international accreditation committee in developing a three-year action plan for the university.

These actions will bring the nine principles of an autism-friendly campus into practice to help remove barriers in day-to-day campus experiences for students with autism. The principles include additional supports, the provision of quiet spaces and securing employment after third level.

Over 180 apprentices were nominated from around the country. Twelve awards were announced, with Brendan Giles and Mairíde Bennis from ATU among the winners. Accepting the awards, both Brendan Giles and Mairíde Bennis said they were delighted to receive the

Engineering awards from Apprenticeship Ireland. Mairíde added that she hopes it encourages more women to pursue a career in engineering.

New degree options outside CAO points race

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris TD confirmed in April the details of 14 new degree programmes available around Ireland, outside the CAO system. The move is part of a drive to create alternative pathways to third level without the need to secure high points.

These courses will start at a further education college before transitioning to a university or technological university. The pathway to accessing these courses will mirror the existing application process for further education and training. Courses in Engineering, Business, Science and Nursing are being explored with ATU under this partnership project. ATU is working collaboratively with the Education and Training Boards (ETBs) across the West and Northwest to develop a suite of exciting and engaging programme offerings.

Reconnecting, Re-energising, Renewing

Atlantic Technological University welcomed the Institute of Guidance Counsellors (IGC) National Conference to their first in-person conference in two years last March. The conference theme was Reconnecting, Re-energising, Renewing.

The event was sponsored by ATU, who worked alongside the IGC Sligo branch and the conference organisers to ensure the highest calibre of facilitators and an impressive range of workshops were available to meet the needs of IGC members during the two-day conference in Sligo.

Hello ATU - How Are You?

ATU took part in the Mental Health Ireland “HELLO, How Are You?” campaign this year. The purpose of the campaign is to tackle the lack of connection or belonging that people experience by inspiring individuals to ask how others are feeling. The events held across

ATU campuses included tea and coffee mornings and organised walks to encourage conversation, allow people to listen, and encourage action by signposting to local supports and services. ATU students can access a wide range of health, counselling, chaplaincy and wellness supports free of charge.

International Day of Persons with Disabilities