/may2006

CIT Students’ Union Magazine Volume Seven - Issue Eight

Societies Awards Photos

Latest GA A & Rugby News

B EBO Me

News & Reviews

expliCIT editorial

Ode to Jeremy

CIT Students’ Union Rossa Ave, Bishopstown Cork, Ireland.

Telephone: 021 493 3120 Fax: 021 454 5343 Email: info@expliCIT.ie

expliCIT Staff Editor - Caitriona Foley Design & Advertising - Philip O’Reilly Contributions Michael O’Connor Jonathan O’Sullivan Michelle Bouse Séan F O’Leary Self Help Africa Eoin Deane Neil Danton

Emma Martin Barry O’Sullivan Glynis Dennehy CIT Floppy Soc SUAS Society Keith Ricken John Murphy

CIT Students’ Union President - Jeremy Ó Murchú (supres@cit.ie) Vice President Education - Michael O’Connor (sueducation@cit.ie) Vice President Welfare - Sinéad O’Connell (suwelfare@cit.ie) Entertainments Officer - Charles Daly (suents@cit.ie) Projects Officer - Wesley Kiely (suprojects@cit.ie) Communications Officer - Caitriona Foley (sucomms@cit.ie) Print Barnaville Print & Graphics LTD Freshford, Kilkenny.

Advertising Opportunities CIT has almost 17,000 full and part-time students with over 1,500 supporting staff. Why not use expliCIT to promote your business to this large audience?

Copy deadlines, advertising rates and technical specifications are available from our website www.expliCIT.ie or upon request from the Publications Office. expliCIT magazine is published monthly by CIT Students’ Union. The views expressed in the magazine are those of their authors and are not necessarily those of CIT Students’ Union. All articles and pictures are the property of their respective owners and should not be reproduced without their permission.

We Need You! If you would like to contribute to expliCIT please contact Philip in the main SU office (C143) or email: info@expliCIT.ie

Oh Jeremy, Jeremy You are a treasure To know you through college has been the ultimate pleasure On our first day You showed us the way As we walked through the main door With our eyes on the floor As the years passed by We all developed a twinkle in our eye Our love for the fun got stronger and stronger That is why my liver cannot take much longer

Then all of a sudden You shot to fame It was the Students President you became We all cheered quite loud as you did us proud Now you are leaving We too must go Onto bigger better that I do know So that is the story we wish to tell And to CIT we say farewell (submitted by final year students with fond memories of their time in CIT)

Hey boys and girls, It’s hard to believe that this is my last editorial here at expliCIT! I’ve had an amazing year, with some major ups and downs, and a few surprises thrown in as well. But now it’s time to pass the torch to Gearóid Buckley, who was recently elected as my successor. Well done, Gearóid, and congratulations to all the others elected to the Students’ Union for 2006/07: Brian, Marie Claire and Wez. Since our last issue, there have been plenty of events to keep everyone busy, including the election of course, as well as the Societies Awards on April 4th and Celebration Day on April 5th. Congrats to all the societies and individuals that won awards in the Metropole Hotel on the 4th, they were all well deserved. The first ever Crawford Societies Masquerade Ball was held in the Imperial Hotel on the 12th of April and a wonderful night was had by all.

Meanwhile, in the outside world, bird flu is on its way so however lucky it is, do not, I repeat DO NOT, let any birds add a little white design to your clothes and/or head. The new School of Music is well on its way, and will most likely be a fantastic building for all the music students. As for the situation in the Crawford, well it still seems to be in a state of limbo, and the students are still waiting to hear a decision. (Don’t hold your breath.)

So now it’s time to say goodbye. I’d like to thank everyone in the Students’ Union, the class reps, the staff in CIT and all the brilliant new friends I’ve made in what has probably been one of the most eventful years of my life. I hope that we’ve done a good job for all of you, the students, here in the SU, and that your final exams go well. Best of luck, and have a wonderful summer!

Slán go fóill, agus go n-eirí an tádh libh, Caitriona P.S. If you have time and you know what’s good for you, listen to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs!

Cork Institute of Technology to be Renamed PC World “...we owe this honour to years of negligence by not having on campus security. Anyone can come here and pick up a few state of the art PCs, Printers or high defination LCD projectors...”

Make sure it’s not one of many with the Blue Screen of Death

Yes it's true, after signing the contracts late on Friday, CIT is to be renamed PC World.

According to sources, the fact anyone can walk off the street and pickup the cheapest computers in Cork, really annoyed the famous store, so they decided to buy CIT. A spokesperson for CIT stated, "we owe this honour to years of negligence by not having on campus security. Anyone can come here and pick up a few state of the art PCs, Printers or high defination LCD projectors".

A regular customer, recently on parole for joyriding said, "jasus, tha joint is de place to go for a dacent computer or prajector. I can score at least fifty for a gud one".

Dear expliCIT Readers, As you can guess the above is a joke but I'm so annoyed. I caught a couple of young teenagers in the Student Centre causing trouble and told them to move on. I got the usual "feck you boye" and so I notified the caretakers. I was informed that they can do NOTHING as they are not security. I asked them to call the Gardaí and they said there was little point. I was told that they saw a car being broken into a week before and called the local Gardaí but it was almost 50 minutes before they arrived. I agree that it is NOT their job but the photos here show that it should be somebody’s!

FREE PC!

Take your Pick!

Bus Driver will charge you child rate for PC Using a seat

PCs, bikes, projectors and equipment are just some of the items that could be taken every day but they can be replaced. This suitation is a complete joke and going on past experiences, this college will do nothing until someone is attacked on campus or worse.

I’ve heard rumors of houses in the area with Xbox’s running with projectors kindly donated by the Institute. I believe that some may see that employing security is an unneccessary expense but surely the savings on replacing equipment and possible reductions in insurance premiums could be factored in ensuring. Student and staff safety should be a priorty. Concerned expliCIT reader.

CITSU Condemns Institute Over Lack of On Campus Security Campus security or more precisely the lack of it is a worry for everyone here within CIT. When you consider the staggering number of people that traverse our campus everyday it astonishes one that crime isn’t a bigger problem. However, don’t let that comment fool you crime is here in CIT. This year alone a number of bicycles and motor cycles have been stolen, and many car owners have reported vandalism to the Union.

This autumn will see the opening of the new Student Centre and with that the first on campus bar. Being realistic alcohol will bring its own problems. Who will regulate access to this members only bar? Who will oversee the exeunt of students from the college after close? More seriously some colleges have seen dusk become a time of danger for its students.

University of Limerick responded to attacks on its students by increasing the number of security personnel on the ground. President of ULSU Fintan Breen stated that ”college security was stepped up with campus security on motorcycles and cars, next year will see the installation of a €400,000 CCTV system across campus”.

Security is becoming a major issue for all colleges yet we here in CIT. find ourselves lacking any suitable presence on campus. Speaking recently President of CITSU Jeremy O Murchú recalled that ”this year has seen a sharp increase in criminal activity on campus”. He added, “next year will quite likely follow this trend along with the rest of the country, we demand that the college address this problem in a suitable fashion by recruiting professional on campus security to protect student welfare”.

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CIT Win Best Society of the Year at National Awards Ceremony “...The International Students Society at CIT won the Best Society of the Year Award at the National Board of Irish College Societies Awards Ceremony...”

The International Students Society at CIT won the Best Society of the Year Award at the National Board of Irish College Societies Awards Ceremony held at the Rochestown Park Hotel. The 2006 ceremony, hosted by CIT on Thursday 13th April, was a resounding success and attended by Staff and Students from Colleges and Universities throughout the country.

The guest speaker for the evening was Mr Pat Cox, current President of the European Movement and former President of the European Parliament. He was presented with an oil on board painting commissioned by the CIT Societies Board. Painted by Francis Coughlan, a fourth year student at the Crawford College of Art and Design, it portrayed the busy yet relaxed style of Cork City Dockland area.

Chairperson of the Societies Board, Mr. Dan Collins, said, “My thanks, on behalf of the Societies Board, to the staff and students associated with the planning, organisation and facilitation of the event on Wednesday and Thursday. While CIT were delighted to host this year’s competition and awards ceremony it should be noted that the inspiration, work, effort and endeavour of Mervyn O’Mahony, our Societies Officer, made this event possible and a success; a point that was made by all speakers at the Awards Ceremony”.

He added, “My thanks also to all the CIT students who made it to the final and participated in the event and my congratulations to the Committee and all associated with the International Students Society”.

CIT Wins Double in National IT Song Contest The CIT Theatre was treated to the best musical talent on offer by CIT Students on Thursday 2nd March 2006 as the €uroStar finalists took to the stage. The final of €uroStar was well attended by students, staff, parents and friends. Every seat was filled as they waited for the show to begin. There were three finalists in the “Original Song” section and nine in the “Cover Section”.

On Wednesday 15th March, Aoife and Will went on to represent CIT in the national song contest, IT factor, where entrants from most of the Institutes of Technology participated. The IT Factor in its second year was hosted by GMIT Galway, which was initially spearheaded last year by CIT Chaplain, Fr Kieron O’Driscoll.

The judges, consisting of CIT Students’ Union Entertainment Manager Mick O’Mahony, Red FM’s Steve Cooper and CIT Arts Officer Sarah Morey had a very difficult task when it came to deliberating over the qualities of the various performers but eventually did return to announce the winners. The Emeritus Director of the Institute, Dr Patrick Kelleher and competition judge, Steve Cooper, presented the prizes.

Marc Roberts was MC on the night and the judges consisted of Simon Casey, Anthony Callinan and Kevin Morrissey. Both Aoife and Will gave flawless and inspiring displays in front of a full house at the Great Southern Corrib Hotel in Galway. Despite the high standard of musical talent on display the judges didn’t take long to come to their decision. Simon Casey did the honour of announcing the winners. In the “Original Song” category the roof was almost lifted off as Aoife was announced as the winner. Next up was the “Cover Song” category, and once again the Corrib erupted with elation as CIT completed a remarkable double with Will winning best “Cover Song”.

For the second year running Aoife Kelliher won the much sought-after Dr Patrick Kelleher Perpetual Trophy, €2000 and recording time in a studio for writing and performing her own song “This Is Me” in the original section. Aoife hails from Beaufort, Kerry and is a fourth year Multi Media Student. First prize in the cover section went to Will Nunan from Charleville, Cork, and a third year student of BBSIS, for his performance of Paddy Casey’s “Sweet Suburban Sky”.

The ‘Barber Shop Quartet’ were a huge hit with the audience as they entertained the packed house at the interval, along with last year’s “Original Song” winner, Aoife Kelliher. High praise must go to the very capable MC of the night, Jeremy Murphy, and to everyone who made the night the huge success that it was. The continued success of the CIT €uroStar competition was the result of a combination of resources from the Chaplaincy, Student Support Team, Students’ Union, Societies Office, Sports Office and many other staff and students. Congratulations to all the winners and performers of the competition.

Congrats to GMIT Galway for hosting a great event, certainly one to remember for quite some time. Thanks to the many supporters of family and friends who traveled to Galway to support Aoife and Will.

The contest, now in its second year, was the brainchild of Chaplain, Fr Kieron O’Driscoll, whose vision it was to showcase some of the musical talent that exists within CIT. Fr Kieron stated, “I’m delighted with the continued support of all the student services, all those that participated and also the huge support of staff, student’s family and friends. I was delighted for both Aoife and Will for winning the national competition IT Factor in both categories. It’s great to see the IT Factor going from strength to strength. WIT are anxious to host the IT Factor next which will see it continue into the future”.

The management and staff would like to wish you the best of luck with your exams and thank you for your custom this year.

Monday 1st May

Texas Hold ‘Em Night

Tuesday 2nd May

Party Fun ‘n’ Frolics with DJ

Enjoy the Summer!

Wednesday 4th May

The Waxies Live On Stage followed by Summer Party DJ

Thursday 4th May

BEAT THE DJ - Prizes Gallore End of Year Promo Madness

BOOK YOUR END OF YEAR PARTY NOW! SEE POSTERS / FLIERS FOR END OF EXAMS PARTY GIG GUIDE REMEMBER TEXAS HOLD EM EVERY MONDAY & DJ EVERY THURSDAY DURING EXAMS!

Enterprise Ireland Student Awards 2006 “...students who came together to enter the CIT Prize for Innovation (where they took 1st place and prize money of €3,000) for their work on their product Fingerfit..."

The 2006 Student Awards, jointly sponsored by Enterprise Ireland, Ulster Bank and Invest Northern Ireland took place on April 5th and 6th in Queens University, Belfast. This competition is designed to encourage innovation, promote enterprise and foster a spirit of entrepreneurship among third level students. There was an amazing prize fund of €44,000 on offer to students participating in the Awards.

The first day of the competition saw the finalists present their products and business plans to the judging panel. The prizes were presented by Doug Richards from the Dragons Den at an award ceremony in the Great Hall in Queens which was attended by over 120 people.

For the third year in succession CIT was one of the finalists – the team consisted of three Business Studies (Accounting and Information Systems) students and one Mechanical Engineering student who came together to enter the CIT Prize for Innovation (where they took 1st place and prize money of €3,000) for their work on their product Fingerfit.

Fingerfit is a neoprene glove with an inbuilt metal support made of aluminium.

The neoprene glove will allow the skin to breathe, hence counteracting the breakdown of the skin. The finger splint is used to support the bone at either end of the fracture giving it time to heal. If the fracture is not well supported the bone will heal with a bit of a bend. The finger splint has three clamp like arms, two on the underside of the hand and one on top of the hand. The finger splint is lined with foam for the comfort of the user.

The overall winners of the Student Awards were DIT Bolton Street. The highlight of the 2 days was the return journey home from Belfast as we met Westlife.

They were on the same flight down for their show in Millstreet.

CIT Mechanical Engineering Degree student, Kathleen Hurley and Accounting and Information Systems students, Martina Brennan, Claire Murphy and Lucy Gleeson, have been short-listed to the Top Five Finalists in the 2006 Enterprise Ireland / Invest Northern Ireland Student Awards.

Kathleen Hurley's Final Year Mechanical Engineering project concerns the design, prototype production and testing of a medical glove with Inbuilt support for a fifth metacarpal fracture. Kathleen collaborated with Accounting and Information Systems students Martina, Claire and Lucy, who devised the Business Plan, to form a company Finger Splint Ltd. From a large national entry, The Finger Splint Team have been selected as one of just five finalists in the 2006 Ireland / Invest Northern Ireland Student Awards Competition finals, which take place on 5th-6th April in QUB, Belfast Ms. Caroline O'Reilly and Dr. Keith Bryan are the proud supervisors of the crossdiscipline student team finalists.

Photo shows: CIT Mechanical Engineering Degree Student Kathleen Hurley (right) & Accounting and Information Systems Students Martina Brennan, Claire Murphy and Lucy Gleeson demonstrating the developed prototype and business plan.

CIT to Build Second Library on Bishopstown Campus The Minister for Education & Science recently announced sanction for a Library Extension for CIT as a PPP project. This building is likely to have a footprint of some 2,000 m2 and be at least a two storey building. As a PPP development, it is necessary for contract/development purposes that it be a stand-alone building, ideally within a defined zone extending perhaps some 5-10 m beyond the footprint of the building itself as the site would be leased to the PPP consortium for some 25 or so years.

Thus, the option of physically attaching the extension to the existing library was not feasible given the likely physical size of the building and the unpredictable risks for any PPP consortium that interference with an existing library operation might throw up during development. Also, the anticipated scale of the development offers an opportunity to add

another substantial building to the Campus and with it the opportunity to continue the change in a very positive way its built environment.

RKD Architects undertook the Masterplan Review in consultation with the Institute and its Development Committee (of Governing Body).

The revised Bishopstown Campus Masterplan, which shows the location of the proposed Library Extension (most likely to be re-titled Learning Resource Centre) to the east of B & CBlocks of the main campus building. It is also hoped that the development will “carry” the new front and bus set-down area for which planning exists. This would allow a (controlled) second vehicle access point to the upper plateau area of the campus.

Would you like to get involved with expliCIT? info@expliCIT.ie or you can drop in directly into the SU office in C143

CIT Hosts Massed Band Concert “...The bands have many members that include students and staff of the Institute, and both conductors graduated from the Cork School of Music, a constituent college of CIT...”

Cork Institute of Technology hosted a Massed Band Concert consisting of Ballincollig Concert Band and St. Nicholas Brass Band on Wednesday 15th March. The performance took place in the main college theatre and included many classical and contemporary arrangements.

The bands have many members that include students and staff of the Institute, and both conductors graduated from the Cork School of Music. Special guests on the night also included the Note Perfect Vocal Ensemble, conducted by Ms. Rose Griffin.

Ballincollig Concert Band was founded by John O’Connor in 1988 and over the course of the last eighteen years has grown into one of the largest and most successful concert bands in the country. The organisation now encompasses three bands, at junior, intermediate and senior level and many members who began their musical studies there have gone on to successful careers performing at the highest level, both in this country and abroad. The current conductor, Eoin Nash, took over the baton from John O’Connor in 2003.

St Nicholas’ Brass Band was founded in Cove Street in Cork in 1914. Originally founded as a bugle band, it became a full brass band following the purchase of a number of instruments from what was then Victoria (now Collin’s) Barracks. At this time the first conductor was engaged from the military band based in the barracks. The involvement with the barracks is carried on to this

day, with the current conductor, Robert O’Brien also being a serving bandsman in the Defence Forces.

Ballincollig Conductor, Eoin Nash, graduated from the Cork School of Music in 2000 with an honours BMus. In 2004 he completed a Masters degree in Music Therapy at the University of Limerick. As a trombone player, Eoin has toured around the world with various local and national ensembles. In 2005 he enlisted in the Army School of Music, with whom he is currently a bandsman with the Band of the First Southern Brigade. As well as conducting the Ballincollig Concert Band, Eoin also works as a musical director with the Cork Academy of Dramatic Arts and has for the past two years been musical director of the popular Christmas pantomime at the Everyman Palace theatre in Cork.

St. Nicks Conductor, Robert O’Brien, began his musical studies at the Cork School of Music, from which he graduated in 2004 with an honours BMus. There he studied the tuba, first with Brian Prendergast, and subsequently with Tony Neal and Francis Magee. He enlisted in the Army School of Music in 2002 and is currently posted to the Band of The First Southern Brigade in Collins Barracks, where he holds the rank of bandsman. He is also on the staff of the Cork School of Music, where he teaches Tuba and conducts the Beginner and Junior Concert Bands. Robert was appointed conductor of St Nicholas’ Brass Band in February 2005.

Would you like to get involved with our magazine expliCIT? We are always looking for students to submit articles and photos for our magazine. If you are interested in submitting news, reviews, feature articles, photos, sport or societies info then please get in contact with us now!

Email: info@expliCIT.ie Tel: 021 4933124 Meet: SU Shop - C143

CIT Students’ Union President My fellow Students, Welcome back after the Easter break, I hope you had an enjoyable one. Things have been very busy here in the Students' Union and in CIT. Hopefully by the time you are reading this the library issue will be resolved, I'm sure you have signed the petitions that have been circulated over the last number of weeks. If the college are not willing to extend the library hours so that students can enhance there studying capabilities, well then we'll have an few interesting nights here in CIT. CIT recently hosted the national society awards in the beginning of April. It was a two day event that took place in the Student Centre, which I have to say, looked terrific. I was delighted that CIT picked up an award, so a belated congratulations on behalf of everyone here in the Students' Union to the International Students Society and indeed to all those involved in the organising and hosting of it.

Since the last time I was talking to you the Students' Union has come under a lot of criticism over the letter that was printed in the last edition of explicit about the Student Services Company and their involvement in the new Student Centre. A number of people were personally offended by that letter, and all afflictions resulting of it were directed to me. I will not apologise for printing the letter, the cause is truly a righteous one. If I am to be properly responsive to the will of the students I represent, it is my duty to place their principles, not mine, above all else.

For too long have the Students and their opinions been swept aside and not been taken into consideration. It is not bad enough that students have had to wait three years for a building which would enhance their experiences here in CIT, but when a college decides to make decisions without any regard for student opinion, these problems need to be raised. It is the fundamental concept of the Students’ Union that those in a position to protest should rightly do so.

However saying this, to the ground staff of the canteen company I would like to make it clear that in no way was this letter directed to you, I recently said that the best thing about the company is its staff, and this is indeed true, they are always courteous, kind, and most of all gracious to the students every day.

The Student Centre is an issue that has taken up a lot of the Students' Union time and resources this year. The one true regret I have when finishing my term is not being around to see it open. There has clearly been an agenda when it came to the Student Centre from the beginning of the academic year. There has been nothing but obstacles and intricacies in the way of opening the building.

At this stage the building will not be completely open until September 2006.

Despite all the problems it was the students who came to aide of this white elephant. It was the students who paid for the under floor heating, and the students who are paying for the furniture. The students will truly have ownership of this building but many challenges lie ahead. It will be up to you the student to stand and speak out for your right, never forget this is your college. The energies and talents of all of us are needed to meet the challenges.

The students are by far the most important aspect of CIT, from time to time the Students' Union needs to remind the Institute this. In my time here the one thing I have noticed is how out of touch and oblivious this college is when it comes to the needs of its students, be it with the library, the Student Centre, or Crawford College of Art and Design.

When I started my term of office the thing that surprised me the most was that things were as bad as we said they were. In my time here I always tried to demonstrate conviction, courage, a desire to help others, and a true and genuine love for the students of this college. I hope I achieved this.

Recently, in relation to an argument I was having in regards to CITSU’s, non affiliation to USI, where I raised the fact that I believe that USI does not represent the opinions of all its members, the question was posed to me in turn do I represent all the opinions of the Students of CIT. I replied boldly "Yes I do".

For CIT is truly a unique college, a small community where from the moment you step in the corridor there exists a great sense of consideration for others, understanding, and association.

A famous politician once said "How can he be regarded as representing the people when he speaks, not their language, but his own? He ceases to be their representative when he does so, and represents himself alone." The Students' Union always speaks your language.

As my term of office is coming to a close so too is my time in CIT. I have been blessed to have had such a unique experience and association with such a terrific amount of people here in the Students' Union. I believe that the Students' Union is an imperative organisation, where we can speak up for your rights as both a student and as an individual, and to hold an organisation such as CIT accountable for every decision it makes. I hope I have done well by you the student, since I started my term of office I approached it in the following way: ”Always do what is right, regardless of whether it is popular, ignore the pressures, the temptations, the false promises”, quoted from JFK in his first term as senator.

This year I was honoured to work with a magnificent executive who were both diligent and above all else hard working. Never in recent years has here been such a unique group of individuals who has done so much for the students here in CIT. I would like to thank Mikey, Wez, John, Catriona, Calvin and Sinead for rising above and beyond the expectations of every student in this college.

They have raised the bar considerably and their passion for the Students' Union will never be forgotten. Thanks to all the students of CIT who have supported our cause this year. When I ran for election last year I did so hoping I could make a difference, I hope I did.

I can imagine no more rewarding a position, if anyone asked in these times what he did to make his life worthwhile, I think can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction: "I served as President of CIT Students' Union".

Regards, Jeremy

CIT Students’ Union Vice President Welfare Hi all!

Well it's been a fun year, a league won, getting to the Setanta Cup final and still going strong in the present season…. wait that's not right, that's about CCFC and this is a Union Address, keep on getting distracted lately by that sort of thing sorry!

Seriously though it has been a great year and I am delighted to have been your Welfare Officer.

Landlord Problems?

Call into the SU Office if you are having any difficulties, email suwelfare@cit.ie or call 021 4933123

I didn't know coming into this job that there'd be so many committees and things that I would have thought superfluous before, but now I realise just how much hard work is to be done and how important this is for every student of CIT.

Don't forget that I still am still welfare officer until the end of May so I'm still here to help out with everyone's landlord issues and such. You can also check out your rights on our website www.citsu.ie/welfare Working with the lads (and that includes Caitriona) has been great this year, this Union has started and built on many things and I know that we are very proud of that.

Until I'm all done and gone and Marie-Claire takes over my office is still here and I'm always in early.

Thanks bunches everyone!

Sinéad

CIT Students’ Union Vice President Education “Endings always seem so final at the close” So this is it, I have come to the end of my term in office and my time here in CIT. Firstly I would like to thank my colleagues in the Students’ Union for making the experience an unforgettable one, especially the members of the executive Jeremy, Sinead, Wes, John, Calvin and Catriona. I’d also like to thank all the students who got involved and put their shoulders to our cause, be they class reps, crew or volunteers. Finally I would like to thank the academic and administrative staff within the college who helped me with my casework through out the year.

I would now like to welcome the incoming officers and I hope they receive as much support from the student body as we did, I wish them every success in the year ahead. If they need us all they got to do is push the red button and we will come back to help out (I want to go to rep training).

Six of my adult years were spent in this safe haven of brick and portacabin. Sure it isn’t the prettiest college in the country, so what if we have dogs that have spent more time in the college than some of the students, we still rock. Things are looking good for us, the student centre will be open shortly, there’s a new library on the way with almost over 750 study spaces and 200 open access spaces, really we can’t complain.

Recently I was asked, what will I miss when I go and I have to say, its you guys, this year alone I made so many close friends who will remain my friends for many more days. That’s where we differ from other colleges we don’t judge

each other, we accept, here our courses only define what we do and not who we are. The friends I have made moulded me into the individual that sits here today, through your belief in me I now believe in myself, I came to college an empty vessel, I now leave stored with memories.

I’ll never forget the nights out or the nights in, The Rag Balls, the after parties, beat the clock in Nancy’s, FX, Gorby’s, Rampage, Redz, all blurs I’ll hold dear till the day I go senile. The thrill of seeing a night you organised being a total success is unreal. Of course there were hard times too but I could always rely on my class mates and later friends I made through Societies, Sports and the Union, to help me through.

My final official duty, just a small bit of business to deal with; the library should have extended opening hours by the time you read this article. I’ll be handing out earplugs in the library to help people study, who said I never give ya anything. Take a bit of advice from me, for what time’s left in the year forget about BEBO, it is a glorified waste of internet space. I cannot emphasise this enough, study, study hard, study harder, get an award, get what each of you deserve, a means to a better life, and that’s what I came to college for a means to a better life.

As I walk out of my office tonight I know I’ll ask myself one question “What next?”. Honestly only time will tell ……. I hear Bertie’s hiring.

My friends I say goodbye with warmth in my heart, a degree on my wall and holiday pay in my pocket!

Till our roads meet again, Mikey

“...The main aim of the Association is to provide a professional and social network that will be of mutual benefit to CIT alumni and the Institute. CIT provides all alumni with free membership of the Association.

CIT alumni are an important part of our Institute Community...”

The CIT Alumni Association enables graduates to keep in touch with developments at CIT and maintain contacts with friends, classmates and faculty staff from college days. The main aim of the Association is to provide a professional and social network that will be of mutual benefit to CIT alumni and the Institute. CIT provides all alumni with free membership of the Association. CIT alumni are an important part of our Institute Community.

There are CIT Alumni worldwide who have moved from studying at the Institute but who want to stay in contact with us and who value their continued connection with former classmates, academic staff and the Institute as a whole. The Alumni memeber, in turn, offer a great deal to our current students and staff in terms of mentoring and career assistance and also provide connections to many business and public organisations which further our teaching and research objectives.

In recent months we have developed much more pro-active links, through reunions and informal meetings with alumni. The Alumni Relations Office can also help current students and staff with alumni links and information. I am aware that it is difficult to travel and not encounter a CIT Alumni, even in far flung locations; with your help, we can make our network a truly global one.

Finally, I would like to wish you all the best of luck in your exams and your future endeavours.

Glynis Dennehy, Alumni Relations, CIT Alumni Association

What Can We Offer New Graduates?

The CIT Alumni Association provides members with a wide range of benefits and services including: • • • • • • • •

a unique affinity credit card assistance in organising reunions discounts for services the Learning City Magazine sent to all alumni on a mailing list (please ensure you keep us updated with contact details). general information about careers, interview skills and CV development for recent graduates (for 1st year out graduates) access to CIT facilities (including library membership) invitations to various events access to worldwide and regional branches of the Association

Find a Friend....

The Alumni Office offers a free service for CIT Alumni who are seeking to contact former classmates and friends from their student days. If you would like to contact a class-mate or another college friend, simply contact us to post a request.

Events Our Diary of Alumni Events is updated regularly. Alumni and friends are encouraged to attend events (including public lectures, arts events, sports and conferences) organised by the Institute, its individual schools, clubs or societies.

Reunions Guidelines for organising reunions Reunions are a good opportunity for Graduates to renew friendships.

The CIT Alumni Association can offer assistance in the planning and organising of class reunions including: • • • • •

Class lists and mailings Choice of on-campus (if available) or off-campus venues Accommodation advice Advice and contact details for suitable musical entertainment Visits to CIT Campus

Running a successful reunion requires forward planning. At the very outset we would advise you to establish an Organising Committee.

In general it is advisable to allow a timescale of between six and twelve months in planning a reunion.

If you would like to become a member of the CIT Alumni Association, please complete the registration form on the online registration facility (http://www.cit.ie/GradRegister.cfm) under the Alumni section.

Glynis Dennehy, Alumni Relations, CIT Alumni Association, Cork Institute of Technology, Bishopstown, Cork Tel: +353 21 432 6589 - Fax: + 353 21 454 5182 - Email: alumni@cit.ie

File Picture from 1992

Dear expliCIT, I am fourth year business studies student here in CIT, and took a great concern when I read the article where the SU highlighted the possibility of the Canteen Company, taking over some of the new shops in the student centre. I was not shocked when I read this considering the conduct of the college in years I have been here.

I remember when the student centre first started construction which brought a great deal of hope and euphoria to my class. Here we are 3 years later and the building is not yet finished. Now we see that the Canteen Company is going to run some the shops in the student centre which I have to say is just as bad as rubbing salt in to our wounds.

As my class are preparing to leave this college we have to say we do so with very little confidence and regard for the people that run this college. If I had known that the college is run in such a way, I would have not bothered coming here in the first place.

Frustrated Student.

Dear expliCIT, At this stage in the year we know that all students are diligently studying for final exams, we here in the Students’ Union are answering your call for longer opening hours in our library.

To show the college just how serious an issue this is for us we circulated a petition which was signed by over 1000 students. We believe that this is as clear a message as the college should require as proof of the validity of our argument for extension of hours.

We now beseech the college to extend opening hours of our library to include Sunday openings, similar to the opening hours of Saturday 9:00 am – 5:00 pm. We believe as a result of the increased number of student accommodation sites in Bishopstown, more and more students are spending their weekends in Cork. We see opening the library on Sunday’s as the next logical step in progressing the service that our fine Institution offers to its customers, the students we represent.

This is a subject we have brought to the attention of the college on numerous occasions throughout the year from as early as last summer; we believe we have been more than accommodating with the college in its attempts to extend this service. We now find ourselves amidst the busiest season for the library and its hours have yet to be extended beyond standard opening times.

We here in the Students’ Union do not demand miracles or level threats, however, this is a matter which affects all our current students and all those who will follow in their foot steps. If the college is unwilling to aid in our request then further steps will have to be taken, this is an action which we are reluctant to commit to as it will further disrupt college life, however it will be the only option left open to us at this late stage.

Michael O’Connor VP Education

CIT & National Societies Awards Pictures BICS National Society Awards 2006 The BICS (Board of Irish College Societies) National Awards, was hosted by Cork Institute of Technology on April 13th in the Rochestown Park Hotel. The gala evening celebrated the enormous contribution societies and their members make to the social, cultural and humanitarian life of their respective campuses. Societies offer their members the opportunity to acquire very valuable life skills, which complement and enhance their academic programmes and produce well rounded graduates ready to make significant contributions to the wider community.

Representatives from CIT, DCU, DIT, IT Tallaght, NUI Galway, NUI Maynooth and UCC were present on the evening. They all presented portfolios and attended interviews during the rigorous process. So important is the evening that one hundred and seventy society members from forty-one societies were present at a very busy time during their academic calendar. Mr Mervyn O’Mahony, CIT Societies Officer and awards coordinator described the evening as “the highlight of the Societies calendar and a wonderful opportunity for the best in the country to meet and share ideas” Special guest for the evening was Mr. Pat Cox, former President of the European Parliament, who presented the nine awards to the winners. Best Society in a large College went to the Juggling Society, NUI Galway, Best Society in a small college went to CIT International Students’ Society, Best improved Society went to DCU Saint Vincent de Paul Society, Best New Society went to NUI Galway Business Society, Best Society Event went to DCU Style Society for DCU Fashion Show 2006, Best Society individual went to Donna Cummins, NUI Galway, Best Society Fresher went to Breege Clarke NUI Maynooth. Best Poster went to DIT Artichoke Society and Best Website went to DIT LGBT Society for HYPERLINK "http://www.ditlgbt.com"

Pictures by: Philip O’Reilly

SEE www.bics.ie for more information

CIT Society Awards 2006 Over the last number of years CIT has initiated an awards ceremony to highlight Societies and individual members who have made an outstanding contribution to extra-curricular life at the Institute. This year the annual CIT/AIB Society awards took place on Tuesday 4th April in the Gresham Metropole Hotel. In all 10 awards were presented on the night. Each year the awards were presented by a known celebrity. Over the years we have had the privilege of inviting guests such as ‘Bela’ from Fair City, Niall Toibin, Ryan Tubridy, Des Bishop and Packie O’ Callaghan. This year the Awards were presented by Mr Joe Rooney alias Fr Damo from Fr. Ted. This year a total of ten awards were presented which were as follows; ‘Society of the Year’, ‘Group Achievement Award’, ‘Best or Most Improved Society’ and ‘Best Course-Based Society’, and 6 Individual Awards.

Don’t Sell Yourself Short Jonathan O Sullivan, Member of the CIT Entrepreneurial Society, interviews local entrepreneur Tom O’Connor.

Tom is the Owner of the Reel Cinema Ballincollig and also owns a host of other cinemas dotted throughout the Ireland and the UK. Tom is nearly 60 he tells me in our interview, but his laid back attitude to both work and life leaves him looking in his early 40’s. He loves what he does and it shows. He hates the idea of retiring and said he could never do it. He doesn’t have many hobbies as he admits to having a short attention span. Obviously he has a passion for movies and gets a great a kick out of watching them during the day when he has the entire room to himself. He explains “I’m always too worried about whether the customers are enjoying themselves and whether they are comfortable and if the volume is ok and the projection quality is perfect – I can’t enjoy the movie!”

He’s very self-assured and aware of who he is and his capabilities without coming across as arrogant. He knows his strong points, such as his fantastic ability to communicate in a confident yet warm manner. It’s a quality which I’m sure has earned him the majority his success to date. He describes himself as selfish in the fact that he likes to do things his own way and this has led to his entrepreneurial attitude and success. For example when he applied for a job in American express he applied by making a video for them and on it telling them what he could do for the company. They said to him afterwards that it was the first time some one ever applied like that and they hired him straight away.

The turning point: After eleven years of working with Ryanair, Tom was asked to be the European Development Manager for the company. The position, however, would have involved uprooting his family from Cork and move to Dublin and would involve him flying all over Europe for most weeks. He had absolutely no plan when he left the company and at the age of 45 the idea of starting with another company wasn’t a very attractive one.

The idea of building a new cinema in Cork was born out on a rainy Tuesday evening when he and his son intended to see a film at the Capitol Cinema on Grand Parade. They had to wait in the rain in a long queue for a ticket only for the movie they want to see to be sold out. When Tom asked to book a ticket for the next time he was told that it wasn’t available and he would have to queue again. With Toms’ passion for the movies and his entrepreneurial attitude he recognised the opportunity for another cinema to rival the Cork city based Capitol. Tom did his research and realised that the Irish are one of the most frequent cinema goers in Europe at an average of five visits per year.

Cork city was automatically ruled out, as property prices were far too costly. Tom then approached one of his friends who is an architect to seek his advise on planning a building but his friend had no idea of the dimensions of a cinema. At this time another cinema complex was in the process of being built. They decided to pay the site a visit to see how it was done. Knowing that they wouldn’t be entirely welcome to look around the site, Tom and his friend had the ingenious idea of donning a high-vis jacket and a hard hat and pose as Health and Safety.

Tom again showed great ingenuity and imagination, a trait which is commonly found in entrepreneurs. They met the foreman in their costumes and asked that all workers including the foreman be offsite during their ‘inspection’. They measured every nook and cranny and took detailed notes. Tom even had the cheek to give out to the foreman after he nearly fell over a small pile of blocks after they had finished their ‘inspection’!

Tom came to the conclusion that the ideal location of his first cinema was to be Douglas in the Central Business District. His next task was to raise the venture capital for the land. This was to be his first major hurdle. The land cost £266,700 and he had to apply for a bank loan. The bank would not approve the loan until he had the deeds and the deeds could not be given to him without the money.

He overcame this first catch 22 situation by somehow acquiring the deeds for a day and convincing the bank that he was going to use the money to build on site.

Upon approval he subsequently had the land revalued to find it has appreciated to £508,000.

He then went in search of further funding from other banks, but Tom could not get further funding until he got confirmation of product. This is a letter from a distributor stating that they are willing to provide him with motion pictures.

However, Tom later found out, the distributors would not give confirmation until the cinema was fully built and operational. He had hit his second hurdle. At this point I had to ask how he dealt with the stress of starting up this business. He admits that it put a huge strain on his relationship with his family to such an

extent where he had divorced his wife (whom he subsequently remarried). I then asked him did he ever have self-doubt or loose faith in his idea. “Never!” he answered. He showed true entrepreneurial spirit by never doubting himself and constantly believing that his project was going to be successful. Tom’s persistence led him to the US where he pleaded with distributors who eventually caved in and gave him the letter of confirmation fully believing that they would never see him again.

Tom returned home, letter in hand and approached numerous banks until finally a bank agreed to the loan. Tom describes this as he best/worst point of starting up. In one respect after all his hard work and pushing for this business to go ahead he had just committed to loans worth about ?1,000,000. He felt under so much pressure but he still never doubted his own ability. Tom wasn’t afraid to ask for help and he soon had ‘Cinemaworld’ in Douglas up and running.

Tom revealed in our interview that he had learned a great deal from Ryanair’s low cost and no frills business structure. He used some of these principals in the development of the cinema. Tom gets 10% on average of ticket sales, he nets off the cost price of overheads such as staff wages, cost of stock, lighting and heating. If the costs can be covered in that 10% then the goods sold are pure profit.

An average person spends ?3.50 on consumable per visit to the cinema with popcorn being the biggest profit maker. The mark up on popcorn is phenomenal.

He soon saw a gap in the market for another cinema in the Ballincollig area.

Ballincollig had only 13,500 residents at the time, which was under the target amount Tom would have preferred but the believed that people would drive to cinemas if they knew parking was going to be free and easy to find. Following on from the success of Douglas he found that the banks attitude had changed totally. They were more than happy to aid him in his investment. Tom drew up the plans for the new cinema in such a way that if it wasn’t a success as a cinema the building itself could be turned into a warehouses or a shopping centre.

When I asked him about his thoughts on the new Mahon Point cinema and if he felt his businesses are threatened by it, he replied that although it was a bad year for movies, his cinemas in Cork were still turning a healthy profit. He classed Mahon Point as a destination point cinema. It’s attached to a shopping centre so people can go there for more than one purpose, which was one of its biggest advantages. They focused a lot on comfort and this cost a lot of money and it’s reflected on ticket prices, which are one of its disadvantages.

Other projects From my interview with Tom it’s clear that he’s a hub of new ideas and creativity. He admits to having a short attention span and that once he has come up with a new idea that he hates the detail and likes to hand over the projects.

Managers currently run the cinemas and he has as little as possible to do with the day-to-day running. He tells me of two such projects:

NeutraP – You’ll never flush again Tom told me about a hotel stay a few years back. A flushing toilet caused him to wake up in the middle of the night, as he was a light sleeper. This wasn’t the first incident that this had happened and that it effected many people. He then found out that an entire reservoir of water is used just for flushing the toilet at night.

With London facing increasing drought problems every year including the worst ever coming this summer he knew there had to be solution. He came up with the idea of a sanitation tablet that one could pop into the toilet and it would neutralise the water with out the need to flush.

Impressing me with his many contacts he told me he has collaborated with another friend who is experienced in pool cleaning. They have devised the product down to the finest detail (it even bubbles when you drop it in and cleans the inside of the bowl. And is covered in a film much like the new dishwasher tablets so one doesn’t have to touch the actual product). I had to laugh when he told me the name of the product but he is quite proud of it.

Infact, Calgon (the lime scale product) and the London Themes Authority have commissioned its development and trial and have bought the right to use it off Tom. As he owns the patent he will receive a hefty percentage of the profits.

Once a success, the UK government will more than likely make it mandatory that all hotel rooms stock the product. That’s a lot of hotel rooms – that’s a lot of money.

But it doesn’t stop there Tom has also developed the project further by the idea of incorporating a pregnancy test into it. It will change colour depending on if the person was pregnant or not and change back in 15 seconds so that no one would notice. They could also build in basic blood tests to test for a number of different health problems.

The Big Tomaso: The first wind resistant golf club.

Golf is one of Toms favourite past times. While playing a game of golf it came to his attention that wind resistance decreased the distance that the ball would go when he hit it. “You know when you hit a fly with a newspaper. You swing for him but by the time the paper lands he’s already gone. The fly isn’t fast; the wind resistance built in the moving paper has pushed the fly out of the way. That’s why fly swatters have so many holes – to reduce resistance.” His ideas are so simple and it’s baffling and almost embarrassing that no one has come up with them beforehand.

€250 OFF if you book before June 1st 2006

I can see where this is already going as he draws me a diagram of the club head. He draws a normal head but shows me where the tiny holes are drilled into the face and explains that the ball can go a hundred feet further. This is huge in the world of competitive golf and is totally within the rules of golf. There’s a fortune to be made in the world of golf club design with clubs such as ‘Ping’ costing as much as $1,200.

Tom has what is called an intellectual patent on the product and has again handed the project over to an American club design company. He frequently flies over and back to see how it’s coming along. He too seems shocked at how fast these ideas are developing “Do you know there are people who devote there lives to developing a certain type of product?” he exclaims. He decided to name it after himself – he used the Irish spelling of his name and tagged an ‘o’ on the end of it. I’m informed that the Tomaso can be pronounced in all languages.

Tom explained that Tomaso and tomato are similar sounding and the whole product should take on the idea of being different. The club head should be red. And specialised Tomato golf head covers should be made for the clubs. Also jackets etc could be commissioned. “Of course the Americans think I’m mad and probably wont take it on board but why not suggest it?”

Lessons Learnt Tom seems truly happy and enjoys what he does. It shows in his attitude and humour. He’s such an inspired and positive person it’s almost sickening. So being slightly pessimistic and typically Irish, I decide to focus the end of the interview on any mistakes he’s made and lessons learnt.

“Trust.” He admits freely. “I probably trusted people too easily and that mistake has proved costly in the past.” We don’t pry too much into this. “Also, I’ve learnt to say no to a lot of people and a lot of ideas faster…and not to make rushed decisions which I can be quite prone to doing. But I see any mistake as a learning curve and have to put them down to that or I’ll end up bitter” I asked him what’s the best piece of advice he would give to future budding entrepreneurs. “Don’t sell your self short,” He stresses keenly. I would have never gotten this far if I had listened to other people’s negativity. “Doubting yourself is probably human nature but to me I see it as a waste of energy.”

Tom’s key talent is his willingness to listen to advice and to recognise that he is not an expert in every aspect of his business. This is found to be a very important characteristic in turning a potential entrepreneur into a successful businessperson. Some true character traits of an entrepreneur are clearly evident in Tom, the one that sticks out most, even to him, is that he never conformed.

He is not afraid to think outside the box has paid off immensely for him.

Tom realizes the true value of family and there importance in his future. He informs me he’s nearly 60 and in his mind he’s nowhere near reached that age yet. He dreads the thought of retirement but is looking forward to the prospect to having grandchildren! Is he happy with where he is? Of course he is, but not because of the profit but the success he has made of something that was only an idea a couple of years ago. “There’s too much focus on money not success – money is a result of success not a measure of it”.

Jonathan O Sullivan

Rental Charges for 2006 / 2007 Academic Year Single Room Twin Room Security Deposit Electricity Deposit Annual Refuse, Internet, Television and Security Charges CALL US OR SEE WEBSITE FOR FULL DETAILS & TERMS

€3,850 €2,650 €150 €250 €150

* These deposits are refundable at the end of the rental period less actual electricity charges and the safe return of the apartment inventory. Rental payment may be in two installments on September 4th and December 8th 2006. * In the event of a student cancelling on or before August 24th, €175 of the booking deposit is refundable. There is no refund of the booking deposit after August 24th 2006.

complete the experience...

I admit it. I’m a Beboholic. It started a couple of months ago when I was being bombarded with emails asking me to connect with whomever on this site known as Bebo. I didn’t know what Bebo was nor was I interested in finding out so I discarded the emails immediately without even bothering to click on the link.

Shortly after however the conversation over lunch turned on to Bebo and recalling hearing the word somewhere or other I asked what the bloody hell it was.

“Shell you’re so not with it” Carmel joked “It’s kind of a social site where you can connect with friends. Shell you so have to join” “Nah I’m not too impressed I think I’ll pass”.

But sure enough by the end of the week I had altered from an anti-beboie to a complete obsessive beboholic for which I blame Carmel for entirely. I set up my home page during class (back in the good old days when the site was accessible through the CIT network) writing down the things about myself which I considered would be of any mere interest to anyone else and jotted down my passions and hates in life for whatever purpose I don’t know but I still did it.

Many a night I found myself sitting on my bed spending hours scanning through both my own page and the pages of others and I realised I had fallen into the this whole Bebo saga.

At the moment I’ve no photos up on my page except one single homepage photo as I’m not one of those people who has a multiplicity of photos from a number of different nights (besides usually not in a good state to be hold a camera steady) out so whatever photos I do manage to put up will be stolen from friends pages. On one occasion when looking for some cool photos to steal I came across one which did not leave me a happy camper at all. Sarah had put it on her page and it had been taken when we were on holidays last summer. She had blatantly put up a picture of me in my Bikini and bearing in mind I’m no supermodel I was right to be mad.

“Take it off. I’ll be online in an hour and if it’s still there I swear to God Sarah……………” I slammed the phone down feeling very betrayed but it did make me think.

Bebo is a brilliant way of keeping in touch especially with friends who are travelling or are in college in other cities but off course there are dangers associated with such a popular social site. The first thing is if you decide to make your page accessible the whole world can click on to it which is where a whole new generation of Bebo stalkers are born. Who can honestly say that they haven’t taken a peek at the page of an ex or a member of the opposite sex who they have a little shine for from afar to find out what makes him tick and find out what the competition is like by viewing what girls had beboed him.

A couple of nights ago I was on one particular page and I must say it was the most interesting page I have been on. From what I could gather from it this girl’s boyfriend had cheated on her with several of her close friends (who needs enemies) and as a result of this she had turned her Bebo page into a hate campaign against Dan where she insulted his IQ, his kissing technique plus his technique at something else, told the world how he waxes his legs and his chest and liked to steal her fake tan to use on himself. There was many comments from him throwing back just as much hurtful remarks at her plus when you clicked on his page he had put up very inappropriate photos off her (much worse than the “lovely” one Sarah had put up on me). This is just one case when Bebo can go dramatically wrong and can be used for another reason than the one it’s intentionally for.

But I’m still obsessed with it and can easily spent hours on end on it; poor dad will get a heart attack when the bill comes. I’m constantly changing my flash box at the moment I’ve the killers Mr. Brightside and then in my blog I do a little funny piece on news from Shell’s world where I use a lot of code which may sound very weird to strangers reading but those who know me get it.

At the exact moment of writing this I ‘m wondering will I just go on Bebo for a little while to find out if anyone has beboed me and to see if my number of hits has reached 500 yet (it’s all about popularity). Well what can I say I’m obsessed. Bebo me.

“Sarah take that bloody picture off Bebo” I ordered her after dialling her number “You look lovely in it” “Why is there is no picture of you in a bikini?”

“Ahem because there is no nice ones of me”

“...The first thing is if you decide to make your page accessible the whole world can click on to it which is where a whole new generation of Bebo stalkers are born...”

by Michelle Bouse

by John Murphy, Dept. Management & Marketing “...Gardai may tend to enforce the Penalty Points regulations in a manner most likely to secure the maximum number of convictions, rather than in a manner likely to encourage motorists to drive more safely..”

The purpose behind the introduction of the Penalty Points System for Road Traffic Violations is to reduce the number of road accidents by influencing motorists to drive in a safer manner. According to a spokesperson for the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors, Gardai are under pressure to secure the maximum number of convictions for such violations in order to keep the figures for violations up, or “to make the figures look good”. Consequently, Gardai may tend to enforce the Penalty Points regulations in a manner most likely to secure the maximum number of convictions, rather than in a manner likely to encourage motorists to drive more safely. In effect, Garda check points may be placed where many drivers may marginally exceed limits or otherwise transgress, while not driving unsafely. On the other hand many places where drivers are apt to drive unsafely are not policed, thus severely diminishing the effectiveness of the system.

The purpose of Quality Assurance Schemes in Higher Education is to ensure that academic standards are maintained. In such schemes inter alia much attention is given to pass and retention rates of students on courses. Akin to the situation for Gardai, some teachers feel under pressure to ensure that pass rates on courses are high, or to be more precise that failure rates are low. It is possible for teachers to ensure that failure rates are low by seeing to it that, while official syllabi remain unaltered, what students are required to learn in order to pass is minimised. So for example, one can elide, or at least dilute, dif-

ficult topics, emphasise topics likely to appear in examinations and generally truncate courses so that only very disinterested students fail. Ensuing high pass rates will remove one type of pressure from teachers. Apparently there is a well-known maxim of management, which might equally apply to college examinations, to the effect that “what gets measured gets done”. The corollary of this is that what is unmeasured is ignored.

In respect of both road traffic offences and examination results the original purpose of the control systems has been undermined, because those expected to implement the systems feel under pressure from above “to make the figures look good”. The consequence in respect of motoring regulations are needless to say very much more serious, in that more people get killed and injured on the roads. The consequences for higher education are somewhat more opaque. But one can speculate that real standards (i.e., what students have actually learned) will decline. Consequently, as with price inflation, what an employer actually gets from college graduates may be increasingly be less than what the employer may have felt entitled to expect. More subtly, the object of education leans even more heavily towards the passing of examinations and the acquisition of certification as a means to employment. This could be said to reflect an increasing depersonalisation and “commoditisation” of the individual as a unit of labour, perhaps an inevitable consequence of economic globalisation, as foretold by the now unfashionable Karl Marx.

Nearly finished now, its amazing how fast the college year flies by but we have the small matter of the end of year exams yet to go for most of us. To help you get through and to celebrate all your hard work over the year the FloppySoc society will host an end of year party. Plans are being drawn up at the moment to make it a party hard to forget so keep an eye out over the coming weeks or log onto http://www.floppysoc.com for further details.

The last two-months have been busy ones for the society as many large-scale events took place. One of them was the Robocode Ireland 2006 National programming competition (http://www.robocode.ie) being held in Tipperary Institute, Thurles, where colleges from all over Ireland took part. Cork Institute of Technology where represented by DCOM1 computing students Alan Morey and Andrew Adams with their robot "ChuckNorris", under the stewardship of lecturer Jim Doyle. The CIT team made light work of the qualifying rounds and entered a commanding position in the semi-final where they got to tweak and improve their robots performance in a specially constructed “code bunker”.

The final proved to be a real Cork and Dublin battle with the CIT team pitting their wits against a talented team from Dublin Institute of Technology with their robot deceptively called “Spinning Banana”. A Trojan battle ensued with CIT holding a slender lead going into the final round. CIT didn’t slip up in what proved to be a highly entertaining final coming away with the honours to great applause from the large crowd attending. The winners picked up the Tipperary Crystal ICS RoboCode Challenge Trophy along with soundcards and headsets for the competitors and I.T. equipment for the Computing department. Well done to the team for their hard work and great programming skill to bring to title to Cork and CIT. Hopefully we can go on and try to retain it next year.

Another unique event organised by the FloppySoc was the successful Careers Seminar simply titled “Graduates Speaking About Life After Their Degree”. Both students and staff found the event to be equally interesting and informative with some students are now planning on doing a masters because of what the speakers had to say. Our speakers included Donagh Kiernan (Maidsfield); John McDermot (Motorola); Alan McGibney and Donna Griffin (PhD Research, CIT Adaptive Wireless Systems Group) all of whom were graduates from the Department of Computing who all gave great talks on what they did in college to where they are now. FloppySoc would like to thank Jonathan Sherwin for all his help in organising this event.

It wasn’t all serious these past few months though; at the end of March we went to Combat Zone in Limerick where we pelted the crap out of rivals NUI Galway in a great game of paintballing. Afterwards we headed to the BTown Bar for refreshments and then to Blu Bambu where they kindly let us in for free.

On the society front there was the small issue of the Cork Institute of Technology AIB Society awards, which took place on Tuesday 4th April in the Gresham Metropole Hotel. The FloppySoc Society bidding to take home an award for the first time in many years were awarded the “Best Course Based Society” for their course based activities throughout the year. To add to the celebrations for the society the FloppySoc Chairman Brian Bermingham was awarded an Individual award for his hard work and commitment throughout the year. A big thanks must go out to all the people who contributed and attended theses events in the past year without their support these awards could not have being achieved.

Continuing on from the success of the CIT Society Awards, CIT duly hosted the national equivalent the Board of Irish College Societies (BICS http://www.bics.ie) awards on the 13th of April. The FloppySoc Society was nominated for “Most Improved Society” and “Best Website” which was an honour in itself. Colleges including DCU, DIT, UCC and NUIG to name a few attended the awards ceremony in the Rochestown Park Hotel after a gruelling day of interviews in the Bishopstown campus. Unfortunately FloppySoc did not pick up an award on the night but not all was lost for CIT with the International Student Society wining the “Best Society in a Small College” award, congratulations to their great achievement. Also a great amount of praise must be given to the ever hard working Societies Officer, Mervyn O’Mahony and his CIT team for hosting the event.

Again the FloppySoc Society would like to wish all students the best of luck in their exams, to invite you to the end of year party and also to post your comments, photos and ideas over the summer months on the FloppySoc website (http://www.floppysoc.com). Until we meet again take care.

FloppySoc Committee http://www.floppysoc.com/gallery2

The staff and management of the Rochestown Park Hotel would like to wish all CIT students the very best of luck with their forthcoming summer examinations.

Thank you for once again making the Rochestown Park Hotel CIT’s number one Ball Venue for 2006.We hope to see you all again next year.

Self Help Africa Fashion Show

CIT Self Help for Africa Society held its first fashion show on Wednesday 15th of March in Silver Springs Moran Hotel. The show was held in response to the growing food shortages in Eastern Africa and will aid famine prevention and sustainable rural development in Eritrea, Kenya and Ethiopia. Over €5000 was raised on the night. This will now be multiplied by six by the ‘Irish Government’, ‘European Union’, ‘Band Aid Trust’ and other agencies giving the national Self Help organisation over €35,000 to use in its work in Africa.

Chairman of the CIT Self Help Society, Colm Crowley said, “The Self Help for Africa Society travelled on its first trip to Kenya last June and have a particular concern for its citizens. Personally I have also been to Ethiopia and I have seen debts of poverty unimaginable in the 21st century. These people need our direct action and help”.

He added, “The show displayed a variety of Corks finest clothing including kids, casual and evening wear for both males and females. The show also incorporated African Drumming, and Harpist, Ruth O’hAodha. It was a must for all fashion enthusiasts and provided a great evening’s entertainment for all while helping those most worthy of our assistance. Although our efforts are only a drop in the ocean we must continue to do the best we can to help those who so desperately need our help”.

LIVE MUSIC - BBQ’s - PARTY FUN BEER GARDEN - GAMES & PRIZES BEST OF LUCK WITH EXAMS & ENJOY SUMMER!

by Eoin Deane, CIT Rugby Coach Senior Team Due to the atrocious weather we had during October and the beginning of November leading to the cancellation of games and also due to a walkover given to Tallaght IT (due to a glut of injuries in late November), the CIT firsts had a very slow start to their quest to right last seasons one point defeat in the final, however in December the Team travelled to The Garda training college and announced their arrival to the league with a great 17-0 victory. A number of the players (Maurice Power (Club President), Jim Mackessy, Joe Moynihan, Ollie McGlinchy, Colin Mahony, Colin Corkery, Jeff Hitchmough, Tommy Mee) also took part in the successful Munster Colleges Team that won the inter-pros for the second year running. After the Christmas break the team suffered a defeat away at the hands of AIT, but progressed to the semi-finals thanks to a fantastic performance against WIT The teams opponents in the semi was non other than the team that beat us in the final last year (LIT), so the players were relishing the opportunity to avenge that defeat, however on a very controversial day in Limerick CIT failed in their quest going down to LIT by 16 points to 11 and so ended their run in this years competition. The team committee of Maurice Power, Tim Ryan, Paul Hurley, John Murphy, Eoin Deane and Bernard O’Callaghan are working tirelessly to achieve the clubs ultimate goal of lifting the ICRU All-Ireland Colleges title for the first time and have vowed to continue that work until the college achieves this goal Senior Ladies The ladies struggled at the start of the year due to a shortage of players but through hard work from Mary Wade and John Murphy they finally got the required numbers out training and beat a very fancied UCC side in the opening round of the League in December. They continued the good work after the Christmas break and reached the semi final phase of the league where they played WIT After controlling the game for long periods the girls were very unlucky to concede a breakaway try with minutes remaining to lose out 17-14.

Chairperson Mary Wade led the club superbly this year and hopefully they will bring home the silverware next year that they truly deserve for their fantastic effort Senior Seconds The seconds team has been the major success this year. Competing in Division 2 of the ICRU league they have gotten through the first phase of games unscathed with impressive wins over Colaiste Spioraid Naofa, National Maritime College of Ireland, Tralee I.T., Carlow I.T. and Athlone I.T. The victory against A.I.T. was especially significant as it was the first time that any CIT team has gone to Athlone and come away victorious and was all the more satisfying as Colin Corkery kicked the team to victory with the last kick of the game. The team being managed by players Willy McCarthy and Dave Lucey and staff John Murphy, Aidan McDonald and Don Spicer are also into the knock out stages of their competition and must now rank as one of the favourites CIT/N.M.C.I. The National Maritime College entered the Division two competition this year, having founded the club only last year, and have fulfilled all their fixtures to date. They have been very unlucky in two of these fixtures having been beaten away to Carlow by the narrowest of margins (9-8) and to Tralee I.T. (16-13).

With this in mind I feel they are very close to establishing themselves as a force in Colleges rugby and with Bill Kavanagh (Staff), Stuart Donaldson and Tom Mee (Students0 at the helm the future looks very bright for “The Mariners” Freshers The freshers unfortunately failed to make it out of the pool stages this year.

Having defeated Maynooth and Carlow away we felt that this team could mount a serious challenge for the title, however a one point defeat at the hands of WIT meant that our progression to the knockouts was halted. Disappointing as this is I have no doubt that the new kids on the block can even further steer the college forward in the coming years. The team was run by Players Kelvin Maye, Darren Frahill and Alan McKessy as well as staff John Murphy, Don Spicer and Bernard O’Callaghan. As a large number of this team has made it into both the senior team squads I would hope that they will enjoy some success later this year.

Appointment This season has seen the appointment of John Murphy (6157) by The Munster Branch to the position of Rugby Development Officer in CIT John plays rugby for Highfield RFC and has played representative rugby with Ireland at U19 and U21.

CIT Back on Campus After almost nine years off the campus, due to the CIT pitch becoming the Astro turf pitches, CIT Rugby is back to where it belongs. With the rugby pitch in immaculate condition (thanks to Pearse McNamara and his team) we would love to see staff and students coming along to the numerous matches that will be played there over the coming months – I promise you that you will be impressed by the standard that is on show here in the College Bursaries Bursaries this year went to Tim Ryan (Captain of the Senior Team this year and last), Dave Ryan (Munster Academy Member, Munster & Irish U21 and a member of the winning Freshers team last year) and Batt Duggan (Munster & Irish U21 and member of the winning Freshers team last year).

Tag Rugby Commenced in early March and is a great fun way for getting fresh air into the lungs and becoming fit without even realising it. It is also a great way of making new friends so I would encourage all staff and students to came out and give it a try. Details will be on notice boards, staff emails and/or from John Murphy (6157) Triple Crown.

I would like to congratulate three former students Denis Leamy, David Wallace and Donnacha O’Callaghan on claiming the Triple Crown by beating England at Twickenham in March. This was a tremendous achievement and hopefully we will be able to arrange for the three players to come in with the crown in the not to distant future Eoin Deane

CIT GAA Club End of Year Review

by Keith Ricken

“...The junior footballers also captured All Ireland glory with a flawless campaign beating WIT, UCC, NUIG, UCD and finally beating UUJ in a pulsating final in Dublin...”

It was another action filled year for the Institutes biggest club whose membership is now currently over 500 students. With eighteen teams involved in competition, we had barely time to draw our breath as we went from game to game, over One Hundred and Sixty of them, plying our skills against those of the other 3rd level establishments of Ireland in the art of hurling, football, camogie, ladies football and handball. We ran coaching courses and conferences and a very successful GAA Ball at the Commons. The response to our annual draw was phenomenal and this coupled with a stream of other social events, some of them planned and others in response to win, loss or even a draw, it really has been a whirl wind of activity since we began last September.

On the field of play we had our successes as well as our disappointments. The Senior Camogie team captured their first ever senior camogie title with a win over NUIG and then Garda College to win the Ashbourne Shield in Limerick.

The Intermediate hurlers having already captured the Munster 3rd level Championship with wins over UL and WIT in their semi final and final added the All Ireland trophy to their collection with a semi-final win over GMIT and a memorable victory over LIT in the Final.

The junior footballers also captured All Ireland glory with a flawless campaign beating WIT, UCC, NUIG, UCD and finally beating UUJ in a pulsating final in Dublin. At the time of writing our Intermediate footballers, having already secured the Munster Championship with victory over UCC, are now awaiting to play their All Ireland final against DIT having defeated DCU in their semi-final.

While the Fresher Footballers won the John Galvin U21 football tournament for the second year running All Ireland success eluded them when the surprisingly bowed out against UCD in a replay ? final.

We had also a string of unsuccessful final appearances this season and while being beaten in a final is always difficult, there is some consolation in recognising the achievement of reaching them.

The Senior Hurlers went down to WIT in their National Hurling League Final after a great run. The Senior Ladies Football team lost to UUJ in the final of the Senior Colleges O’Connor Shield, while there were defeats too for the Junior hurlers and the Fresher 2 and 3 Hurlers in their respective finals. The Camogie team were also runners up to UCD in the final of the Senior 7 aside while the freshers had succumbed to UCC in the final of the “B” All Ireland.

Success however comes in many forms and while silverware and national acclaim is how many view success, those of you who have been involved in sport for any period of time will appreciate the deeper levels where success can be found. Success is in the friends you make, the memories you have, the battles and journeys shared, the emotions experienced and pride that is taken in putting on the jersey to represent your College, Club or County.

So while winning adds to the taste of success it certainly can’t claim to be its sole ingredient. To all therefore, who have contributed in making this year the success that it was, a sincere THANK YOU. To the Club Officers, Coaches, Selectors, Supporters and most importantly the Players, your efforts are very much appreciated and we wish you every good wish with your exams and the summer holidays. For those who finish in CIT this year we wish you every success in the careers that you chose and hope your involvement with GAA club has added to the positive experience of attending the Cork Institute of Technology. We wish also to thank all the staff, especially those without whose cooperation none of this activity would have happened. In particularly we would like to recognise all those involved in Student Services, Sports and Societies, Students’ Union, Caretakers and the Administrative staff. Finally to those in the academia, Heads of School, Department heads, Course Coordinators and the Lecturing staff for you understanding and support of all our students. We look forward to working with you all again next year.

Keith Ricken GAA Officer CIT

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Suas Volunteer Programme 2006 The Suas Society CIT proudly presents its first participant on the Suas Volunteer Programme, Joanne Scobie, a second year student at the Crawford College of Art and Design. Suas is an Irish charity concerned with educational development both in Ireland and abroad. Every year the Suas Volunteer programme offers enthusiastic young people the chance to make a difference by volunteering in community run projects in India and Kenya during the summer months.

This year Joanne has been placed in India. She will be working as a volunteer with an NGO called Prayas that aims to provide basic needs – shelter, food and education to slum children in Dehli suburbs. Each volunteer is

The success of ‘Battle of the Bands’ was evident for the second year in a row, giving CIT Bands the chance to show their talent and skill as performers and artists, in which ‘Captain Insano’ claimed first place and ‘Loaded Gun Effect’ took second place (all the heats and final were free of charge to everyone). The final was held in Crúiscín Lán on Wednesday 15th March.

required to contribute ?2,950 toward the total cost of the programme so Joanne will be organising all sorts of fundraising events over the next few months. If you have any fundraising suggestions please email Joanne at joscob@hotmail.com.

You can find more information on the Suas volunteer programme at www.suas.ie.

Suas has a number of societies through out the colleges of Ireland which promote educational development at home by running homework clubs, holding fundraisers and lots more. The Suas Society of CIT meets every Wednesday at 1.15pm in B227.

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May 2006 This Month’s Prize:

O N R K P U I Y L W E S A F Y

O O X O H S U M M E R R S J G

S I Q D H X R E H G D S Q H O

V N O A T E X V O C N G Y H L

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