NUACHT
March 23 2021
9
NUI Galway second year Nursing Students raise over €2,000 for Galway Simon Community By Ewelina Szybinska Second-Year nursing students have held an annual fundraising drive that has raised more than €2,000 for Galway Simon community. General Nursing students attended a guest lecture given by Amy Lavelle and Brian Hickey of the Galway Simon Community, which informed the students about the reality of homelessness in Ireland and how it impacts individuals. It inspired the students to give the proceeds to Galway Simon Community. Catherine Meagher, lecturer at the NUI Galway School of Nursing and Midwifery, said: “Our student nurses got to hear first-hand about the impact the pandemic had on fundraising opportunities and the growing number of people in need of support services offered by the Galway Simon Community. They wanted to do something to help.” All student nurses continue to study online. Despite that, they have successfully managed to organize a fundraiser during the pandemic. “Usually the fundraising is done by shaking buckets on Shop Street during the Christmas shopping period, but with Covid restrictions, this year we decided to organise it as a virtual event” said second year General Nursing class representative, Ciarán Mac an tSaoir.
“As future nurses we’ll be caring for patients who are homeless through our degrees and future careers. We not only gained knowledge, but an understanding that we can always do something to help alleviate hardships for others” added Mac an tSaoir. The 500k walking, running and cycling challenge took place remotely due to level five restrictions. All students were involved in walking, running and jogging within their five kilometres. The fundraiser was also an opportunity for students to reconnect with their fellow classmates and exercise for a good cause. Hannah O’Donnell, Second Year general nursing class representative said, “It was so much fun, and it felt so good to do something as a class for the people in the Galway community. It was also nice to be able to connect with each other.” “Doing the fundraiser was so nice during lockdown as it gave us all a great excuse to get out and get some exercise. It was also so nice to be able to help other people at a time when we were all struggling” said Second-Year nursing student, Eilís Cahill who also participated in the fundraiser. The charity expressed their gratitude for the wonderful initiative from NUI Galway General Nursing students.
Amy Lavelle from the Galway Simon Community, said “Their motivation to raise funds in support of those facing homelessness in these difficult times was truly inspiring and their compassion will go a long way in their future careers.
We are deeply grateful to have been the chosen charity for this wonderful initiative and we can’t thank the students and lecturer Catherine Meagher enough for all that they did to make it possible.”
The ENLIGHT Network and NUIG NUI Galway release second four-year Sustainability Strategy – ENLIGHT EU Kick-off Week By Lucy Kelly ENLIGHT is a European network of 3rd level institutes that are working towards a more equitable quality of life through the development and transformation of higher education across Europe. Currently there is nine universities involved in the network, including NUI Galway. At the core of ENLIGHT’s aims is the transformation of higher education to empower learners to develop as engaged global citizens. Universities in the ENLIGHT network don’t want students to just graduate with your degree, rather they want students to graduate with the tools to be ‘lifelong learners and agents-of-change to tackle the challenges of tomorrow’. As part of the network, a week-long programme of lectures and webinars among other events was held, that anyone in the University’s community could attend, to help spread information and increase the engagement in the programme. As a student I was intrigued and inspired by the events I got a chance to attend, as it really brought to the fore how much students can be empowered and involved in research and development of a more equitable future for our communities. Not, only this, it was fascinating to hear from other institutions and their approaches to transforming higher education in their context and communities.
ENLIGHT From A Students Perspective As a student, I found it interesting that so much is being done on an international level to make higher level education more accessible and holistic in its approach. I found it interesting that the University community is engaging, developing, and collaborating with its surrounding community and further afield. The flagship lectures throughout the week explored how the network is working with their local communities to create a more equitable, sustainable, and open community for future generations. One of the many events held focused on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goal
(SDG) #3, Global Engagement and Equity. From a student perspective, I found it resonated with me that both our college and the surrounding network of universities are making a conscious effort to create a more equitable future, in terms of further education and its contributions to the community. Hearing from several different perspectives on how to move forward with the SDG Goal three in mind, it brought focus on a local level on how each in our own way, we can bring equity and global engagement it many different aspects of our lives. As, students, we have a prime opportunity to fully develop as globally engaged graduates. There is serious potential for both personal and professional development in understanding that all aspects of university life has a role to play in transforming communities, not just in their specific aspects but also in making education more accessible, and the local community more equitable. Another lecture focused on the future shaping impacts the Universities can have on the development of the surrounding communities. What stood out in the general theme of the lecture was the Universities’ dedication to sharing the journey of creating a brighter future. Four speakers brought different perspectives on how exactly communities and universities are working together to better and shape the future. While this work goes on in the backgrounds of our university lives, it is important to understand that Universities, as institutions do not exist in a vacuum, they have a symbiotic relationship with the communities surrounding. In terms of students, it is important to highlight the limitless possibilities of projects that can be developed from a student level upwards, in a research manner, that could lead to big changes across the different communities involved with ENLIGHT. Overall, with the development of different programmes and networks that reach-out beyond the inner community of the campus, student engagement with the programmes are essential for the best outcomes. Because, of course, without students in higher education, there is no higher education!
By Caoimhe Killeen NUI Galway have officially unveiled a second sustainability strategy entitled the ‘Sustainability Strategy 2021-2025.’ The strategy which was launched by former President of Ireland and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson was developed by a Community University Sustainability Partnership (CUSP) team chaired by Professor Jamie Goggins and focuses around 25 key measures of success through a “live, learn and lead” approach. These measures are based around the themes of research and learning, energy and greenhouse gas emissions, nature, and ecosystems, built environment, health and wellbeing and governance and leadership to lead a transition to a sustainable future by adapting policies that are more sustainable for the university. Some of the key sustainability measures include integrating sustainability across all education programmes offered in NUI Galway by 2023, improving energy efficiency by 45%, reducing food wastage by 50% and achieving a tobacco free campus within the year.
“It is heartening to see NUI Galway stepping up and shaping a future that has sustainability at the core” stated Dr Robinson at the launch. “It is incumbent on Universities to act on the single greatest challenge our society faces…you can play a leading role in the transition to a more sustainable future. By unleashing sustainability potential in the leaders of tomorrow, you can extend sustainability beyond the campus wall and into our communities.” Under the first sustainability strategy, NUI Galway managed to become a Green Campus Ireland awarded site and reached a targeted 40%, exceeding the Public Sector 2020 Energy Efficiency Target of 33%. NUI Galway has also tried to extend its sustainability efforts beyond its campus walls. It won the Sustainability Category of last year’s Galway Chamber Awards on a local level. On an international level, it has signed the Sustainable Development Goals Accord. “We are living in a time of great threat to the sustainability of our planet” stated Professor Pól Ó Dochartaigh, NUI Galway Deputy President and Registrar and Chair of the CUSP Advisory Board. “Today we are putting in place a strategy that sets out our vision and commitment to lead the transition to a sustainable future on our campus, in our city and around the world. The strategy has been a collaboration involving academics, students, and professional staff right across the University and in the wider community. It is only by coming together that we can achieve the future we want.” “When it comes to sustainability, the students’ voice was loudest,” stated NUI Galway’s Students’ Union President Pádraic Toomey. “We will inherit this planet and want to make sure that it’s one that we can live in. Too long as a society we left things just go by without change and we hope with pushing for sustainability within the college we can make waves for the future.”
