Increased engagement seen in CÉIM peer learning programme during pandemic

By Ellen O’Donoghue

NUI Galway Students’ Union have revealed that since moving online due to Covid-19, the CÉIM peer learning programme’s engagement levels have jumped to 83%.

The CÉIM peer learning programme was initiated by the Students’ Union in NUI Galway in 2013.

It is a run as a partnership between students, academic staff and the Students’ Union, and receives funding from the University.

The programme offers free weekly peer learning sessions to students who are in first year to help them transition successfully to higher education, make friends, develop a sense of belonging, gain a greater understanding of coursework and ultimately progress to second year.

The idea of the programme is to help students feel more welcome and to help make their struggles with the change from second level to third level that bit easier.

Students’ Union Education Officer, Emma Sweeney praised the increase in engagement, saying, “CÉIM has definitely grown in popularity this year, I think in terms of it was the one definite way where students could connect with their peers in an easy and accessible manner.

The programme offers free weekly peer learning sessions to students who are in first year to help them transition successfully to higher education, make friends, develop a sense of belonging, gain a greater understanding of coursework and ultimately progress to second year.

“I think It was super accessible to everyone this year and it was a great way for people to connect and make friends, it was one of the only ways. It’s much easier to make friends in a smaller group than in the big live lectures and that’s really the only opportunity people had. So, I think CÉIM was an integral part to learning this year,” she finished.

Second and third-year students who sign up receive training to become CÉIM leaders to enable them to be as helpful as possible to first years.

On the matter, Students’ Union President, Pádraic Toomey said, “Our CÉIM peer learning sessions are delivered by trained second and third-year student leaders who have shown great resilience and generosity this year in supporting first year students in very challenging times.

“The feedback from students has been fantastic again this year with students saying that CÉIM sessions made them feel part of the University community in this isolating year. It has been a key opportunity for them to meet their classmates in an informal manner.”

After an external quality review of NUI Galway was conducted in 2019, the CÉIM peer learning programme was commended, and it was recommended that it be mainstreamed.

As a result, in September 2021, the programme will begin a pilot in the School of Science, bringing the total number of students offered CÉIM yearly to approximately 1900.

Students’ Union CÉIM Director, Amber Walsh Oleson said that “CÉIM provides an informal peerto-peer environment to ask questions and deepen understanding of coursework.”

She further added, “CÉIM leaders have strived in sessions this year to support first year students to interact with classmates who they have never met in person.

“Developing skills for online learning and supporting positive health have also been key focus areas for the programme in this unusual academic year.”

For more information about the CÉIM peer learning programme, visit www.su.nuigalway.ie/ceim.

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All proceeds go to the SU Charities Smooth sailing at seventh and final Comhairle na Mac Léinn of the year

By Ellen O’Donoghue

Nine motions were discussed, accounts were gone through and officer reports were read without many blips as the Union sat for their final Council of the 2020/21 academic year.

The name of Students’ Union Council had been changed to Comhairle na Mac Léinn at a Comhairle previous.

After standing orders were adopted, containing leniency for the use of Gaeilge by students, General Manager of the Union, Chris Newell, went through the Unions’ accounts from 2019/20.

The standing orders passed with a 97.22% majority.

The first motion was brought to the floor by Vice-President Welfare and Equality Officer and President-Elect Róisín Nic Lochlainn.

Nic Lochlainn proposed that the Vice-President Welfare and Equality Officer goes through consent awareness training, image-based sexual abuse and disclosure training at the beginning of their term.

The motion also mandated that Active* Consent training be facilitated to all class reps, clubs and societies at the beginning of each semester, on top of survivor support campaigns being introduced.

This motion passed with a 97.64% majority.

Barry Sugrue brought the next motion forward, mandating Gaeilge classes for full-time members of the Executive team.

This motion passed with 91.55% of students voting in its favour.

Conall McCallig proposed the next two motions, one of which was dependent on the Levy referendum which took place on April 22nd, falling and another based on the referendum pasing, the eventual outcome.

As the referendum passed, this first motion was automatically deemed to have fallen.

His next motion was to mandate the Union to support the fight to ban conversion therapy.

This passed with a 96.34% majority.

Faye McDonnell was next, bringing a motion forward that would mandate the Union to continue with the online format of Comhairle in the 2021/22 academic year. 92.31% of student reps voted in favour of this motion.

Orlaith McCabe was next to bring forward a motion regarding a spending limit on election campaigns in the Students’ Union.

Students’ Union President, Pádraic Toomey, called a procedural motion 9B on this, as candidates receive a €100 reimbursement from the Union if they receive a minimum number of votes.

This procedural motion 9B passed with an 82.67% majority.

Erin Mac an tSaoir, Oifigeach na Gaeilge, brought forward the next motion, this time mandating the Union’s officers to change their email addresses, and any other email addresses associated to the Students’ Union to their Irish version, i.e. from @ nuigalway.ie to @oegaillimh.ie.

This passed with a 76.47% majority.

Convener of Science and Engineering, Aoife Buckley, brought the final motion of Comhairle 2020/2021 to the floor.

This motion was to mandate the Union to change the name of College councils to their Irish counterpart.

This motion passed after some corrections, with a 79.37% majority.

After this, Vice-President Education Officer, Emma Sweeney, and President, Pádraic Toomey, took some time to discuss exams with students before Róisín Nic Lochlainn proposed the possibility of a Full-time Oifigeach na Gaeilge being appointed with extra funding having been allocated to the Union for the promotion of the Irish language.