Inside Induction

Director of Academic Programmes, Dr. Tomás Mac Eochagáin, speaks to new students in the auditorium on induction day

The inside scoop on induction day at Griffith College

by Robbie Smyth

Nearly six hundred new learners were welcomed to Griffith in 2020 adding to the 1,200 new entrants in September. The stand out moment for me happened this January, when I watched hundreds of students scurry around Griffith’s Dublin campus looking for clues and answers in our online quiz. Students had to download an app, race around the campus to log in answers while also uploading an image of themselves. In the college, we want to make induction fun, worthwhile, and valuable as you move through your first weeks of study. It is here that you will build positive habits and create a learning environment that will help you progress through whatever programme you have entered.

Griffith wants to give the best welcome we can to new students. On induction day this means a welcome bag filled with goodies, a complimentary meal in the restaurant, and maybe some outdoor games and fun activities. This January, there was a treasure trail of sorts where each of the four winners got a 100 euro voucher for the Urban Square restaurant and a complimentary Griffith ball ticket.

Griffith College president Diarmuid Hegarty

Basketball scholars (Vernisha, Morgan, Darren and Oisin) in the auditorim on induction day

We also decided to turn induction into a Griffith fair. In the auditorium we put you in direct contact with the student services you will need during your time at the college; we had the Students’ Union with three points to sign up for clubs and societies; the library staff were there, as were IT services, learner support, and the careers office; international office staff were on hand, and the local community Gardai were also present. Induction day is also when you get introduced to your faculty for the first time. This is another distinct but vital part of the induction process.

So yes, timetables, programme handbooks, meeting faculty heads and programme directors are important, but the induction process has only begun. It is at the faculty sessions that you meet your classmates for the first time and this presents another challenge. Some of my lifelong friends were made in college, but not all were in the same programmes or courses that I took. These other new entrants are your colleagues and in some cases you could be spending three years together, which is a great starter experience for being in the workplace. Not everyone at work is going to be your friend and we all need to give each other the space to get along.

The induction journey doesn’t end on your first day on campus. It continues into the first weeks of college. Module outlines are provided, assignment deadlines are set and exams become more tangible. Moodle resources are made available to you and then you might realise that induction is a two way process. We want to know how those first trips to the library went, how you found the Moodle log on, what resources were helpful, what do you want more of. How did you find the guides on referencing, or Turnitin(the plagiarism prevention service). College study is at a different scale from secondary school. It is a significant step up from what went before, especially if you have travelled to a new country to enter college. As you progress through your course at Griffith you might not think about giving feedback, however, whether it is in the library services, the international office, IT support, or your faculty, we want to know what would make the learning journey more productive.

Robbie is the deputy head of the journalism and Media Communications faculty. He also co-ordinates the college inductions at the Dublin campus and can be emailed at robbie.smyth@griffith.ie.

Griffith College main entrance

Photo by: Shantanu Bhar (flickr)