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SIN Vol. 18 Issue 10
NUI Galway Students’ Union launches SHAG Week with sugar and spice By Georgia Feeney The second annual SHAG week (sexual health and guidance week) kicked off on 6 February with a packed schedule of events, competitions and condom runs planned for the entire week. The theme of the week was sugar and spice. The spice of the week was provided by the dirty circus organised by the Students’ Union which took place in SULT on Wednesday 8 February. The free event saw a night of cabaret comedy and sauciness followed by a Traffic Light Party in 44. There was a great turnout with SULT packed on the night. The event also received national media attention with RTÉ filming and doing interviews on the night with Students’ Union Welfare Officer/VP Daniel Khan. Sweetening the week with a pre-Valentines treat on Friday 10 volunteers of the Students’ Union Welfare Crew headed up campus to hand out roses and chocolates to students, something which put a smile on a lot of people’s faces. SHAG Week however wasn’t all fun and games with practical and informative training and exhibitions also set up. For the entire week a gallery of Tinder-style profiles of Sexual Transmitted Infections (STI’s) was assembled in Áras na Macleinn. A number of informative and practical training sessions and exhibitions were also set up. The NUI Galway Students’ Union wanted students to have fun and enjoy the many events of SHAG week but its main purpose could not be forgotten. As President of the Students’ Union Jimmy McGovern explained before the week: “We hope that our SHAG Week will encourage NUI Galway students to take a responsible attitude to their sexual health and to be comfortable talking about it. It is vital that such issues are not viewed as embarrassing and that all sexually active students are able to get tested regularly. Last year we secured funding for the free STI Clinic on campus and we encourage all NUI Galway students to use this great facility.” The training and workshops on offer during SHAG Week included a free disclosure training hosted by Galway Rape Crisis centre. The workshop was aimed at increasing students’ awareness of the causes and effects of sexual violence as well as giving participants the opportunity to practice scenarios involving a disclosure of sexual violence.
Also on offer during SHAG Week were Smart Consent workshops. During the workshop students’ were able to delve into the concept of consent and what it really means in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Without such a week and the organisation of the Students’ Union its likely even less students would truly understand how to give consent and what is not consent. SIN spoke to one of the attendees of the Smart Consent workshop, Students’ Union Equality Officer Megan Reilly, to hear how she found the event: “I would have thought that I already held sufficient knowledge surrounding Consent, but having attended the workshop I have learned a great deal more. There was a great quote from the workshop ‘sex is optional, consent is mandatory’. I think this is something everyone should keep in mind.” Reilly also expressed how open and friendly the workshop was; “The Smart Consent Workshops are run in a way that is very interactive and memorable. It was a great addition to SHAG Week as it opened up the conversation around sex, further breaking down the taboo which will hopefully lead to more conversations about consent.” The Equality Officer definitely recognised the benefit of such training and workshops, encouraging students to attend similar events in the future; “I think everyone should do one of the workshops!” It was certainly a week of success, with lots of fun and most importantly more talk of sex, consent and staying safe.
Interactive Map to be launched to help NUI Galway students find their way By Ferghus O’Donoghue Meryem Crehan, Kevin Cusack and Barry Murphy, three second-year Computer Science mature students, are currently developing a webpage which will help students (particularly newcomers) find their way around the campus, by interactively navigating their way around the campus. The team was put together by Kevin for a class project, and the idea was put forward by Meryem. The project was started last year, according to Barry, but the team started working in earnest last semester. Meryem is responsible for the directions given in the app and the involved diagrams. Barry is using a program called Unity to put together and design the map. Kevin is doing the pivotal work to fix efforts together- working with HTML code, and a program called Meteor, an updated form of old but
standard software. Students will be able to use drop-down lists (or typing) to specify where they are and where they want to get to, and the webpage will display a route from building to building along with a list of directions, which will further describe how to reach a particular room or lecture theatre within a building. Students will also be able to leave messages at buildings- a bit like apps such as Yelp - which other students will be able to view. “Say you want to go to IT250, then all of a sudden there’s a fire… It’s actually of use,” Kevin explained. “I don’t know if any [universities] go into as much depth as we do, specifically looking for students,” Barry said, indicating the program to be tailored to students, though it is also open to use by anyone. When asked if they believed the idea would spread to other universities, Kevin said it depended on a
few factors. “It depends on what size the university is. They all have some form of it, it’s just that this one’s a lot more user friendly.” “None of us have ever actually worked on anything quite as practical as this, so it’s new territory,” Barry explains when asked about the difficulties of the project. “You’ll have five or six different types of systems going into it. There’s quite a bit of troubleshooting.” Regardless, the three students are adamant that the program will serve its purpose well. Meryem added that there would be people from the Blackstone Launchpad initiative attending the class when all groups are required to present their projects - could it be that this interactive map will have more life in it than its creators suspect? The webpage is set to come out around April, and will be available to use both on mobile and computer.
CÚRAM becomes partner in research consortium 3D-NEO-NET By Grace O’Doherty NUIG-based CÚRAM, the National Centre for Research in Medical Devices, has joined new international research consortium 3D-NEO-NET. The consortium consists of nine academic and nine commercial institutions from across Europe, who will be working in partnership to develop treatments for cancer and eye disease. The Drug Discovery & Delivery Network for Oncology and Eye Therapeutics (3D- NEO-NET) will receive €945,000 in funding over the next four years under the EU Horizon 2020 programme Marie Sklodowska-Curie Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (MSCA-RISE). 3D-NEO-NET will facilitate staff exchanges among
the participating organisations which can last from one month to one year, in order to promote the sharing of knowledge and to provide skilled training for those involved. UCD, Trinity College Dublin, and Queens University Belfast are also partners in the programme, alongside Irish companies Vornia and ICR-FireCrest. According to Associate Professor in the UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science and Fellow of THE Conway Institute Dr Breandán Kennedy, who will be leading the consortium, the project will address issues facing research and innovation in Europe such as graduate employment, the utilization of new technology and experienced staff in SMEs, and the unnecessary doubling up of resources.
The Scientific Director of CÚRAM Professor Abhay Pandit said: “We are delighted to be part of this consortium and we hope that the continued sharing of expertise and knowledge will lead to efficient translation of research results that benefit the patient as well as upskilling Irish researchers involved in developing the next generation of medical devices.” Spanish company ZeClinics will exchange staff with CÚRAM at NUI Galway. The CEO of ZeClinics Dr. Javier Terriente said: “We are eager to share our experience in drug discovery with top students in the ocular and oncology fields. For ZeClinics students, it will be great to learn from the best minds in these relevant therapeutic areas.”
New site created by TG4 and NUI Galway to help Irish students By Amy McMahon TG4 has been working with NUI Galway to create a new site called TG4 Foghlaim for secondary level students preparing for their Leaving Certificate Irish Oral Examinations. It is an innovative and attractive new audiovisual resource website targeted specifically to help students. It is available at www.tg4.ie/ foghlaim. The famous Donegal ‘Colscaradh’ poet Pádraig Mac Suibhne officially launched the event on the 2 February 2017 in Áras na nGaeilge, NUI Galway. Mac Suibhne was joined by
TG4 presenter Fiona Ní Fhlatharta and TG4’s Deputy CEO, Pádhraic Ó Ciardha. CEO of Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge Dónall Ó Braonán also attended along with Leaving Certificate students from Coláiste na Coiribe, Gaillimh. Seeing as the Oral Exam is worth 40% of the overall grade for Irish, TG4 aimed to create a site that is focused and well-informed to assist students in performing to their highest standard. The free site is designed to help both students and teachers to engage with audio-visual content and downloadable lesson plans.
Other learners of all levels and ages, both nationally and internationally, are also encouraged to avail of the website free of charge to improve their oral Irish fluency. TG4 Foghlaim has ensured to include all three dialects on the site. It also offers visual interpretations of the poetry set for the Oral Exam, as well as feature video profiles of the five poets who composed the works in question to aid students grasps a better understanding of the meaning behind the poetry on their course. TG4’s Deputy CEO Pádhraic Ó Ciardha has revealed that this project has
been the result of regular and increasing feedback from both teachers and students over recent years: “We are delighted to launch this important and highly visual project which illustrates the importance that TG4 places on the development of Irish throughout the world.” CEO of Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge, Dónall Ó Braonáin, points to the relevance of the project: “It is terrific that Leaving Certificate students and teachers will benefit directly from leading research in language acquisition through first-class learning resources.”