What do you want FROM YOUR EDUCATION? Hi there, My name is Jack Leahy, I’m a 21-year old third-year student of History and English, I’m from Dublin and I want to be your education officer. Your education is your preparation for life. In an era whereby College is forced to value your education only according to its price tag, you need an education officer who can ensure that your degree reflects a quality educational experience in a creative and innovative environment. A good library, an education in skills and a College that values your unique contribution can be a formbidable combination. If you elect me as your education officer, I will help you achieve that.
EMPLOYABLE SKILLS I’m surrounded by bright, idealistic, interesting, hardworking young people in Trinity, but when we graduate we will be told we are not good enough. There are 65,000 unemployed graduates in Ireland, and unless our education offers us something more than it currently does then we are in immediate danger of joining them. Graduate employers and internship providers are looking for skills that aren’t always part of the undergraduate educational programme. Not having these skills is hindering us. If elected, I will organise a series of ‘Employable Skills’ seminars aimed at providing you with a competency in the skills that employers have identified as attractive. Vote Jack Leahy for Education and you could soon be enhancing your CV with a certificate of mastery in project leadership & management, design, coding 101, PR, crisis management, advanced Excel, and everything else you need.
MyCourse, MyFeedback Between the class rep system and the exceptional peer mentoring and support services available, we have a real opportunity to harness our existing resources and create a valuable education forum. Many courses in Trinity don’t have any institutional memory among students - that is to say lessons about exams and module choices are learned, but they aren’t passed on from year group to year group. If elected, I will establish that resource - MyCourse.tcdsu. org - to give students a chance to impart their advice and experiences through a controlled module on the SU website. This will give students the chance to consider the experiences of their fellow students when choosing the path and manner of study best suited to them.
JackLeahy4Education
THE LIBRARY SERVICE THAT YOU NEED It’s great to have more 24hr study space during the exam periods - but we can’t stop there. The John Stearne Library caters for students based in St. James’, most of whom have a longer academic year and different exam period to those based on campus. The library’s opening hours do not reflect this extended term. If elected, I will lobby for opening hours that reflect the needs of Health Science students. The Biomedical Sciences Institute currently only has a reading room that must be booked in advance of use for a maximum of two hours - this is unacceptable in a building with a significant area of unused space. The 24-hour BLU space must be extended even outside of the exam period. No student should have to be in at 7am to ensure a study space beyond 5pm on a Sunday.
CHristmas exams for those who need them College has a responsibility to provide the best possible academic environment for its students, but requiring of engineering, science and pharmacy students to sit up to 15 exams in one period is not conducive to good performance. Christmas exams would improve the educational experience and academic performance of many students, particularly those with a large number of teaching hours and taught modules who currently sit all of their exams in Trinity Term. If elected, I will launch a review of particular schools and faculties by interviewing students, academics, and administrators and assessing the need and potential for Christmas exams in each school and faculty. I will use this review to lobby College authorities to implement Christmas exams where they are much needed.
l4EDU