Who We Are

JANUARY 2022

UCC Holds Vigil in Memory of Ashling Murphy

On 17 January, staff and students came together in Honan Plaza in memory of Ashling Murphy. Student Union President Asha Woodhouse read out the names of 236 victims of gender-based violence who have lost their lives in Ireland since 1996. President John O’Halloran and Director of the UCC Bystander Programme Prof Louise Crowley were also in attendance. President O’Halloran also paused Academic Council for a minute’s silence as a mark of respect and solidarity with family and friends on 14 January.

HEA publishes Report on National Surveys of Student and Staff Experiences of Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment in Higher Education

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris, on 27 January launched the findings of national surveys of student and staff experiences of sexual violence and harassment in higher education. UCC staff and students were invited to participate in this survey in April 2021. The findings will be used to advance the implementation of the Sexual Violence and Harassment Framework at UCC.

Student Union President Asha Woodhouse and attendees at Ashling Murphy vigil in the Honan Plaza. Bystander Intervention, campaign

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STORY

UCC RACE EQUALITY FORUM

The Race Equality Forum was set up in the autumn of 2019 as part of a joint priority action between the UCC Equality Committee and the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Unit. It stemmed from an identified need for anti-racist action in UCC established in the ‘Who is UCC?’ survey of staff and students in 2018. Racism is widely acknowledged as a serious societal issue and prevalent across all sectors of Higher Education in Ireland. The Higher Education Authority’s recent report revealed widespread racial and ethnic discrimination on university campuses in Ireland (HEA - Race Equality in Higher Education Analysis) and UCC needs to actively combat racism on campus and in its institutional structures.

Following a series of exploratory meetings held with staff and students of colour and ethnic minority in early 2019, it was recognised that a space where staff and students of colour and ethnic minority could speak freely and safely about their experiences should be created on a semi-formal basis. This format would enable views to be shared and thus help to shape future recommendations on actions. The forum that was established on foot of these meetings was set up with two co-chairs, one internal and one external, and all participants were people of colour or minority ethnicity. UCC Chairs of the Race Equality Forum were Dr Mark Chu (2019-2020) and Dr Amanullah De Sondy (2020-present) with Dr Brigid Quilligan and Mrs Margarita O’Driscoll appointed as external co-Chairs. Recommendations from the forum experience fall into three broad categories: Support & Representation, Monitoring & Reporting, Awareness & Advocacy. The overarching aim is to bring about a cultural shift in UCC in thinking about inclusion and diversity in a way that effects positive change in relation to race equality. This shift needs to be included in strategic planning, be embedded across the campus community, and build deep awareness about the histories of racism, white supremacy and their legacy in Higher Education. As part of the Race Equality Forum, a ‘Conversations on Racism in Ireland’ series, led by Race Equality Forum Chair, Dr Amanullah De Sondy, was held throughout 2020-2022, with invited guests such as Professor Kalpana Shankar, Professor of Information and Communication Studies at University College Dublin; Moonyoung Hong, a PhD candidate in the School of English at Trinity College, Dublin, and Rosemarie Maughan, National Traveller Accommodation Policy Officer with the Irish Traveller Movement. The series also included a special panel entitled, UCC Students Speak in March 2021, as well as A Conversation on Douglass and Being Irish in Modern Ireland, both held as part of the festival commemorating the legacy of anti-slavery activist, Frederick Douglass, in 2021 & 2022.

Douglas Week Logo

Graduates of the id+ programme, UCC

The id+ Project

The id+ Project commenced in January 2022. Based on the impact of the Certificate in Contemporary Living, as recognised by the HEA in 2021, funding of €1,000,000 was awarded to support a new project developing rights-based, inclusive education programmes which: Provide mutually beneficial learning synergies between students with and without disabilities Enable PWID to develop skills for future learning and employment Build capacity in inclusive education for PWID across the higher education sector.

Damian Butler from Mature Student Office:

“My role involves connecting and engaging with students, guiding and signposting them towards educational routes and then supporting them throughout their undergraduate journey in UCC. The greatest challenge I face in my role is working with students to facilitate them overcoming the stigma, low self-confidence and Imposter Syndrome that they can carry with them as they first commence and indeed progress through their studies in UCC.

This challenge presents the greatest reward however, as witnessing, facilitating and fostering their personal, academic and professional growth is truly humbling and satisfying.”

We are delighted to see the development of two new programmes through the id+ Project: Certificate in Disability-Inclusive Practice and the Certificate in Social Citizenship

The id+ Project promotes the fundamental rights of people with intellectual disabilities to attend third-level education and to progress to paid employment. Congratulations to Professor Máire Leane on bringing this project to fruition.

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STORY

UCC University of Sanctuary

2021/22 was a busy year for the University of Sanctuary Working Group (USWG). In January 2022, UCC was reaccredited as a University of Sanctuary by Universities of Sanctuary Ireland.

The year also saw the culmination of work being led by the current Chair, Dr Dug Cubie, to review the governance structure and terms of reference of the Working Group and to develop a multi-year funding proposal for all of UCC’s University of Sanctuary activities. Additionally, new members were welcomed into the Working Group, the fifth annual Refugee Week took place in February with strong support from the Fáilte Refugees student society and the Students’ Union, and we were delighted to congratulate our first graduates from our undergraduate degree programmes. The Sanctuary Solidarity fund supported initiatives in collaboration with members of the refugee community, such as the publication of a poetry Zine called The Penseekers, the rental of the athletics track in the Mardyke Arena for Sanctuary Runners to train for the Cork City Marathon, and fees for community contributors to workshops as part of the Praxis: Global Citizenship & Development Education project.

The academic year concluded with the first phase of a strategic planning process, to identify the priorities for UCC as a University of Sanctuary for the period 2023-28, which in turn will feed into the development of the new Strategic Plan.

Temitope Akinlade, Sanctuary Scholar 2018:

Back in 2017, when I wrote to several colleges in Ireland explaining my circumstances and academic goals, I never believed that I would become a student at UCC. At this time, third level education was restrictive for refugees, and availing of it meant that we would be categorized as international students, except we were not allowed to earn as refugees, and the process of liaising several identity and educational documents between the Department of Justice and colleges was almost impossible.

The UCC Sanctuary scholarship helped students like myself, who wished to continue their education despite all odds to ensure that our academic goals were achievable. Like 25+ students to date, I was given a one in a million opportunity to study any course of choice (Biological and Chemical Sciences) through the UCC Sanctuary Scholarship and till today, the happy screams still echo.

My four years at UCC were the most eventful years of my life. I met new people, joined many societies, built several networks and connections, represented the college home and abroad, etc. All these could not have been without the help of UCC PLUS+ and the EDI unit. Everyone involved in the Sanctuary Scholarship was always ready to help and point me in the right direction, and I honestly could not have asked for a better academic family. I was indeed home away from home.

My major (Biotechnology), on the other hand, embodied every aspect of health, research and science, and a degree in this course is a door to many academic and employment opportunities. From the lecturers to my project supervisor (Dr Jerry Reen), the Director of the BSc Biotechnology (Dr David Clarke), and my fellow course mates, we all wanted the best for every student, and no one was left behind.

Saying ‘’thank you’’ is not enough to express my gratitude toward UCC, but I hope to go out there in the world and ensure that my every milestone is indicative of the success that UCC prepared me for. I currently work at Boston Scientific, and I hope to complete my Master’s in Marketing and Management to prepare me for the next step in my career; without a doubt, I would choose UCC again.

Temitope Akinlade, UCC. Photo by Tomás Tyner, UCC Graduates of the id+ programme, UCC