It was a source of great comfort and hope to many people around the world last week that a Covid-19 vaccine, jointly developed by pharmaceutical company Pfizer and technology company BioNTech, was said to be ‘90% effective.’ The vaccine is undergoing Phase 3 trials at the moment. It was even a further beacon of hope…
The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) launched a powerful environmental campaign over the past week. USI, which is the national representative body for students in Ireland with over 374,000 members launched Plastic Reduction Week with results from a study that focused on Ireland’s contribution to plastic harming the environment and contributing to climate change….
According to a new University College Cork (UCC) report released at the beginning of November, Ireland is falling behind in the fight against obesity. Some 300,000 children in Ireland are now classified as obese. Leaders in public health have cited findings from the study in the past few days; using it to highlight steps that…
The crisis in mental health—especially men’s mental health—predates the pandemic, but it’s impact has compounded the levels of anxiety, depression and other issues dealt with by people across the country. This November, the moustache-growing charity Movember has embraced the digital world of COVID-19 and wants to have a conversation about men’s health with a profound…
The UCC Class of 2020 has been addressed by An Taoiseach Micheál Martin as they graduated through virtual conferring ceremonies this week and last. Almost 5,000 students graduated in the Autumn Conferrings, moved from the Devere Hall to a livestream on the university website as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. There were twenty-six dedicated…
The sudden onset of Covid-19 in early March required a rapid re-think of how normal assessment processes would work from home. Temporary measures were put in place to address the added pressure of the pandemic to the summer exam season, but UCC has made the decision to rescind such measures for this academic year. In…
The Sunday Times released their annual “Good University Guide” on November 2nd 2020. The supplement, which accompanied the main paper, details a league table with the top nineteen third level colleges ranked against one another. For the second year in a row, UCC has achieved a second place ranking in the guide. Universities are ranked…
The 2020 American Presidential Election in Ireland was defined by five days spent in front of the television, watching the much anticipated results roll in to ‘The Magic Wall’ on CNN. The result of the votes in the Electoral College was projected by CNN on Saturday at 11:28am ET as the voice of the American…
Last semester, the method of testing students migrated from the seated rows of exam halls to the space of one’s own bedroom as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. With this necessary distancing between students and superintendents, came a further distance from the usual observation and close inspection of an exam hall. The Union of…
As the university campus and accommodations emptied on March 12th upon the announcement of a global pandemic and college closure, the international student population had more decisions to make than the average student – how to get home, and how to return to UCC when or if the need arose. Students from overseas make up…