Northern Ireland

Usual rites of passage of college life `have to be reimagined'

Student Tom O'Connor, Prof Pól Ó Dochartaigh, student Nomhle Dube and Prof Michelle Millar, Dean of Students
Student Tom O'Connor, Prof Pól Ó Dochartaigh, student Nomhle Dube and Prof Michelle Millar, Dean of Students Student Tom O'Connor, Prof Pól Ó Dochartaigh, student Nomhle Dube and Prof Michelle Millar, Dean of Students

STUDENTS embarking on university life have been told the usual rites of passage will have to be reimagined.

Belfast-born academic Prof Pól Ó Dochartaigh, the Deputy President of NUI Galway, said change was needed to keep people safe.

NUI Galway reopened this week to welcome its first year students to a three-day dedicated online and on-campus orientation.

All students and teaching staff will return to a blended teaching model from next week.

The university has undertaken significant measures to encourage new behaviours on campus that it said were necessary for everyone to work together to keep students, staff and the wider community safe.

"As we begin an academic year like no other, our top priority is obviously the safety of our community, both on-campus and locally," Prof Ó Dochartaigh said.

"For various reasons, an online only model will not suit many students, and we are doing our utmost to deliver a safe blended teaching model, so students get the best possible learning experience.

"This group of students carry a responsibility that no other group has had to bear before them, as the usual rites of passage of college life will have to be reimagined, so that we can keep each other safe. We are asking our community to work with us to make that happen."

As with every community in Ireland, Prof Ó Dochartaigh added, NUI Galway had been impacted by Covid-19.

"The university orientation is heavily focused on the safe behaviours required to be a student during this pandemic and to remind the community of the severity of the illness," he said.