RTE’s Miriam O’Callaghan launches Volunteer Day at Institute of Technology Carlow. The event saw 25 local, national and international voluntary organisations showcase their work at information stands throughout the college. Students and staff alike were encouraged to use the opportunity to join one or more voluntary group and give back to the community.
In her address to the students and visitors, Dr. Patricia Mulcahy commented, “Education is about developing - socially and personally - as well as academically, so we can take our place in society and make a positive and meaningful contribution”,
Arriving at Institute of Technology Carlow, Miriam O’Callaghan went on a tour of the facilities, including the Dargan Centre and new Haughton Building. She was full of praise for the Institute’s facilities, in particular the TV studios, saying, “I was in the Primetime studios at RTE last night and there is no difference between that and your own studios so congratulations on your great facilities”.
The RTE broadcaster spoke about the importance of giving back to the community and praised the students for their great work as active citizens. Ms. O’Callaghan went on to take part in an informal Q&A session with students undertaking the Media & Public Relations degree course at the Institute and attended lunch with members of staff, before departing in the afternoon.
The launch of Volunteer Day at Institute of Technology Carlow came just as news filtered through that an original tech platform, developed at the Institute to facilitate refugee inclusion, took the top honors at the second annual Creative Minds social entrepreneurship hackathon sponsored by the U.S. Embassy and Intel in partnership with the DCU Ryan Academy October. Líonra, led by Institute of Technology Carlow student Sinéad Ní Bhrolcháin, is a peer-to-peer platform that facilities refugee integration through skills exchange and knowledge sharing. Lionra took top honours after a 48-hour hackathon, comprising 100 young innovators from 14 different countries competed to develop ground-breaking solutions to promote refugee inclusion, integration, and self-reliance.
Special mentions were also given at the launch of Volunteer Day, by both Dr. Mulcahy and Miriam O’Callaghan, to students Shane Griffin and Zamiya Mooge. Shane Griffin was winner last year of the Institute of Technology Carlow President’s Volunteer Award which was established in association with UNUM and Carlow Volunteer Centre to support the contribution that students at Institute of Technology Carlow make to their communities. Shane, who graduated from Institute of Technology Carlow with an honours degree in Applied Social Studies, volunteered with the Irish Care Leavers Network. Zamiya Mooge, this year’s winner of the President’s Volunteer Award, has volunteered with: The African Diaspora Youth Network in Europe; The National Youth Council as an Ambassador for the No Hate Speech movement and with Youth Platform Project in Ireland.
Volunteer Day was held in conjunction with Carlow Volunteer Centre’s (CVC) 10th anniversary. In her speech, Dr. Patricia Mulcahy congratulated Carlow Volunteer Centre on its 10th anniversary and thanked Regina Duane and team for their great work. She extended her thanks to the organisers of Volunteer Day, in particular Martin Meagher, Head of the Department of Business at IT Carlow, Pauline Madigan, Lecturer in Media and Public Relations at IT Carlow and Father Martin Smith, the Institute’s Chaplain.
Dr. Mulcahy also highlighted the Institute’s High Performance Entry Scheme which makes out-of-class achievements in active citizenship count towards a place in college. The initiative is the only initiative of its kind in the country to specifically reward aspiring third-level students for outstanding citizenship.
For further information, contact: Alma Feeley, Institute of Technology Carlow.
e: alma.feeley@midaspr.com m: 087 8204934/059 9175098
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RTE’s Miriam O’Callaghan launches Volunteer Day at Institute of Technology Carlow
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