University of Limerick

Civic Engagement at University of Limerick

The aims of University of Limerick's (UL) civic engagement project are as follows:

1. Conduct an audit of civic engagement activities in which UL staff and/or students are involved.
2. Improve the quality of the UL student experience by providing enriching and meaningful opportunities to engage with the community.
3. Strengthen connections between UL, Limerick and the wider community by means of civic engagement projects and initiatives.
4. Provide opportunities and support for postgraduates to conduct research in the field of civic engagement and/or sustainable development.
5. Encourage and support service learning and education for sustainable development in UL.

By means of our audit, staff of the Centre for Teaching & Learning have identified over 95 civic engagement activities in which UL staff and/or students are involved. These activities range from campus-based initiatives such as the UL Farmers Market to projects in Nepal, Uganda and South Africa. Some, such as Earth Hour 2009, are brief; others have been alive for 11 years or more. Over 800 members of the UL community are or have been involved in these activities.

In June 2009, twenty members of UL community attended the Campus Engage conference at Croke Park. Twelve presentations highlighted aspects of UL's engagement with the community, such as the Access Campus in one of Limerick's regeneration areas, the partnership between UL's School of Architecture and Limerick City, and UL's groundbreaking Traveller Initiative.

UL is known for its highly successful Cooperative Education programme, through which students in every discipline spend a semester working in a field related to their area of study. The Centre for Teaching & Learning is currently collaborating with voluntary organisations and members of UL's Cooperative Education Department to integrate civic engagement opportunities into the Coop programme. Spring 2010 will see a pilot version of the programme with a limited number of students placed. In 2010-2011 we will work with faculty in a number of disciplines to incorporate community-based project work into courses taken by students just before their Coop experience; students may opt to broaden the community-based relationships from their coursework into a Coop placement, thus strengthening the bonds between the student, the University and the community.

In 2009, UL launched a BSc degree programme in Energy that will provide students with the scientific and technical expertise to address the largest issues of the 21st century: energy sustainability, energy control and climate change. In Spring semester 2010, the university's first interdisciplinary module will be offered to these students; the course will be team taught by members of several faculties across the university. The Centre for Teaching & Learning is working with the module's coordinating team, and looking at ways of integrating service learning elements into the module to enrich the students' learning experience.

There are almost unlimited opportunities for UL to engage with the Limerick community, particularly in light of the Limerick Regeneration project. However, findings to date suggest that UL's engagement needs to be more targeted, coordinated and sustainable. The civic engagement initiative has the potential to help the university refine and improve the nature of its engagement with the community.

Soweto Connection

Soweto Connection was established by UL staff member Sheila Killian and her husband after they went on sabbatical to South Africa to volunteer with groups in the townships. The groups had no access to international funds. Sheila realised that women in communities know what they need, they just need a leg up. When Sheila returned to UL she sent out an e-mail asking if people wanted to contribute to help people in South Africa deal with the AIDS epidemic. She was overwhelmed by response. Sheila feels that there is terrific support because there is no overhead - all the money goes directly to people in need.

Sean Setting out!

MBA student Sean McGowan, setting out to row solo across the Atlantic to raise money for a new nutrition and educare centre in Khayelitsha township near Cape Town, through Soweto connection.

Sheila and John

Sheila and her husband John Lannon working with kids in a school garden outside Grahamstown on the Eastern cape. The project involves a school garden where the kids learn the lost skills of growing vegetables, which can be harvested 10 months of the year there. Students make a soup of the vegetables for themselves, which is great for the kids who get to school with no breakfast, or sometimes no dinner the night before.

Jane Toomey in Nepal

Nepal

UL staff member Jane Toomey with friends in Nepal. Jane spends 5-6 weeks/year in Nepal and volunteers in Everest English School in a remote village 2 days' bus ride from Kathmandu. The school was built in 2008 by the villagers, who took time away from their farms during construction - local women made 40,000 bricks for the school! Jane helps 8 teachers teach English and reading to 160 children, some of whom travel long distances to attend the school. Most parents have no formal education, so they are unable to help their children learn to read and write. Jane also brings books donated by individuals and groups in Ireland, to add to the school's resources.

UL African Volunteers

UL African Volunteers was born after the 2004 tsunami when Richie Hennessey, who has taught Material Science in UL for over 25 years, promised a young friend he would do something to help. After going to Sri Lanka three times, Riche connected with a Ugandan priest doing a Masters in English in UL, who asked whether UL students and staff would be interested in building a school in his country. In summer 2008, 19 members of the UL community raised €60,000 euros to donate to the school; finished out 4 classrooms, offices, bathrooms and a dining room; and planted 2500 trees. In 2009 another group from UL set up a vocational centre for woodwork, leatherwork and metalwork, as well as helping in a local health clinic.

UL 2008

2008 - A UL student works with Ugandan friends clearing ground for the new school.

UL 2009

2009 - A UL student gives out pills at a local health clinic.

Nomad Project

The Nomad project funded by the HEA (Higher education Authority) aims to honour the music cultures of the Traveller Community at the University of Limerick. The project facilitates community outreach programmes, workshops and seminars and has a wide educational remit. In doing so Community Musicians and students from the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance deliver workshops and teach on a variety of projects. Both new and old materials have been exchanged, creating a strong link for those involved in delivering the programmes as well as the Traveller Community.

For further programme activities contact Julie Tiernan julie.tiernan@ul.ie

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