NUI Galway will hold an Information Evening from 7 to 9pm on Thursday, 20 January in the Temple Gate Hotel, The Square, Ennis, Co Clare. This event is for students who are considering applying to NUI Galway and for their parents or guardians. The Information Evening will commence with a series of short talks about NUI Galway and the courses on offer. Current students and representatives from the five colleges of the University will be on hand at information stands to answer any questions visitors may have. "This is an excellent opportunity to talk to representatives from all of NUI Galway's Colleges about the subjects of interest. It is also a chance to find out about practical issues like accommodation, fees, scholarships and new programmes on offer", said Caroline Loughnane, Director of Marketing and Communications at NUI Galway. Ms Loughnane added: "Choosing a University is one of the most important decisions in a young person's life, and we offer a University with a strong reputation for top quality teaching and a proven track record in producing graduates with the right mix of skills and knowledge to succeed in an increasingly uncertain job market." NUI Galway continues to increase its number of undergraduate applications with an increase in the order of 18 per cent in CAO first preference applications over the last two years. NUI Galway's increased popularity is in part due to a whole suite of innovative new programmes, developed in response to the changing needs of the employment market, including an Energy Engineering degree, eight BA CONNECT programmes and a Math and Education degree aimed at training Maths teachers. To find out more about the Information Evening in Ennis, contact NUI Galway's Schools Liaison Office, Celine O Donovan, Schools Liaison Office on 087 2391219 or celine.odonovan@nuigalway.ie. -Ends-

The Centre for Irish Studies at NUI Galway will host a series of Sean-Nós Singing workshops from late January until the end of March. The workshops will be led by Sean-Nós Singer-in-Residence Treasa Ní Mhiolláin, who has an international reputation in the sean-nós song tradition, and in 1996 won the prestigious Sean-nós Cois Life award and has twice won the coveted Corn Uí Riada award. The workshops will take place at the Centre for Irish Studies on Distillery Road at 7pm each Tuesday, beginning on 25 January. The workshops are free of charge and everyone is welcome to attend. This project is funded by Ealaín na Gaeltachta, Údarás na Gaeltachta and An Chomhairle Ealaíon in association with the Centre for Irish Studies at NUI Galway. For further details, contact Samantha Williams at 091 492051 or samantha.williams@nuigalway.ie -Ends-

The official launch of NUI Galway's Medical Academy at Letterkenny General Hospital took place last week. Letterkenny General Hospital (LGH) has been chosen as a step-out clinical site for the education of Medical Students from NUI Galway. From last week, 20 third year Medical Students will carry out one full year of their training at the hospital, studying the same curriculum as their classmates based on the campus of Galway University Hospitals (GUH). Both GUH and LGH will use Internet and video-conferencing facilities to facilitate linkages between the centres including multidisciplinary meetings, joint lectures, tutorials and discussion groups. In September, 40 medical students in their 4th and 5th years of training will be based at Letterkenny General Hospital. Professor Fidelma Dunne, Head of School of Medicine, NUI Galway carried out the official opening of the academy as part of the induction day for the students and members of the Medical Academy. The medical students and multidisciplinary staff attended the event from the hospital. Short presentations were made by the Directors of Medical Education at LGH, Dr Joanne Kearney and Dr Brian Callaghan. Also by Sean Murphy, General Manager, LGH and Barry O Callaghan, Medical Student. The arrival of the students provides Letterkenny General Hospital with an opportunity to forge a permanent relationship with a University, which offers advantages for patient care due to the sharing of resources in the areas of research and education training. Dr Joanne Kearney commented, "This is a very welcome development and I believe the relationship will be beneficial also in ultimately attracting doctors of the highest calibre to seek permanent positions at the hospital. I look forward to enhancing the links with NUI Galway in the future". Dr Brian Callaghan said, "This is a new and historic journey for the hospital which has been transformed into a University teaching hospital; the Medical Academy is a catalyst for future development of medical education in the hospital". ENDS

The Business German in Ireland Working Group has been announced as the winner of the Kuratorium Award for 2010. The group includes three NUI Galway lecturers, Doris Devilly, lecturer and coordinator of the B.Comm (German) programme at NUI Galway; Dr. Deirdre Byrnes (Law and German) and Aine Ryan (German). This award is presented annually by the Kuratorium (Board of Trustees) of the German-Irish Chamber of Commerce to groups, individuals or organisations that have made a special contribution to the furthering of German-Irish relations in Ireland. This year's recipients are a group of third level teachers of Business German with representatives from most Irish universities (including NUI Galway), institutes of technology and other third level colleges as well as the Goethe Institute. They were presented with the award for their ongoing work of promoting German in Ireland and the importance of language learning in such an export dependent economy. Doris Devilly, lecturer and coordinator of the B.Comm (German) programme in NUI Galway and one of the founding members of the Business German in Ireland Working Group, added: "Graduates who have completed a combined degree programme with Commerce and German are highly employable, even in the current job market. In the larger European context it is clear that high quality graduates with an excellent knowledge of German language and business culture can make significant contribution to German-Irish relations and are essential to Ireland's economic recovery." According to one graduate of NUI Galway's Commerce and German degree: "Germany is the economic powerhouse within the EU and plays an important part in the Irish economy. I feel that having studied Commerce with German, I now have a greater professional scope and more career opportunities than general Commerce graduates. German is currently one of the most wanted business languages internationally and by being able to speak it a greater variety of job offers is now available to me. I am more than happy to have chosen Commerce with German and would advise any business student with an interest in a language to consider the same course." The Business German in Ireland Working Group was founded in 2001 and will celebrate its 10th anniversary next year. To coincide with this anniversary, it will be launching a website which will contain material for teachers, students and business people as well as advertising opportunities for student bursaries. -Ends-

NUI Galway will launch the Going to College Project, an inclusive education initiative to support the civic engagement of persons with intellectual disabilities, on Monday, 17 January 2011. Registrar and Deputy-President, Professor Nollaig Mac Congáil will officially launch the project which will take place at 11am in the Bailey Allen Hall on campus. Conor Pope, TV Presenter, journalist with The Irish Times and NUI Galway graduate, will be Master of Ceremonies for the event. Through a University/community partnership, the UNESCO Chair in Children, Youth and Civic Engagement, NUI Galway, the Community Knowledge Initiative, NUI Galway and the National Federation of Voluntary Bodies are leading this innovative project. The project is also supported by the HSE. The aim of the two-year project is to support the civic engagement of persons with an intellectual disability through access to inclusive higher education at NUI Galway. Students with an intellectual disability will chose to study particular subjects (or subject modules) they are interested in and will be individually supported to participate in classes with their peers in the University. Students will also be supported to volunteer in their own community, get involved in community activities and community projects, experience internships in departments at NUI Galway, undertake external work placements linked with their area of study and participate and engage in college clubs and societies. There will be a flexible accreditation process to acknowledge each student's individual achievement, resulting in a Certificate in Arts and Civic Studies. Professor Pat Dolan, UNESCO Chair for Children, Youth and Civic Engagement and Director Child and Family Research Centre, NUI Galway explained: "This pilot will provide an opportunity for the students to fully engage with college life, develop social connections with their peers and harness the knowledge and skills to determine their own future." The project will also include collaborations with other Universities both nationally and internationally. Bruce Uditsky and E.Anne Hughson from the Alberta Association of Community Living (AACL) /University of Calgary will attend the launch. AACL have been involved in the development of inclusive higher education for persons with intellectual disabilities for over 20 years in Alberta, Canada. As part of their visit, they will provide workshops for academic staff at NUI Galway, for parents and families and for service providers. The project will also be supported by a number of community and employer patrons including Mary O'Malley, poet and writer; Padraig O'Ceidigh, CEO Aer Arann and Tina Roche, CEO Business in the Community. Conor Pope will also be patron of the project. Recruitment and selection for the Going to College pilot programme will take place during February/March/April 2011. ENDS