The Office of Student Life at DCU sent Students’ Union Officers to a conference in the United States for a third consecutive year last month.
The trip, which cost €1,500 per person, was to coincide with a regional conference of the Association of College Unions International.
The ACUI is an educational organisation of college unions and student activities professionals from schools in a number of countries including Great Britain and Ireland.
The participants this year included OSL Manager, Una Redmond; SU President, Aaron Clogher; and Vice-President for Education, Ciarán O’Connor.
The trip lasted four days with the conference taking place in Wesleyan University, Connecticut. The ACUI Region One Conference has become popular amongst student leaders with those attending from UCC, DIT and UL alongside DCU this year.
Speaking to The College View, Aaron Clogher said: “I learned a lot from the trip. A lot of this will inform the needs analysis for the Hub refurbishment. The focus of the OSL has reflected the ethos of the non-commercial aspect of the American model.”
When queried further about the American model, Clogher said: “The focus is taken away from the commercial aspect and is more about providing student focused services and activities.”
The SU officers also added that the trip was a very positive one for them as it had practical discussions and was also a great opportunity to network with other Students’ Unions in the UK and Ireland.
A report on the trip is to be presented at the next meeting of Class Rep Council.
Seán Cassidy
Leave a Reply