Exciting times for students as UCC offers an alternative to Dublin

Cork has been renowned for industry and learning since St Finbarr and the early monks. Anne Byrne reportsEL 15, JANUARY 29TH, 2002UCC

Where Finbarr taught, let Munster follow. The monastery and school of learning of the patron saint of Cork, St Finbarr, were at Gill Abbey Rock, close to where UCC now stands, while the mill attached to the monastery is thought to have been located on the banks of the south channel of the river Lee, which runs through UCC's lower grounds. Hence the college motto.

Professor Malcolm Skilbeck, the author of a recent report entitled The University Challenged, would undoubtedly have approved of the juxtaposition of industry with learning achieved by the monks in times past.

Today, students and staff at UCC enjoy a beautiful if crowded campus on the banks of the Lee. The original gothic-revival buildings of the mid-1800s have been surrounded by large modern, often limestone-faced, edifices. The main 44-acre campus is augmented by land and buildings purchased and leased around the city.

The college's new 19,000 square metre IT building, to be built on the former greyhound track on Western Road, will be one of the largest academic buildings in Ireland. The department of computer science will have 1,000 students, making it the largest in the college. The new building will provide a meeting space for industry and the university as well as teaching space and incubation units for new businesses.

A school of nursing, to house more than 800 students, is in the offing. And the new biosciences institute should be complete in May.

In tandem with the development of its campus, UCC's research reputation has been growing steadily, as it continues to secure large tranches of funding under the two major State funding schemes, the PRTLI and SFI. In the last round of PRTLI funding, announced in December, it received €79.5 million, which will build a research library among other projects.

The National Microelectronics Research Centre, founded by the man who is now president of UCC, Prof Gerry Wrixon, puts it at the cutting edge in this field. The college also has a strong reputation in the areas of health and food sciences, IT and biosciences, as well as law and biosciences.

This latter will soon be augmented by a new school of pharmacy, which will admit 50 first-year students. There is talk of further expansion into paramedical course provision: perhaps, speech or occupational therapy or physiotherapy, all of which are Dublin-centred at present.

A new chair of art history (its first incumbent is Professor Alistair Rowan) has been established. An €10 million art gallery is in the offing.

When Wrixon was appointed president of UCC in 1999, he spelled out three aims: to improve the quality of teaching, the quality of research and the quality of life for students. The research aspiration is obviously being realised. And this, in turn, feeds into the other aspirations.

"I believe the best teaching is research-informed. One of the ways I try to improve the quality of teaching is to visit all 66 departments. I'm now on my second round of visits," he says.

"There are a lot of talented people on campus, many on Government committees, which is good. But I think sometimes that there is a feeling that the last thing on the agenda is teaching. I still teach my course to third-year electrical engineers. People should realise that nobody is too important to be involved in what is, after all, our most important function."

He is keen for students to participate in wider college life, including sports and social activities. The college has "fantastic outdoor sports facilities", with all-weather pitches and a running track. There is a state-of-the art gym and a 25 metre swimming pool.

Some 55 per cent of students take part in sporting activities. Wrixon would like to see this increased to 75 per cent. "I'm a real believer that if you get into good habits in your time in college, you will continue with them throughout life. I take seriously what the Department of Health says about young people drinking. Together with the students union, we have got rid of all drinks sponsorship. The proposed new 2,000 square-metre art gallery should be an important civic resource as well providing a resource for students. "I feel Cork has a wonderful opportunity of being an alternative node of development to Dublin. We have electronic, chemical and pharmaceutical industry here and we need a critical mass of cultural experience locally. It's important both at university and regional level," says Wrixon, as he flicks through a brochure with computer-generated images of the new building.

Meanwhile, accommodation continues to pose a problem for students. There are only 240 student beds directly controlled by the university. "I would like every first-year student, staying away from home, and every foreign student, to have the opportunity to stay in college-controlled accommodation. We would also like to provide accommodation for visiting staff and postgraduate students. We have plans for an additional 1,000 student beds over the next few years," says Wrixon.

Shortage of accommodation is one of the issues exercising the students union. Paul Kearney, president of the union, says it is campaigning for improved accommodation, improved facilities, a second college crèche and improvements to the maintenance grant. There is a waiting list of more than 200 people for the subsidised childcare provided by the crèche. Car parking is also an issue.

"At the minute, we're focusing on voter registration. The vast majority of the 13,000 students are eligible to vote. We are organising debates with different TDs and putting pressure on them to recognise the problems students face," he says.

These problems aside, Kearney is eager to reassure would-be students that UCC has a very friendly atmosphere. "The SU tries to get as many student involved in activities as possible," he adds, "I would definitely recommend UCC to students."