DCUSU NEWSLETTER - SEMESTER ONE WEEK SEVEN
Hi all,
We've made it to week 7!
Thanks to all who attended our 'DCUSU Mental Health Week' events! I hope you enjoyed the week as much as we did. From tips and tricks for managing your own mental health and advice on the services that are available to you, we hope the week had something catered for everyone!
Congratulations to all of the 'On the Spot' prize winners throughout the week too!
As always, make sure we're continuing to check in with each-other, that we are doing everything to keep our own body and mind good! It's important we all know when to switch off and relax.
Thanks to all of the entries into our DCUSU Art Competition and congratulations to all of the winners!
Four Weeks of Festive Fun are just around the corner.
From 23rd Nov to 18th December there will be Weekly Competition
with some AMAZING prizes to be won!!
Check out our social media for more information on what we've in store for you all this week!
The U Building, the Main Restaurant on the Glasnevin Campus, and the Main Restaurant on our St. Patrick’s campus will continue to be open for students who are on campus to have lunch and to be warm, dry and comfortable. The U Building will also be open late on Tuesdays and Thursdays until 11pm to allow for extra space on campus for students.
Your SU is asking everyone to be mindful of Covid guidelines when availing of these areas, we are all in this together!
There will be additional spaces in both the Cregan Library and the John & Aileen O'Reilly Library available too as we get to the busy side of semester 1!
Your Students' Union will continue to work tirelessly to ensure any of your concerns, needs and questions are answered, catered for, or at the very least point you in the correct direction.
Make sure to keep in touch with us here in the Students' Union, we are here to help!
Contact your team here:
President - Fearghal@dcusu.ie
VP for Academic Affairs - Lucien@dcusu.ie
VP for Education and Placement - Chloe@dcusu.ie
VP for Engagement and Development - Dylan@dcusu.ie
VP for Welfare and Equality - Dean@dcusu.ie
Learn more about the full SU team who are here to represent you!
Head to the 'DCU101' section of our website for all the information you might need!
As always,
Keep safe, be nice and let’s look after each other,
Fearghal
DCUSU President
CLUBS AND SOCS
The Clubs and Socs Virtual Fair will be live every Wednesday, starting next week, giving you the opportunity to chat to committee members and learn more about each club and society! Make sure to create your account here so you can get involved!
YOUR UNION
STUDENTS' UNION BY-ELECTIONS AUTUMN 2020
RUN FOR ELECTION 2020 - NOMINATIONS ARE NOW OPEN!
Want to improve student life? Interested in making a difference at DCU? Why not consider running for election for one of our part-time voluntary roles? Being an officer on the Students' Union is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
What roles are available?
We have a number of voluntary positions available which you can do alongside your studies.
These are:
Science and Health Faculty Representative
Clubs Officer
Societies Officer
Anyone who is a student at Dublin City University can nominate themselves for a position, regardless of your year of study or what campus you are based on.
*For the faculty representative position only, you must be a student in the faculty of Science & Health.
For all the information you might need, head to https://www.dcusu.ie/su-elections-1
Who is my Class Rep?
Check out our Class Rep Hub to find your Class Rep. Don't worry if your class doesn't have a rep, elections are ongoing and this list will be continually updated. Stay tuned!
Got any questions? Pop Dylan@dcusu.ie an email!
HELPFUL INFORMATION
Finance: The Student Assistance Fund has been undergoing maintenance. The deadline for SAF is Nov 18th, however, if maintenance issues continue this will be accounted for. Apply for the SAF.
Accommodation: DCUSU have met with Campus Res to discuss life on campus during Level 5 (including refunds). Please get in touch with dean@dcusu.ie if you are struggling with your time in Campus Res. A reminder to keep yourselves safe and not have guests in your accommodation.
Sexual Health: Free STI services are still running during level 5. Locations of centres across the country. More information including how to get free condoms by post. Free pregnancy tests here.
Harm Reduction: We have sent out all orders of drug-purity testing kits. Available here. A reminder that students seeking addiction help or medical intervention for overdose can do so without prosecution, even during COVID-19.
GP Services: Appointments with the GP or Nurse must be first booked by phone or email.
- Glasnevin Campus - (01) 700 5143 or email - healthservices@dcu.ie.
- St Patricks / All Hallows Campus: (01) 700 9215 or email spd.healthcentre@dcu.ie.
There are many GPs linked with DCU who offer discounts for students. Information here.Mental Health: Students can always free text ‘HELLO’ to 50808 to be connected with a trained counsellor. More mental health information including free DCU Counselling here.
School Placement: If you are sourcing a school for placement, keep track of the schools you have contacted. If the deadline is soon and you are struggling to find a school, you can contact the School Placement Office and include this log
These are spaces for:
Students who have to be on campus for practical classes who are in between classes, and/or have to take synchronous lectures
Additional study space capacity
Indoor space for students to wait for transport home
Indoor managed spaces for students to eat food when on campus
Each space has revised layouts and modified capacities.
The U Building on our Glasnevin Campus will be remaining open late on Tuesday's and Thursday's until 11pm to provide additional study space for students!
Practice Safe Six
Please adhere to all public health guidelines while at home and on campus!
The DCU Little Things are 10 key messages around the little things you can do every day to support your own or a friend's mental health and wellbeing. These messages are based on feedback from you, a real DCU student!
This week's message is:
Filter your social media - the content that appears on your screen can have a significant impact on your mental health and wellbeing. If you see something that makes you feel bad about yourself, unfollow, block or mute the account!
Each week we will share a DCU Little Things message across DCUSU and DCU Healthy social media platforms. We hope these messages encourage you to do the little things to support your wellbeing.
Have you engaged in First Year Check-in at DCU?
Over 250 of our first-year students have already downloaded the app - getting involved is easy, just go to your app store (Android OR IOS) and search for AthenaCX
Once downloaded, you can participate in short weekly app-based surveys focusing on how you are adjusting to university life around three key areas of self-confidence, belongingness and engagement. You can also monitor your weekly scores through the app and see how you are progressing from week to week. Your individual scores are confidential, but DCU will use the collective weekly data to provide you with suggestions around ways to improve your level of self-confidence, belongingness and engagement for a more enhanced first-year experience.
Further information and weekly updates are available through your My DCU portal.
Queries relating to the Student Experience should be directed to studentsupport@dcu.ie and technical queries to celine.heffernan@dcu.ie
Check out our Student Leap Card Service here.
Are you a student involved in the Arts?
Applications for the Arts Bursary are now open!
The closing date for applications is the 11th of December at 5PM. For more information on what the Arts Bursary is and how to apply, see here.
Connect with DCU Careers Service at MyCareer.dcu.ie!
The Careers Service is now at your fingertips with our new careers platform!
You can look for jobs, book appointments with our Careers Consultants and register for Careers Events, so log-in now and complete your profile on MyCareer.dcu.ie
UPCOMING EVENTS
Make sure to keep an eye on our social media for upcoming events throughout the week!
The Club Life Committee (CLC) and Society Life Committee (SLC) are offering free yoga classes for Club and Society members. The class will be held on Wednesdays at 12.05-12.55 from next week (18th Nov) and each Wednesday until the end of the semester.
To sign up for this free yoga class, please complete this form if you have not previously attended online yoga in DCU and your name will then be added to the list.
If you have already completed a form for online yoga in DCU, please email dcuyoga@gmail.com to sign up.
A calendar invite containing the Zoom link will be sent to everyone who has signed up by 10am on Wednesday.
Check out all of the events our Clubs and Societies have on next week here. There are plenty of opportunities to get involved!
Have you got an entrepreneurial idea and are looking for help? UStart is here to assist, so reach out to Terence Bowden (terence.bowden@dcu.ie) and tell us about your idea during our Startup Clinic on Wednesday's from 10am to 12noon.
Zoom links below:
18th November
25th November
Mindfulness Series:
Self-Care - A core resource to Resilience: Session 4
Monday the 16th November 2020 1-2pm
Online Workshop
Open to: All DCU Students & Staff
Click here to register for the online event using your DCU staff or student email address
Easing Low Mood: Session 2
Wednesday the 18th November 2020 1-2pm
Online Workshop
Open to: All DCU Students
Click here to register for the online event using your DCU student email address
Enhance your employability this year by taking part in the DCU Career and Workplace Skills Programme!
This online programme of skills sessions is facilitated by the DCU Careers Service and covers a range of topics from exploring your career options and learning key workplace skills, to developing an understanding of employer recruitment processes.
Participants who complete five Career and Workplace Skills Sessions throughout the year (including the mandatory session ‘Using the DCU Graduate Attributes to Enhance Your Employabilty’ on December 2nd) will receive a certificate of achievement.
This is a great opportunity to develop your employability skills and make your CV stand out!
For more information and to register for upcoming sessions please visit here.
TURN YOUR SMART IDEA INTO A GREAT BUSINESS
Enterprise Ireland's Student Entrepreneurship Awards are back with the first webinar taking place on the 25th November.
Participating student teams are in with a chance to win cash prizes totalling €35,000 in addition to receiving business consultancy advice from Enterprise Ireland and the programme sponsors. If your interested contact Terence.Bowden@dcu.ie and check out the website.
