UL CAO Offers

CAO offers were issued to Leaving Cert students on Monday morning in 76 degree courses offered at UL. Overall, points required for most courses stayed roughly at the same level as last year, with no dramatic rises in points required for any course. Some courses had a large fall in points required for entry, with requirements for Electronic Engineering dropping significantly, from 460 to 395.

Courses in Law Plus, designed to completely replace Law & European Studies this time next year, Journalism & New Media, Civil Engineering as well as Politics & International Relations have been offered at undergraduate level for the first time. New students will begin their orientation week on September 2nd, with classes beginning on September 8th.

Red Cross camp

Over sixty Red Cross members from across Europe took part in an International Red Cross Youth Camp at UL last week, the first event of its type to be held in Ireland since 1989.

Participants examined the humanitarian work of the Red Cross nationally and internationally, paying particular attention to the challenges being faced across the world and the contribution young people can make to address these challenges. Recognising the major contribution to be made by young people to the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement, the idea of young people finding their own solutions was stressed in an environment of promoting cultural understanding.

Attending the camp, Stephen Ryan, communications officer for youth volunteers and organisational development at the Red Cross in Geneva said “Through the participation of young volunteers at this event it is clear to see that young people understand the humanitarian challenges to be overcome in the world, both today and tomorrow, and are eager to contribute to the solutions”.

Glaciologists at UL

UL is this week hosting 94 members of the International Glaciological Society, taking part in a major international conference on dynamics in glaciology. While the closest most Irish people will come to a glacier is at their local cinema or on a skiing holiday, experts will present conference papers examining historical and future glacier movement in locations as diverse as Greenland, the Himalayas, Switzerland, Antarctica and China, while examining the nature of major ice sheets and their impact on world climate.

The conference was opened on Monday with addresses from UL President Don Barry and Eric Brun, President of the International Glaciology Society.

Today, conference attendees are on a field trip to the Burren in County Clare, of interest to glaciologists due to its extensive limestone pavement network, formed largely by glacial erosion.