Dr. Wesley O'Brien, is a Senior Lecturer in Physical Education and Coaching Science, working in the School of Education, at University College Cork (UCC) since 2014. He is the Programme Director for the B.Ed. in Physical Education, Sports Studies and Arts Degree at UCC, and is currently supervising postgraduate research in the fields of physical education, wellbeing, physical activity, physical literacy and sport participation. Wesley is an active researcher and is an advocate for increasing physical literacy through projects such as the All-Island Physical Literacy Consensus Statement, Y-PATH PE4Me, Sport for Life, Project Spraoi, Gaelic for Girls, Gaelic for Mothers and Others, and Coach Project FLAME.

This research has seen Wesley present at many national and international conferences, alongside submitting his research to high impact journals on topics that explore levels of physical literacy among school-goers (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=tnPIP28AAAAJ&hl=en).

Wesley has externally and internally assessed many postgraduate research students at oral examination level, and has been a nominated external examiner at postgraduate and undergraduate degree level for other institutions outside of UCC. Wesley is a current Gaelic Games player at club level, and is actively involved in Gaelic Games coaching across Cork.  

Approach as Mentor

I would like to provide mentees with the opportunities to discuss their ambitions at UCC, specifically discussing areas within one's career that might be in need of future development (often these discussions might focus on the criteria for promotion or progression). Given my background in education and coaching, I will ensure that all mentoring episodes are a safe and confidential space for colleagues to talk. I strongly believe that one our greatest assets as people is our ability to connect with individuals on a human level.

Type of Mentoring Offered:

1:1 Mentoring - Longer term relationship (1 year plus).

1:1 Mentoring - Short term relationship (6 months or less).

Speed Mentoring - One meeting to address specific mentee need.

Panel Mentoring - Mentoring with 1 to 2 other panel members - Longer term relationship (1 year plus).

Panel Mentoring - Mentoring with 1 to 2 other panel members - Short term relationship (6 months or less).

Mentoring Topics Include: Advising Students, Student Engagement, Enhancing Student Learning Experiences, Collaborative Research, Preparing Articles for Publication, Choosing Where to Publish - Publishing Strategically, Developing an Academic Profile, Research and Professional Ethics, Team Working, Grading & Assessing Student Work, Career Development, Academic Leadership, Speaking at Conferences.