Innovation in Action in UCC: International Office Swap Shop

26 Jun 2023

With sustainability and the cost-of-living crisis at the forefront of peoples’ minds, many are searching for ways to reduce waste while saving money. This applies particularly to UCC’s community of 4,000 international students, of whom 2,000 arrive in Cork each semester for a short-term stay. 

Short-term students who study at UCC for one semester often arrive with only one suitcase and come in search of duvets and kitchen appliances among other everyday items. Natalie O’ Byrne, Senior Executive Assistant with UCC’s International Office became aware of the enormous waste and cost implication of this and through her innovative thinking came up with a solution - Ireland’s first university swap-shop for international students.

In 2018 after reading a book about living a more consumer conscious life, Natalie O’ Byrne decided to make some changes to become more sustainable in her own life. She rescued some battery hens, began making her own bread and jam and generally tried to be more aware of her carbon footprint. She brought this awareness to the International Office at UCC and removed excess rubbish bins and introduced recycling bins to the office. However, she still felt that she could do more, and began to think about how she could bring sustainability to the International Office on a larger scale, while contributing at a grassroots level to help further UCC’s sustainability mission. “Two thousand international students arrive to UCC each semester and accumulate a lot of stuff over the term. From rain gear to camping equipment, duvets to Halloween costumes, these items were not going back home with the students but instead being thrown into landfills.”

After identifying a shed at the back of the International Office building that was suitable for holding bedding, clothes and appliance donations and pitching the idea of a pop-up shop to her colleagues, Natalie got the go-ahead to open up UCC’s Swap Shop for International students – the first of its kind in Ireland. With support from her manager Suzanne Buckley, International Student Support Officer, a call was put out to students and staff alike to donate items. Before long, the swap shop’s doors were opened to UCC’s International student cohort – with the shop being cleared out in thirteen minutes!

“People are finding things tougher and more expensive with the cost-of-living crisis. The swap shop meets a need for UCC’s international students who have little money to spend on home comforts during their time in Cork, and takes the pressure off them. When the students arrive, they donate €3 (over €1000 has been raised for local animal charity Cork D.A.W.G.) and take home whatever they can carry. Most of these items are returned to the swap shop at the end of the term, contributing to the circular economy.” The circular economy is a system that aims to minimise waste and maximise the use of resources by continuously reusing, recycling and regenerating materials.

Natalie is a firm believer in small seeds springing big ideas and UCC’s Swap Shop is testament to that belief. She has just returned from a staff Erasmus Training week in Alanya HEP University, Turkey, where she was selected as one of 70 peers from across Europe, out of 200+ applications, to present to the University and her peers about the Swap Shop. Furthermore, on a recent walk through Cork City she noticed that a local business had also taken her idea and ran with their own adaptation of a swap shop for the community. The initiative has also just received €1000 in funding from Cork City Council through their Waste Prevention Grant, which provides funding to voluntary or community groups or schools for waste prevention/reuse/repair/upcycling projects in their local community.

The International Office put out calls for donations from UCC staff throughout the year on their Facebook account and on WorkVivo. Most items are accepted once they are in good condition, including bedding, soft furnishings, pillows, kitchen items and toiletries. As well as donating items to the Swap Shop when the calls go out, Natalie simply wants UCC staff to become more eco-conscious. “We all have a part to play in terms of becoming more environmentally conscious. All actions make a difference, no matter how small. If you make a change, you never know who it might inspire and in turn, create a ripple effect.”

Watch Natalie speak about the Swap Shop initiative here.

The International Office’s Swap Shop is just one of many examples of innovative activity taking place throughout the UCC Campus. If you are engaging in innovative activity in UCC, or know of a colleague/student who is adding to the entrepreneurial and innovation space on campus, we would love to hear from you! Please email snolan@ucc.ie to get in touch and to be featured in our Innovation in Action series.