Welcome from the Head of College

19 Oct 2022

Dear College of Science, Engineering and Food Science (SEFS), Staff and Students, our new academic year is now well underway and I hope it is proving enjoyable, energising and rewarding.

It is wonderful to experience the sense of energy and excitement on campus once again as our students return to their lectures and practicals after the summer and I want to thank again all the College staff who ensured that our College achieved as close as possible to business as usual during Covid, supporting each other and our students at such a challenging time

I would especially like to welcome our first-year students who are beginning their student journey at UCC. I hope you will enjoy your time with us and make lots of new friendships along the way. We are here to help you as you settle into university life and we want to make sure you have the best experience possible.

On 8 October, we held our first in-person Open Day for prospective students since 2019. We were thrilled to see the university teeming with students and parents, with the sun shining and our beautiful campus looking its best. Thank you to all our staff and students from the College of SEFS who collaborated with colleagues from across the university to make the Open Day so successful.

One of the highlights of the past few weeks has been meeting with our STEM student societies and hearing about the amazing work they are involved in. Our societies are an intrinsic part of student life at the College, and provide friendship, support, and transferrable skills. We look forward to collaborating with our STEM societies this year on lots of exciting student-led initiatives.

I would like to wish all our staff well as the new academic year gets into full swing. Thank you for your continued hard work and dedication - your commitment, your collegiality and your focus on our students are vital to the success of the College. I appreciate all you do to deliver an excellent learning and teaching experience for our students while facilitating a world-class research and innovation environment.

Welcome also to our new staff who have chosen to embark on the next chapter of their career here at the College of SEFS. We are looking forward to meeting many of you in person at a special reception on 25 October! I would also like to acknowledge our former staff who have either recently retired or moved to new role and who have made such an important contribution to the College over the years, and I wish them well in their future endeavours.

This month marks the return of the Inaugural Professorial Lecture series which offers an opportunity to welcome our recently appointed professors and learn more about them and their research. The UCC community and the wider public are encouraged to attend these events, and details of the first lecture with Professor Ruth Massey, SALI Professor for Microbiome and Health Sciences at UCC, has been circulated.

With the autumn conferrings underway, it promises to be a lively and engaging semester with lots of events and activities taking place around the university. While we look forward to the coming academic year with renewed vigour, it is also important that we remember to take time to rest and rejuvenate along the way.

I am proud of all we have achieved as a community and thank you all for your commitment to the College of SEFS and our continuing mission.

I wish you all the very best in the coming months.

Professor Sarah Culloty, Head, College of Science, Engineering and Food Science.