Out-going DkIT Students Union President Christopher O’Neill says no stone should be left unturned in the quest to attain University status.
kIT is one of just two Institutes of Technology in the country that have so far failed to gain TU status through forming alliances with other colleges.
“It’s a no-brainer that TU status would be nothing but beneficial,” he says, adding that failing to gain it “is absolutely killing DkIT and the community,”
“We are finding that the number of students is decreasing over the years because of the lack of TU status. It’s affecting the town as there are less students coming to DkIT.”
Christopher, who has spent the past three years on sabbatical with the Students Union, first as vice-president and then as president, says that the college “has on-one but themselves to blame.”
“DkIT has been left behind in a third category of higher education. It always had a great name around the country with employers, particularly for its film and theatre, nursing and midwifery courses, but the type of degree that you get does make a difference.”
Despite the frustration he experienced as the Institute failed to make any real progress on gaining TU status, he remains optimistic about its future.
“DkIT is a great place and the lecturers are fantastic.”
Christopher says DkIT was the only college he wanted to go to.
“I was 18, coming from Muirhevnamor and I got offers to go to other places like Queens but I wanted to stay in Dundalk.”
It was only when he got involved in student union politics that he became aware of how different colleges are perceived by employers and students, which is why he is so adamant that DkIT achieve TU status.
It took up a big part of his work as Students’ Union President.
“We didn’t have a say whatsoever in what management did but I stood in support of the TUI ( Teachers Union of Ireland ) every single time,” he recalls.
The other issue which dominated his time with the Students’ Union was, of course, the pandemic.
Christopher had been elected as Vice-President for the second time in March 2020, just before the country went into lockdown.
“The elections took place the last week we were on campus. After that everything moved to on-line learning and teaching. It was a big shift and at first no-one knew what was going on.”
Looking back, he is proud of the Students’ Union response and how they supported students via online platforms.
While it was a difficult time for students, he says that the feedback was that they felt supported, both by the Students’ Union and by DkIT.
“It my personal experience, it ran as smoothly as it could.”
He accepts that it was a difficult time for many students.
“Some of our placement students who would go out working lost out on placement opportunities. Others who were living in areas with poor internet found on-line learning difficult.”
He felt particularly sorry for the first year students who started courses in September 2020, whose hopes for leaving home and experience college life were dashed as they commenced their studies on a computer in their bedrooms.
The return to campus was also difficult for some students, who experienced social anxiety going back to live classes.
It was during the pandemic that Christopher became interested in student politics.
“I had been elected as Vice-President for Social Engagement but once lockdown started, there were no social activities although we did organise some on-line events.”
“I got stuck into the political side of things and one of the issues was campaigning for the student nurses and midwives to be paid for their work during the pandemic. I got local TD Ruairi O’Murchu involved and the campaign led to the student nurses and mid-wives being paid. I felt I had contributed massively to the campaign and got a great sense of satisfaction to have achieved something. It was amazing to see what we could do when we let our voices be heard.”
Christopher had taken a sabbatical from his studies after injuring his hand in first year. He is looking forward to resuming his course in business studies in September and will be handing over the keys of the Students’ Union office to Niamh Fallon from Newry, who takes over as Students’ Union President on Thursday.
