myUCD Blog
UCD Student & Staff Blog
Many students pick electives in their degree area in order to increase their knowledge on chosen subjects. I however, opted for electives outside of my field of choice in areas that I have an interest in. While I generally remained within the Science building, my electives introduced me to areas I would never encounter studying microbiology alone for four years.
Food Diet and Health was my very first elective as a fresher. Covering topics like Food Science, Food Safety and Public Health Nutrition caught my attention, in keeping with my scientific interest. I am passionate about food. I love to cook and bake and I am constantly experimenting in the kitchen. Along with my sweet tooth, I like to eat healthily but could never get my head around fad diets. This module gave me an insight into the world of the Atkins Diet and other popular crazes, highlighting the results and potential consequences of such slimming plans.
The ‘secret lake’ on UCD campus
Outside of college I am an avid gardener so the opportunity to study something in the field of horticulture really appealed to me. Plants and People is an elective that covers the use of plants by humankind. Throughout the module, areas we focused on included the design of private gardens, parks, sports pitches and golf courses. The production of foodstuffs such as mushrooms were traced as well as current and new techniques for better plant production, for example the making of a vertical garden for locations with limited ground space. Plants and People offered a chance to discover some of the hidden gems on campus such as the Millennium Oak Walk, the Lamb Clarke historical Irish Apple Collection and the highly coveted secret lake!
The Millennium Oak Walk as covered on a ‘Plants and People’ field trip.
In second year I managed to secure a place in the Introduction to Massage module – places are highly sought after among sports fanatics. A core module for physiotherapy students, this elective introduces the student to a range of basic techniques used in sports therapy. I loved the practical aspect. It was so different to my previous practical lab experiences with test tube in hand. Every week for two hours we would spend the afternoon practicing techniques on each other. The class group is split into pairs to practice and towards the end of the semester a practical exam took place, accounting for roughly half of the marks. Theory lectures aided the practicals, teaching about basic functional anatomy, muscles, various trigger points as well as the psychological effects of massage.
UCD Health Science Centre
My current elective is the UCD Symphony Orchestra module. Providing a break to students stressed about assignments and text book learning in the library, this module is entirely based on practicals. Orchestra provides such a great opportunity to meet other students from different disciplines as you are constantly mixing with new players. To get into the orchestra you must go through a straightforward audition process. I did my audition at the start of second year playing the Vivaldi Concerto in A minor third movement on my violin and was required to sight read a short orchestral piece too. The level in the orchestra is generally grade seven and above.
Rehearsals from my perspective!
Essentials for practice
When I first joined I played in the UCD Symphony Orchestra as a hobby but realised soon after that I could get credits for playing in it. This was an elective I just had to add to my list of modules. The orchestra regularly go on trips, many of which are abroad. Last March they travelled to Uppsala in Sweden – not something that regularly occurs in microbiology modules! The chance to perform in great Dublin venues such as Christ Church Cathedral, the National Concert Hall not to mention our own Astra Hall really appealed to me as I’m sure it would to fellow musicians. After a long Monday in lectures and labs it’s nice to pick up your instrument and play, sitting beside an arts student, in front of an engineer and behind a radiographer all while earning credits for attendance and participation.
The UCD Symphony Orchestra take a bow having just performed Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture in the National Concert Hall Dublin.
Through the elective programme I’ve learned so much about areas both related and unrelated to science. Most importantly for me the modules with collaborative and practical aspects have allowed me to meet and make friends with a variety of people I would never have met if I didn’t branch outside of the UCD O’Brien Science Centre. I have always wanted to study Microbiology but the opportunity to take electives has really complemented a subject I love.
Back in the lab!
This contribution was written by Emma Cullen, Third Year Microbiology student.
When I started in UCD the prospect of making new friends was something I was very excited about, but something that I also terrified by. I had just completed my Leaving Certificate for the second time and the classmates I would have gone to school with the first time had already moved on to college and completed their first year. So coming to UCD I knew very few people and of those few people, none of them were studying the same course as me. In the end this turned out to be a great thing. At the time though, it made the ‘starting out in college experience’ a little more daunting.
My first day in UCD was nerve wrecking. I was travelling to a new place where I did not know anyone or where anything was. To make matters worse, UCD sits on 133 hectares of land and has 30,870 students. I was bound to get lost. Living in a country that isn’t very big, where people tend to know each other, I was suddenly starting to feel very small in the world. Like a little ant in the giant world of UCD.
It turned out that my first day was actually a special pre-orientation day for students studying a BA Programme. This meant that the only students around campus were students like me: first year BA students just starting out. It was on this day that I made my first friend in UCD. She was standing in front of me in the queue to register. Both of us were confused and unsure about what we were suppose to be doing. As a result, a friendship started to form.
At the end of the day we exchanged contact details and arranged to meet up again to help each other get through orientation week. It was so nice to have such a friendly face around campus. It made getting through those first few days that little bit easier. The comfort of knowing someone else in the same boat as you, is quite reassuring. The two of us knew that no matter what happened, together we’d get through things. Unfortunately not all friendships are meant to be. As both of us were studying different subjects we found that our timetables didn’t really facilitate for us to meet up often. The further and further we progressed into our first year, the further apart our friendship drifted. Some might think this is sad, however it wasn’t. It was simply just not meant to be.
Although we don’t talk very much anymore, we will always be grateful we had each other in those first few weeks. Drifting apart from each other was actually a good thing. As it meant we both ended up making loads of new friends in each of our lectures/classes and not just hanging out together all the time.
I am now coming to the end of my second year in UCD and the friends I have made over the course of this year are: ‘friends I know I will have for life’. It sounds clichéd, it’s something everyone says. When I first heard it, I really didn’t believe that the friendships I’d make in college would be any different to those I would have made in secondary school. The kind that eventually perishes over time as we all move on in different directions with our lives. However I am slowly beginning to see that I was wrong.
Why do I think the friendships I have made this year are different to any I have made before? I am very much a family orientated girl. I believe family to be very important and I love spending time with mine. Unfortunately over the course of this year I have found that I am leaving my house very early in the morning, not returning home until very late each night and spending most of my time at weekends trying to catch up on some sleep or study.
I live at home with my family and yet sometimes I feel homesick. I miss my family time. At the beginning of the year I found this to be quite tough. Despite what people who know me might think, I am actually one of the shiest people on the planet. I find it quite difficult to turn to a stranger and randomly just say hey!
However, this year I challenged myself to pluck up a small amount of courage, get out of my comfort zone. I tried to say hi to at least one person new in each of my lectures everyday. What was the worst that could happen! The first time it was hard, but it only got easier. As a result of my small amount of courage I now find college to be a much smaller world. So small, that every time I come into college I must allow extra time to get to my lectures. As between the bus stop and UCD I somehow manage to run into half the campus.
The best part of my new found courage is that, the friends I have made now are now some of my closest friends. These guys I know I will be friends with forever as I now consider them all family. My UCD family. They have supported me throughout the year and even seen me at my worst moments. You know you have a friend for life when a person has seen you at your worst and still choose to hangout with you. We are all like one big family. From breakfasts first thing in the morning to studying together throughout the day. I love these guys like my own family and that is how I know I will forever be friends with them.
College is a place where just like relationships, you will find yourself dipping in and out of friendships. Some good, some bad and some that are just not meant to be. However in my time in UCD I have met some of the most incredible people; people who I know will go on in life to become young leaders of the world. My college experience so far has been a once in a life time experience, and I have all those whom I know in UCD to thank for it.
So you’re thinking about studying veterinary medicine, and you’re wondering if you’ll have to spend every waking moment of your time in college. The answer is no……..not really. Sure there are times when all you do is study, study and when you’ve studied some more, you do some more study. But that tends to come in batches, and there is lots of fun stuff in between.
They decided to do things a little differently this semester. Instead of having our classes spread across the 12 week semester that we’ve been used to, we are taking our classes in blocks – that is studying one subject for a few weeks, then moving onto the next and so on. I thought it was going to be boring, because what happens if you don’t like that one subject? But this hasn’t been the case. We’ve had different lectures all throughout each day and they all cover different aspects of the same thing. It is so much easier to study and follow whats going on because your not trying to jump back and forth to different classes.
This week marked the start of “Veterinary Clinical Gastrointestinal Systems” (GIT) module, which is the study of the whole gastrointestinal tract (mouth, stomach, intestines etc). We’re covering the normal form and function as well as diseases and pathology that can occur.
Monday
Todays classes were from 9am – 3pm. Its normal for us to be in at 9am, if not 8am some mornings. The day is often broken up however, so the last two hours were dedicated to a pathology laboratory session. These are great for helping to link what we’ve learned in class to actual cases.
Even when days are short, theres always a good bit of study and extra reading to be done in the evening.
Tuesday
Todays classes were from 9am – 4pm. At lunch time (12pm-1pm) there was a seminar on “Unleashing the Power of Comparative Oncology Models in Cancer Research” by Prof. Carolyn J. Henry from the University of Missouri that we decided to go to. The talk was based on the idea of using the One Health Initiative to improve cancer research. For example, dogs can get all the cancers that humans get too, and modern therapy in veterinary medicine has allowed us to treat those cancers. The idea of the One Health Initiative is that we need to work together (Doctors, Veterinarians, Engineers, Scientists) to learn more about these diseases and tackle them together. It was a fascinating talk from Prof. Henry and worth missing our break over as we got free lunch at the end!
Wednesday
Todays classes were from 10am – 4pm. I was in college early so I decided to soak up some sun before the first class. Today was also a day when I was working with Ambassadors to give tours to prospective students around the campus.
One thing we had today which was a little bit different from normal classes was a seminar. This involved three of our main lecturers for the GIT module coming in together and presenting different aspects of the presentation. These are usually informal and theres plenty of opportunity for questions and answers. Its a nice break from ‘normal’ class as there is a greater chance to engage and link all the information together.
Later in the evening I was volunteering with the Blue Cross on their mobile veterinary clinic in Smithfield. I love my weekly shifts as we see a variety of patients, from puppies needing vaccines to broken bones and heart murmurs. Its another opportunity to link what we’ve learnt in class to the real world.
Thursday
Todays classes ran from 9.30am – 3pm. The first class was a tutorial for which we all had to read a different research article and then we all discuss the findings and the topic. Being too tired from Blue Cross the evening before, I had forgotten to read my assigned article and so ended up reading it on the bus (by the way it was 17 pages long) which I don’t advise (do as I say, not as I do!). Tutorials are another nice break from ‘normal’ lectures as there is much less students in each group (10 in mine) and so there is lots of time for questions and discussion on anything we might be confused about.
At 11am it was time for another Ambassador tour to show some more prospective students around campus. Then back into class from 1pm-3pm. I got some more study done that evening as well.
Friday
Classes today were from 9am-12pm. I was off early today because half of the class had a pathology lab in the afternoon, so I’ll have mine next week.
One of my friends had spent Thursday evening making a vegan banoffee pie which we all tucked into during the 10 minute break between the morning classes.
In the evening a group of Ambassadors and Vet students went to Third Space for the monthly Square Meal to celebrate two birthdays that weekend. Third Space is a cafe in my neighbourhood (I’ve managed to convert all my friends by now), and on the last Friday of every month they hold the “Square Meal”. The idea is that anyone living/working in the area come together for a themed meal (this month was Italian) and you get to chat to someone you’ve never met before and pay what ever you think the meal is worth. It was the perfect laid back Friday atmosphere we needed, and we got to sing Happy Birthday and embarrass our friends.
So this week wasn’t so bad. Some weeks are light like this one, some we’re in from 8am – 5pm with just an hour break, but as I said they come in batches so you’ve just got to make sure you enjoy the times that you do have a break.
I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing my vet-week, if you liked this one I might even capture exam week for you to see!
Students representing students, it all sounds a bit dreamy and theoretical doesn’t it? As farcical, weird and wonderful as it sounds, it works. UCD Students Union can be commended as being one of the most active unions in students lives across Ireland. The five student elected Sabbatical positions are President, Welfare Officer, Education Officer Campaigns and Communications and last but not least Graduate Officer. The Union also have a full time paid position of Entertainment manager. All positions available represent students at all levels across campus, from campaigning on issues in relation to fees and access to grants, to representing you on a personal level to programme boards and meetings. To providing you with an all round good time in university, from Entertainment to Welfare. Where do I fit into all of this you ask?
My name is Dannii Curtis, and I have recently been elected as UCD’s incoming Education Officer for 2014/2015. How did I get here? Through a campus wide election, sounds simple enough doesn’t it? Election season in UCD usually lasts for two weeks but including the build up and preparation it generally lasts about a month or two. Imagine poster ‘runs’, candidate hustings, canvassers in every building across campus all decked out in their candidates t-shirt.
It’s an insane period, but coming from someone who has been involved in college life from the get go, I wouldn’t change a thing. Being involved in college life in UCD, is ultimately at the end of the day what got me through and kept me here in UCD. My passion and will to run for the position of Education comes from the perseptive of someone who has been through the ins and outs of the Education system here in UCD and now wants to help others through. UCD Students Union offer supports to help you. Failing in my past did nothing but spur me on to remain involved with UCD Campus life, pushing me to do more and not less in my remaining time in UCD. I have been so thankful not only for the help the UCD system, staff and students has offered me in my time in UCD, but also my experiences of the system itself. It was the help of the education officer, teamed with the Welfare officer and Student Advisers that encouraged me to complete first year over a year and a half. That being said, this has allowed me to garner a lot of respect for the role of the education officer within the Union. For they are the reason that I remained in UCD. Cliches aside, I love UCD and would never consider changing my time here. UCD is a prestigious university steeped in tradition of debating, student society life and sport. Nonetheless, university time ultimately comes down to a degree and thats where the education officer comes in.
From sitting on academic boards, to running campus and nationwide campaigns to helping students on a personal level. My team and I are 100% on board for investing in your time in UCD. Whether you need Clare O’Connor, our Welfare officer to get you through on those days when you just need someone to talk to and support you, or Cian Byrne, our campaigns and communications officer to fight for your right to an access to a fair and equal education, or if your stepping back into education through graduate studies our Graduate officer Hazel Beattie will be here to help you through. Above all, our president Marcus O’Halloran will co-ordinate the entity that is UCDSU and make sure we remain a team so we can best serve your needs as a student. We are all here to help every student across campus, be it in their first steps in UCD during orientation week, helping them through their progressing years in UCD or lending a hand in their final steps before graduation. As a team we act as a voice, YOUR voice.
So your obviously thinking of applying to the Graduate-Entry Veterinary Medicine (GEVM) course if your reading this. But what exactly is involved in the application process? Hopefully I’ll be able to help answer that. While the requirements are subject to change, and I wasn’t given any feedback as to what truly helped my application, the following is a round up of the top 5 things I think helped my application.
1. Grades and GPA
Grades are hugely important, demonstrating that you can achieve high grades indicates that at least you will (hopefully) pass the much more torturous exams you’ll face studying for in the veterinary program. In my example I’ve gone from achieving all A’s and even winning two awards for my academic performance in the BAgrSc to the much dreaded C’s and D’s in GEVM. It’s a shock to the system to say the least.
2. Work Experience
There is an entire section in the GEVM application form to list all previous animal related work experience. This can include any and all animal work including shelters, farm animal, small animal, equine, wildlife, zoo and laboratory. Having a broad range of experience with different types of animals will demonstrate that you are comfortable working with animals and that you understand what real veterinary work will be like. I know we all want to specialise, and you may never want to work with (for example) farm animals in your entire career as a veterinarian, but you will have to learn about them, and you will have to pass handling and medicine exams with them.
Work experience with veterinarians is ideal as it will give you great insight into the daily life of a vet. You will be asked to provide a contact for each placement you attended so make sure to keep these on file, as well as noting all the dates attended. This sounds simple but if you have collected experience over a few years and not recorded it somewhere it can get messy!
3. Extracurriculars
So your on a sports team? Part of your local community group? An active member of your college drama society/newspaper/radio station? This list could go on and on. Have a think about it – what are you doing which will demonstrate your leadership or team-working skills for example? And if your not doing anything, what can you get involved in to build these skills up? In my case I was involved in both the Peer Mentoring/PAL and Ambassador program in UCD and honestly the experience I have gained in both of these have stood to me in every aspect of life, never mind for applying to GEVM.
4. GAMSAT
In order to apply for GEVM you also have to sit the GAMSAT – or Graduate Australian Medical School Admissions Test. This is the same exam that GEM (Graduate-Entry Medicine) students will have to take. It serves to evaluate various skills such as critical thinking, problem solving and writing. You will have to sit this exam for applications to both the 5-year and the 4-year GEVM programs so it would be advisable to spend some extra time on studying the various scientific concepts if you have not completed a science based undergrad degree.
The exam is normally held in Ireland in March, and in the UK in September and the score you achieve is usually valid for two years. In my case I chose to sit the GAMSAT in the March of my 3rd year of the BAgrSc so that I could potentially have two more attempts at it if I desired without having to take a year out. Im glad I went this route as I knew exactly what score I had before applying for GEVM. My friend sat the exam in the March of his final year and that worked out well too so my only advice is that which ever option is least stressful for you is the right one!
If you want more advice on tackling the GAMSAT, Chloe and Grainne wrote a really good post on it which you can find here.
5. Research
If its possible to get involved with research during your initial undergraduate degree go for it! Whether as part of a class or maybe ask your school if there is any projects you can get involved with over the summer breaks. I can whole-heartedly say that my final year research module was the most beneficial educational experience I had during my BAgrSc degree. It really brought the scientific concepts we had spent four years learning together and gave me a working knowledge of the dreaded topic of statistics. Even the ability to quickly read, understand and summarise a journal article is a skill that will be beneficial during the GEVM degree.
If you are thinking of applying to the GEVM course, it is worthwhile to have a look at the full application process on the myUCD website ahead of time. The application form is available to download every year and the best advice I can give anyone is to have a look at this form well before applying. That way if you think you might need more experience you’ll have the time.
And most importantly don’t panic! Many students opt to take a break between their undergraduate degree and GEVM to accrue some more work experience and sit the GAMSAT, alternatively some students even pursue a Masters degree in an animal science related subject before applying.
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