IN THIS ISSUE:

CIT Students’ Union MagazineVolume Twenty, Issue 3

• Full Body & Soul lineup• #mystorymatters - real students, real stories• CIT Abú - CIT’s recent successesand much more... Your Union Your Voice

POSITIVE MIND, POSITIVE VIBES, POSITIVE LIFE

Body Soul&6 - 8 NOVEMBER, 2018

Campaign

CIT SU

Body & Soul info stands - main corridor, 11am - 3pmJigsaw, Pieta House, Cork Local Drug & Alcohol Task Team,

CIT SU, CIT Medical Centre, LGBT Society, CIT Societies

Email: suwelfare@cit.ie Web: www.citsu.ie

Body Soul&6 - 8 NOVEMBER, 2018

Campaign

CIT SU

TUES 6TH NOV Rory Gallagher Theatre

1pmWELLNESS IN

SPORTS Q&A with John Caulfield

Cork City FC Manager and special soccer star guests

Studio Room, Sports Stadium1pm

Healthy Body, Healthy Mind FREE PILATES

Meeting Room 1 6pm

MENTAL HEALTH TALK LGBT SOC

WEDS 7TH NOVRory Gallagher Theatre

1pm Screening of

‘MY OTHER LIFE’ Mental Health documentary

followed by Q&A

Studio Room, Sports Stadium1pm

Healthy Body, Healthy Mind FREE YOGA

Common Room

1pmChill out and Enjoy

SPARKLE Live Music

THURS 8TH NOVRoom T101

(Tourism Building)1pm

5-A-DAY FOR MENTAL HEALTH

Workshop by Jigsaw

Common Room1pm

BODY & SOUL BINGO with Giles Reid

POSITIVE MIND, POSITIVE VIBES, POSITIVE LIFE

TIMETABLE

3

CONTENTS

CIT Students’ Union, Bishopstown, Cork.Tel: 021 433 5274 Web: www.explicit.ie

Email: supublications@cit.ie

CITSU CITSU

expliCIT Production, Design & Advertising Keith Brown, E: supublications@cit.ie

CIT SU President Aaron Buckley E: supresident@cit.ie

VP Education Stephanie Kelly E: sueducation@cit.ieVP Welfare Jeff Jones E: suwelfare@cit.ieProjects Officer Owen Good E: suprojects@cit.ieCommunications Officer Kasey Kenny E: sucommunications@cit.ieEntertainments Officer Daragh Cashman E: suentertainments@cit.ieEntertainments Manager Mick O’Mahony E: Event@cit.ie

Advertising OpportunitiesCIT has 17,000+ full and part-time students with over 1,500 staff. Why not use expliCIT to promote your business to this large audience? Our copy deadlines, advertising rates and techni-cal specifications are available from our website www.citsu.ie and upon request from the Publica-tions Office in hardcopy or via email.

expliCIT magazine is published monthly by CIT Students’ Union. The views expressed in the magazine are those of their authors and are not necessarily those of CIT Students’ Union. All articles and pictures are the property of their respective owners and should not be reproduced without their permission.

4 �SU�OFFICERS’�ADDRESS5 USI�UPDATE6 #MYSTORYMATTERS

Real students, real stories

7 EYE 2018 EXPERIENCE Aryana Collins Jackson reporting

8 ENTREPRENEURS�OF�CIT Aaron Comerford, Rock Steady Food Co

9 VOLUNTEER�ABROAD Keith Davitt in Mozambique

10 GRADUATIONS� PHOTO�GALLERY

12 LAS�VEGAS�BALL�PHOTOS13 #FANCYFOLLOWINGCIT

Alumni Success stories

14 FLYNNERS FLYING COLUMN

16 LIVE�CIT,�LOVE�SPORTS17 CIT�ABÚ

CIT’s success Stories

19 COMPETITIONS Hard cash on offer! Simply deliver your entries into the Students’ Union, 1st Floor, Student Centre

Last issue winner: Joseph Holland, PS-S2A

ONLY 50

SPACES!

Eden Hall

Parchment Square

Deans Hall

CITRossa Ave

LidlWilton

FREESHOPPING SHUTTLE

PICKUP: 6pm outside Eden Hall

(by bus stop), CIT (Rossa Avenue Bus Stop), Deans Hall (Curraheen Road, by bus stop)

TERMINATE: Lidl, Wilton

RETURN:Leaving Lidl Wilton at

approx 7pm. Returning via Deans Hall, CIT, Parchment

Square, and Eden Hall

EVERY MONDAYAT 6PM

You must book your seat in advance every week via email:

Fiona.leddy@cit.ie Your Union Your Voice

STUDENTS’ UNIONANNUAL GENERALMEETING (AGM)Tues 20th Nov

@ 1pm, B240All students are welcome

FREE PIZZA for all!

Body & Soul info stands - main corridor, 11am - 3pmJigsaw, Pieta House, Cork Local Drug & Alcohol Task Team,

CIT SU, CIT Medical Centre, LGBT Society, CIT Societies

Email: suwelfare@cit.ie Web: www.citsu.ie

Body Soul&6 - 8 NOVEMBER, 2018

Campaign

CIT SU

TUES 6TH NOV Rory Gallagher Theatre

1pmWELLNESS IN

SPORTS Q&A with John Caulfield

Cork City FC Manager and special soccer star guests

Studio Room, Sports Stadium1pm

Healthy Body, Healthy Mind FREE PILATES

Meeting Room 1 6pm

MENTAL HEALTH TALK LGBT SOC

WEDS 7TH NOVRory Gallagher Theatre

1pm Screening of

‘MY OTHER LIFE’ Mental Health documentary

followed by Q&A

Studio Room, Sports Stadium1pm

Healthy Body, Healthy Mind FREE YOGA

Common Room

1pmChill out and Enjoy

SPARKLE Live Music

THURS 8TH NOVRoom T101

(Tourism Building)1pm

5-A-DAY FOR MENTAL HEALTH

Workshop by Jigsaw

Common Room1pm

BODY & SOUL BINGO with Giles Reid

POSITIVE MIND, POSITIVE VIBES, POSITIVE LIFE

TIMETABLE

Cover Picture: John Caulfield, Cork City FC Manager arrives at CIT on Tues 6th November for a Wellness in Sports Q&A with

special soccer star guests. Rory Gallagher Theatre 1pm

4

NSTEPThe annual NStEP training took place on Wednesday the 31st of October It was a Halloween themed train-ing session with over 50 students receiving training in partnership and engagement in third level and how to maximize their college experience. Thanks to our trainer Rob for all the hard work and we look forward to lots more training opportunities through-out the year.

CLASS REP TrainingClass Rep Training took place on the 11th of October in Killarney. It was a fun filled event and a great opportu-nity to get to know Class Reps from across the Institute. It was a day packed with team building and guest speakers as well as informative pres-entations.

SHAG WEEKThanks everyone who took part in the SHAG Week events and activities. The campaign has gotten quite a good response from everyone involved. A huge Thank You to Susan Walsh and Colm Healy from the Sexual Health Centre for all the great work that they have put into the week.

LITTERLitter has become a serious problem in many areas of the college. The Common Room has been closed due to the condition that it was left in and the new study area in the Curve Gal-lery is also experiencing problems with litter. We ask all students using this space to put their rubbish in the bin. Please respect these spaces as they are student spaces and a lot of work goes into providing them for students to enjoy.

BODY AND SOUL WEEKBody and Soul Week takes place from the 6th to the 8th of November. We have many activities taking place including Cork City FC Manager John Caufield coming in and a Re-screen-ing of the My Other Life Documenta-ry. We will have stands from a number of organisations including Jigsaw and Pieta House.

INTERNATIONAL MEN’S DAYThe Students’ Union are celebrating International Men’s Day on the 19th of November. The Theme for this Year is Positive Male Role Models. We will have a number of stands from Men’s groups including Men’s Shed and AMEN.

Best Wishes,YOUR SU Executive

STUDENTS’ UNION OFFICERS ADDRESS

My Other Life second chance screening‘My Other Life’ a documentary focusing on the mental health of young people in Ireland, encourages young people to speak up, share their personal story and reduce stigma on mental health on both a local and national level. The pre-screening of the film which took place on 10th of Octo-ber in CIT produced a strong response with a Q&A session ahead of RTE’s nationwide screening that evening. You have another chance to see it during CIT SU Body & Soul Campaign 2018. See poster here.The film which involved many hours of planning thought, filming and editing by the team over three years was well-taught out and produced in the hopes of creating a wave of change for Mental Health services in Ireland, influencing young people to openly dis-cuss any difficulties with their mental health and identify the stigma faced by teenagers and students in today’s society. The idea of having the stories being told from young people them-selves helped to create the bond with other young people. Having a well-known face like Doug Leddin was helped to invite change and progress and invite young people to look at the positives in taking the first step in the recovery process of change; talking to someone they trust.We all have mental health, both good and bad which peaks throughout our lifetime depending on the person's life stage and circumstance. Talking about a problem with a trusted friend or family member can cut the problem in half.

Special screening of an RTE documentary about mental health in Ireland

Weds 7th Nov at 1pm, Rory Gallagher Theatre

‘My Other Life’

"Together we can break down the walls of silence surrounding mental health”

Body Soul&6 - 8 NOVEMBER, 2018

Campaign

CIT SU

5

OCTOBER UPDATE#EducationIsHigher education funding is a priority for USI. The USI Presi-dent, Síona Cahill has made representations to political party think-in’s, has met with the chair of the Coalition for Higher Education Funding and discussed Higher Education (HE) Funding on a panel discussion at the Kennedy Summer School. Emphasis has been placed on the need for invest-ment in HE and the need for a borrowing framework to be introduced to allow Institutes of Technology (IoT’s) borrow ina similar manner to the Universities.

Accommodation & Raise The Roof RallyUSI has produced Accommodation & Finance Guides which were delivered to each Students’ Union to distribute to stu-dents who needed them. These booklets are full of infor-mation that you may find useful including your rights and responsibilities as a tenant, top tips when looking for ac-commodation, money saving tips and a budget tracker. We are currently gathering feedback from Students’ Union of-ficers on what they would like to see in a workshop/training event on accommodation. We will host this workshop/train-ing before the end of this year. Finally, the Raise The Roof Rally took place on the 3rd of October. We saw more than 6,000 students march on the streets of Dublin to join a rally outside Leinster House to demand immediate investment in accommodation. The rally, organised by the ‘Housing and Homelessness Coalition’ of which USI are members seen 12,000 people outside the Dáil. The following day, a motion passed through the Dáil, although it was not supported by Government, which outlined a number of different asks of the coalition. Thank you to all the students from CIT who attended the march. Our work is not over yet but we have made great strides since September and you have played a massive role in that.

Mental HealthUSI will be launching a new mental health campaign this year which will incorporate our new Mental Health app that we are currently developing. We are also working with Men-tal Health Reform Ireland on developing a new campaign around lobbying for mental health supports in Ireland.

Budget 2019USI had a lot of media coverage on budget day express-ing our anger and frustration as Budget 2019 again fails to deliver on the need for significant investment in third-level education and to alleviate the huge financial pressures st dents face across the country. Síona Cahill, USI President spoke on a number of platforms highlighting that “This is a ‘no budget’ budget for students. This Government have decided who their electorate are, but we’ve registered

90,000+ students to vote in the last 5 years. They must be heard, and they’ll be heard at the ballot box.”USI’s pre-budget submission which outlines our asks from Budget 2019 is available on the USI. Website, www.usi.ie.

ConsentOur Vice President for Welfare presented to the ‘National Workshop meeting on Consent in Higher Education’ which was hosted by the Minister for Higher Education Mary Mitchell O’Connor in Dublin. All Students’ Union Presidents and staff from Higher Education Institutions were invited toattend. This is only one element of our lobbying effort to have suitable consent education in third level education. Our President is also presenting to the Oireachtas Committee for Education & Skills on the topic of consent along with making a submission on consent and sexual education in third level.

USI is #SickOfPlasticOn the 17th of October, USI Officers and SU Officers from 16 colleges went plastic free. The purpose of this campaign was to highlight areas on campus where you can go with-out using unnecessary plastic (many of which is single-use). It proved extremely difficult for some as many daily activ-ity usually involves plastic, such as washing your hair with shampoo from a plastic bottle. Using social media, we high-lighted that there is so much plastic in our lives that in order to go plastic-free for the day, it meant we could not wash our hair on that day.

Voter RegWe are supporting Students’ Unions in registering students to vote across the country since September. In the last year, USI had registered over 90,000 students to vote. We will hold a national voter reg day on the 14th of November so if you are not registered, make sure to get registered on that day. If you are unsure if you are registered, you can check onwww.checktheregister.ie.

Other points to note:- National Class Rep Campaign - Student Teacher Consulta-

tion Sessions- Joint statement (IUA, THEA, TUI, IFUT & USI) re Higher

Education Funding- Leaving Cert Reform Study - March for Choice - Interna-

tional representation through ESUThese are all very short insights into some of the work be-ing completed by USI Officerboard. If you would like more information on any of these or have a question about any of the work we are doing, please don’t hesitate to contact me by email or phone.

Lorna Fitzpatrick, Vice President for the Southern Region. South@usi.ie | 087-2763941 | @USI_South

1UNIONNATIONAL

374,000STUDENTS

1VOICESTRONG

Welcome to your UnionThanks to your SU, you’re a member of the Union of Students in Ireland.We’re the recognised voice of Ireland’s students and we’re strong because of members like you getting involved.

You are USI. We’re glad you could join us.

What USI believesAccess to educationis a fundamental right of all people in Ireland

Students have rightsto a decent standard of living including financial support, decent housing and decentjobs in Ireland, among others

Students should be activein the promotion and defence of all humanand democratic rights

Our Work for YouA strong unified voice for youlobbying, campaigning and negotiating with government, politicians and education bodies

Mobilising studentsTens of thousands more students registered and voting; making sure students’ views areon the agenda every election and referendum

Meeting students’ needsMental health campaigns, sexual health infoand work on sustainability, housing and theenvironment.

Our unique partnership with videoDoc means USI member students can get free online access to doctor services.

Look out for Voter Registration stalls throughout the first semester.

Your vote matters. Make it count.Pass me on.

Don’t bin me.

STUDYING ON

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#MYSTORYMATTERSFrom Riches to Rags, to love…Before we became homeless, I used to work for the government. I travelled in-ternationally and represented Ireland on many occasions. I was already half-way to becoming a solicitor, but all I wanted was kids and a happy family. I was single, close to thirty and I was feeling the pressure of choosing between starting a family or con-tinuing my career.One night, I was out with my friend when I saw him. It was actually his friend who sent me a drink in his name. For me, it was like a fairy-tale. I’d never met such a polite and nice guy. He bought me flowers, opened the door for me, he was a real gentleman. Only when I got pregnant a year later, things began to change. He started be-

coming jealous of every move I made. After a while, I wasn’t allowed to wear makeup, or to go anywhere apart from the shops; and I wasn’t allowed to talk to men in gen-eral – it’s not like he told me not to, but the treatment I got after made me understand. I learnt to live like that, I adapted. I actually still thought I was doing something wrong. When you are pregnant and when you want to start a family so much, it makes it harder to realise what is going on. You think if you do everything right things will get better but instead, they only got worse. I remember nights when I was trying to hide the kids in the back room. His jealousy and his actions became more and more aggres-sive towards us. Then, one night he had some sort of breakdown. I knew I had to get out of there to protect myself and the kids. It was around 1 am, I packed a bag with the baby bottles, some clothes and

took the baby out of her cot, my daughter out of her bed and put them into the buggy and ran out of the house. We had to get a place in a refuge to hide from his anger. I lived there for 11 months, homeless with two kids. Some might say I ran, but with the support and agencies that helped me relocate to Cork, where I first lived with my kids in Edel House. It might not be the best place to bring up kids, but I felt compassion and be-longing, which in turn meant they received a lot more love off me.After a year we got our own place, I met a good man, who loves me and my kids. I went back to college at nearly 40 and studied Community Development, I am now helping women and men in abusive relationships. Anon

My Addiction Recovery StoryI began drinking at an early age, taking my first drink around 7, and my drinking became regular by my early teenage years. I was a kid who never felt like I fitted in anywhere, and I struggled with anxiety and feelings of loneliness. The taunts of kids in schools would grate on me day in and day out, but the moment I found alcohol, all of that changed. It gave me all the confidence I’d never had. It made the bad times tolerable, and the good times even better. But the thoughts of drinking and escaping never left my mind, and it became an obsession. I’d shoplift booze from the local Supermarket, hide it from my family and drinking alone became my regular getaway. By 15, I found myself embarking on an initial journey into recovery. It last 5 1/2 years, but truthfully, I never got truly honest with myself, and was only riddled with jealousy that, for my remaining school years and the first three years of college, other young people could drink and I couldn’t. So I swore I’d try a drink on my 21st birthday. I ended up drinking two days early, and that set off a decade long journey that eventually brought me to a point where I feared living more than dying. What had started as nightly ritual of a few beers turned into, by the end, straight maintenance drinking, waking up to several shots of whiskey in my coffee, drinking beer all day and ending with more hard alcohol and marijuana at night. All day, every day. I discovered gambling along the way which undoubtedly sped my decline, as I eventually began stealing money from my employer in order to get what I needed – my fix.I had lost it all – there was no money left of my own and barely any left to take. I couldn’t stop drinking, and I couldn’t get enough booze in me to kill the pain anymore. My life had become one big lie, as I’d been hiding the extent of my problems from everyone close to me. I spent four days lying, saying I had the flu, when in fact I was on a bender. I couldn’t stop. The terror was something I only wish nobody ever had to go through. On my final day, I had to confess to my then-wife that everything was gone, and I sat at the airport waiting for a flight home to my family. I just wanted to run away, and I had no idea what awaited me on the other end of it all. I never thought it was possible to reach that bottom…but alcoholism and compulsive gambling brought me down to my knees and finally, staring at all the wreckage, there were only two choices – let myself go for good, or ask for helpAt around five days sober, I checked into a 28 day inpatient treat-ment program at Tabor Lodge. That program saved my life. I needed

to get away from the wreckage (I had confessed to my empoyer of my stealing, and on my third day of rehab, I read the front page news paper story saying that I was under investigation). Treatment forced me to see one thing crystal clear – my recovery had to be the most important thing in my life. They say whatever you put ahead of your recovery will be the second thing you lose. I learned that I had to get sober not for other people, or to look good in the face of my wreck-age – that I had to get sober for myself. Most importantly, I had to learn that I was worth it.I try to remain as vigilant in possible in the fellowship of recovery. Talking to other people who have faced similar things to me and hearing how they’ve moved through and handled the many chal-lenges life presents sober is critical for me. I also do what I can for the newcomer. When I found recovery, I can’t even summarise how significant it was for me to talk to people, tell them what I’d done and then be told to, “keep coming back” and that “this too shall pass.” I owe that same warm heart to every new person who is seeking long term recovery. I try to remain physically active and in good shape, being mindful of my dietary choices, and to give myself the rest I need. In short, I try to avoid being hungry, angry, lonely and tired, as these four things can trigger an emotional spiral.With my career in the high powered area at least temporarily done as a result of my actions, I went to work at a restaurant thanks to the kindness of an old and true friend who wanted to help me get back up on my feet. Going from a political player to bussing tables in a restaurant was humbling but so gratifying – both due to the physical exercise of the job as well as the warmth and kindness of the many new friends I made. You’re worth it, plain and simple. They aren’t bad people who need to get good, they are sick people who need to get well. Be there for them, let them know that they are loved no matter what, and that there is a path of recovery that you’re willing to travel with them.Today my life is honest and true. I don’t have nearly the material things I once did – but what I have today is a reflection in the mirror that I can look at and feel good about it. The greatest job of recovery is the ability I now have to feel good about the things I do, and the person that I am. I had never felt that before in my life. I get to spend time with my children and be emotionally invested. I get to care for others and be a good friend and a good son. And it’s all genuine and true. I owe all of that to recovery.

Anon

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Body Soul&6 - 8 NOVEMBER, 2018

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EYE 2018 ExperienceIn June of this year, I had the privi-lege of attending the European Youth Event with eight fellow students in Strasbourg, France. The experience was so much more than I could have imagined: not only did I get to hear different perspectives on policies that matter most to me, but I was able to have my own voice heard and bond with the CIT group as well.

Since moving to Ireland from the US in 2016, I’ve learned a lot about Irish and European politics. In the past two years, I’ve become more and more involved in the issues that mat-ter most to me. At the time that I ap-plied to be a part of the EYE, I felt like I was already truly part of CIT, Cork, Ireland, and Europe. Meeting people from other countries to discuss the issues facing European youth, includ-ing myself, is not an experience that everyone is able to have, so I jumped at the opportunity.

The CIT group, nine of us in total, ar-rived in Strasbourg a couple of days before the official event began. We went out as a group to dinner and drinks, but we also had time to split up and explore the city on our own. The photo below was taken one morning when I woke up early.

That day, I also had time to check out the parliament building before the crowds.The event itself began on a Friday. Everyone who participated was able to choose four events to attend, which included lectures, workshops, panel discussions, and more.

As expected, with 9,000 attendees, the place was packed. Our CIT group, along with everyone else, waiting in a line to get onto the premises. At the time, that was a bit annoying even though it didn’t take longer than thirty

minutes. But that wait was worth it. Once inside, there were food and drink stands, music performances, and workshops that didn’t require registration. The place was buzz-ing with activity. Different languages were spoken everywhere. It was an atmosphere that I can’t begin to de-scribe on paper.

The building in which the official events took place was a massive cir-cular one that was impressive even from afar. Below is the building from within the courtyard.

I attended four events at the EYE. While I found all of them to be in-sightful, two were of particular in-terest to me: a panel discussion on unpaid internships and a debate on burqa bans.

The discussion on unpaid internships seemed to be run by young politi-cally-minded people from England, Romania, and France. It began with questions from the audience, ranging from “how do I find paid internships?” to “are unpaid internships legal in this case?”. However, the atmosphere in the room became more serious when people came forward with their per-sonal stories. Young people from all over Europe spoke about getting de-grees and unable to get more than an unpaid internship afterward, about giving up on their careers to work in customer service because those jobs actually paid, and about struggling after moving to other countries in or-der to pursue careers and longterm prospects. Their stories were heart-breaking and relatable. The good that came of that was the knowledge that some of these unpaid positions are in fact illegal in some countries. It gave many in the audience the hope that they could go back to hiring manag-ers to negotiate.

The burqa ban discussion the follow-ing day was different in a fascinat-ing way. The panel was made up of Muslims from England, France, and Germany, some against the burqa ban and some for it. Unfortunately, the setup was unequal to begin with: the only man was anti-burqa while the rest of the women were against a ban. Having men and women on each side would have made for a more bal-anced debate, as the women both on the panel and in the audience often resorted to pulling the sexist card rather than responding to his argu-ments themselves. About halfway through, audience reactions became more than animated and racial slurs and other insults were thrown at the panellists. Translators stopped translating comments – that’s how negative they were. Even though the debate ended on a sour note, it was an interesting thing to witness. Below is a picture of the room before the commotion.

What I was expecting to get from the EYE was a learning experience in regard to issues facing young Euro-peans today. What I wasn’t expecting was to walk away feeling emotion-ally close to these people hundreds of kilometres away from me, whom I may never meet again. I didn’t expect to feel even more part of the fabric of European youth. I am so incred-ibly grateful to CIT for allowing me to have this experience. It’s made me more aware of the world I live in, and therefore affects my decisions. Even more than before, I want to be in a position to be able to strengthen the EU economically and be a part of a force of positive change. CIT as a whole has helped shape my inter-ests and strengths. But the EYE gave me a direction that I wouldn’t have received otherwise.

Body Soul

by Aryana Collins Jackson

8

Aaron Comerford is a final year Culinary Arts student and is a co-founder of the business Rock Steady Food Co. Rock Steady Food Co. are dedicated to bringing a taste of the Caribbean islands to Ireland

Aaron took a few minutes out of his day to speak a little about his experience on Student Inc. one of the many resources in CIT that support student entrepre-neurs.

Tell me about your business? The business started about a year ago, when a friend of mine and I decided that we wanted to do some-thing with cooking. We discovered that we both liked Caribbean food and just decided that we would start to do Caribbean food in Ireland. And so, we came up with Rock Steady Food Co.

You were part of the Student Inc. programme, can you explain to me what that is? Yeah so, kind of late in the year, I found an email in my student account and basically the word entrepre-neur caught my eye, so I opened it. I read into it a little more I soon realised that this was something that would suit me down to the ground.I filled out a quick form and I went in for ‘Dragon’s Den’ type interview and then that night I got an email saying that I was accepted onto this programme. Basi-cally, over the next three months it gave me a wage, so I wouldn’t have to work during the summer. They also gave me an office space and most importantly they gave us one to one mentoring and lecturing about all aspects of startup businesses. How did Student Inc. develop your business?The main things that Student Inc. helped us develop was a business plan and structure. Before Student Inc, we were making and selling sauce and that was ba-sically our business model. What Student Inc did was rooted our business in strong foundations. Instead of just dreaming, it helped us see a plan and really carve a path for ourselves going forward.

What would you say to students out there con-sidering starting up their own business?Go for it! I would advise them to have fun starting the business and jump into it. There’s no point sitting around thinking about it. If you think that it’s some-thing that you want to do, then just go hell for leath-er. And have fun.

A A R O N C O M E R F O R D , R O C K S T E A D Y F O O D C O .

THE STUDENT INC. EXPERIENCE

IF ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION IS SOMETHING THAT YOU ARE INTERESTED IN, MAKE SURE TO VISIT WWW.ENTERPRISE.CIT.IE TO AVAIL OF THE

ALL SUPPORTS IN PLACE TO MAKE YOUR IDEA A REALITY.

OF CIT

9

VOLUNTEER ABROAD

CONTACT THE SOCIETIES OFFICE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT VOLUNTEERING

By Keith Davitt

My Month in MozambiqueMy name is Keith and I am study-ing Manufacturing Engineering here in CIT This year I was lucky enough to receive a scholarship from the CIT Volunteer Abroad Programme. I chose to volunteer with Serve which is a Cork based organisation. SERVE is a development and volunteering organisation committed to tackling poverty. I decided to go to Mozam-bique as this was the most physical of the programs they had to offer. I travelled with 12 others from around Ireland on the 5th of July. We arrived in Mozambique on a Friday evening after three long flights, all of us in our shorts and t-shirts to find it cold and pouring rain, which was hard to ad-just to as we had just come from a heatwave back home with tempera-tures of 30 degrees!We stayed in a hostel which was ba-sic but had everything we needed. A bed, toilet and shower. When we were unpacking our stuff, the stu-dents that were staying in the hostel saw that we had a football and their faces lit up asking if we wanted a game. We said we would tomorrow, but they just said “no, now!” It was still pouring rain, but that didn’t seem to bother them. So, we all decided to give it a go. We went outside to a pitch made of sand with parts of it flooded. It was so much fun and very funny trying to kick the ball when it was floating in the water. We were based in an area called Beira in Mozambique where Serve work alongside in partnership with Young Africa. In Beira Young Africa focuses on training young peo-ple in several courses: English, Civil

Construction, Industrial Carpentry, Child Care, Refrigeration, Electrical Installation, Metal work, Mechanics, Culinary and Dressmaking - All in combination with life skills, entrepre-neurship training and talent develop-ment for employability.We were tasked with constructing three accommodation blocks along-side the students studying construc-tion and carpentry, which would be used by either students or teachers that would have had to travel from afar. There was already one block started by the students which made it easier because in Mozambique their first language is Portuguese, so it made explaining what they wanted to do easier because one block was always one step ahead. We mixed with the students as much as we could, so we could learn each other’s language, it was very funny at times trying to pronounce different words or misunderstanding their meaning and using them later in the wrong way. It was amazing to see that nothing goes to waste. Nails are reused, tim-ber is reused numerous times and the blocks used are just compressed sand. The days were tough work, but the evenings were more relaxed. There were lots to do because the gates of young Africa opened to all the public. There were people of all ages. We played all kinds of games with little kids to big football matches with people in their 20s. When it got dark it got dark fast, this happened around 5:30pm as our summer is their winter. During the night some of us spent that time teaching English,

which they were very eager to learn.We spent the weekends visiting different areas, one of which was Dondo. Dondo, it is young Africa’s neighbouring campus that teach a whole different range of courses, mainly focusing on agriculture. Here we decided to hold a sports day one weekend for all the surrounding schools. Chaos was the only word to describe it, the kids had so much energy and so keen to play that we were wrecked after the day.As the weeks went by the progress on the accommodation blocks was faster than we had thought, result-ing in us taking on a new project. The new project was to dig a large pit for a foundation and ramp for the mechanics department. By this time the weather improved, it was starting to get hotter and the pit was very ex-posed, which made this a good chal-lenge for us. Since we had begun a new project the girls in our group de-cided to move into one of the accom-modation blocks which was a leap of faith in our construction skills. By the end of the four weeks we had finished the accommodation blocks and had the pits first layer packed in which had to be done by hand. Overall the trip was such an expe-rience and would recommend this programme to everyone.

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Photo GalleryGraduations

Information Technology Graduates Billy Lyons, Causeway Kerry, Glen Dunlea, Blarney St, James McCarthy, Clonakilty and David Punch, Ballyvolane

Kate O’Sullivan, Aghabullogue, Yvonne Burgoyne, Kilmichael, Aisling Falvey, Farranree, Ciara Cronin, COmmons Rd and Kate Hawksby, Bandon at the

CIT Engineering and Sciences Conferring ceremony

Graduates Niamh Holland, Mayfield, Cian McCarthy, Cobh and Sharon O’Shea, Cobh at the CIT Engineering and Sciences Conferring ceremony

Graduate Simone Butler, Glasheen, Shauna Keegan, Mayfield, Michael Byrne,

Ballincollig and Andrew McKensie-Vass, Kilarney at the CIT Dept of Management

& Enterprise Conferring ceremony in the CIT Bishopstown Campus.

Mechanical Engineering Graduate Kevin hayes, Eoin Geary, Cobh, John McCarthy, Ovens, Moses Edogbo, Cobh, Cian Sexton, Bishopstown, Jamie Coleman, The Glen and Emmet Cadogan, Schull at the CIT Engineering Conferring ceremony

Wexford Senior Camogie twins Linda and Lisa Bolger who received their PHDs with Dr Cian O’Neill, Sport, Leisure, & Childhood Studies CIT and Dr Con Burns, Health and Exercise Research Cluster School of Humanities CIT at the CIT Engineering and Sciences Conferring ceremony

Roisín Askin, Greenmount, Aileen Courtney, Castlemaine Kerry, Brigid O’Sullivan, Midleton, Hayley Walsh, Carrigtohill, Claire Mulcahy and Elizabeth Mulcahy, New-

cestown at the CIT Conferring ceremony

Pics by Darragh Kane

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Rosarie Dineen, Ballyvourney, Joana Marques, Ballincollig, Claudia Marques, Ballincollig, Omar Elameen, Emma McCarthy, Bishopstown, Emma Hester,

Ballyphehane, Tracy Mullane, Mallow and Anne Marie O’Keeffe, Ballyvolane at the CIT Conferring ceremony

Graduates Rachel Ryan, Tipperary, Roberta O’Keeffe, Tipperary, Heather Sheedy,

Carrigaline, Cian O’Callaghan, Churchfield, Niall Hourihan, Douglas, Alice Joyce,

Aran Islands, Sharon O’Keeffe, Kilworth and Teresa Brennan, Aran Islands

Chemical Engineering Graduates Aaron Moore, Cobh, Niall Clifford, Tralee, Sean Lane, Agabullague, Evan Mackey, Clogheen, Gráinne Kearney, Rathcormac, Kevin O’Donovan, Coppeen, Gary Lane, Killabullen, sharon Maloney, Co Clare, Al Talha, Cork city and Paul O’Sullivan, Rochestown at the

CIT Engineering and Sciences Conferring ceremony

Bachelor of Arts in Social Care Graduates Sarah Davidson, Cobh and

Fiona Rea, Hollymount at the CIT Conferring ceremony Bachelor of Business and Tourism Graduate Ita O’Donnell from Abbeyfield Limerick at the CIT Conferring ceremony

Bachelor in Business Graduate aKate Shanahan, Carrigaline at the CIT Dept of Management & Enterprise Conferring ceremony

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(EYE2018)Photo Gallery

Pics by:

For the first time ever the CIT Business & Science Ball took place in Semester 1 and there was a big turn out with almost 900 students enjoying the night.

Live music from J90, Stevie G, Adam Stanton and Ryan Deasy. The event was packed with fun and activity, an illusionist, a selfie mirror, a casino and a big hit on the night was the Little CIT White Chapel with weddings to beat the band!

The organising committee Chloe, Rebecca, Aoife and Shannon would like to say a big thank you to every who attended and made it such an enjoyable event. In particu-lar to the CIT staff and Head of School of Business Breda Kenny who addressed those in attendance at the meal.

Business & Science Las Vegas Ball

Stephen Ryan, founder of marketing agency ‘Narratio’n and event series ‘24 stories’, is a former Graduate of Cork Institute of Technology. Having com-pleted a certificate in business stud-ies in 2001, Stephen came back to the campus by night to gain a Bachelor of Business Studies Degree in 2005. In 2007 Stephen took part in the first taught masters in business studies where he graduated in 2009. Before completing that Master Stephen took up the role of Head of Marketing at Fota Wildlife Park where he became well known for his digital skills, as Fota became very popular on the emerging social networks. As his role encompassed more than just Marketing Stephen came back to do another evening course enrolling in the H.Dip in Public Relations which he graduated from in 2010. Stephen enjoyed great success in his role at Fota winning many accolades including best website in Ireland in 2010 and a prestigious Cork Company of the Year award in 2016. Following Fota Stephen moved to Cork’s RedFM where he also took on the role of Head of Marketing. Stephen helped Red go from strength to strength with record listener numbers achieved and even more awards. Since 2014 Stephen has lectured on a part time basis in CIT and has now progressed onto a masters in digital marketing strategy. In July of this year Stephen took the brave move of setting up his own business having spent over 10 years in senior marketing positions. If you want to find out more about the two businesses, you can visit narration.ie or 24stories.ie. You can also catch Stephen on Instagram, Facebook & Snapchat using @stephenryancork or on Twitter @marketingincork

Aideen McCarthy is a young pro-fessional, who’s career to date re-volves around the hospitality indus-try. She holds a degree in Business in Hospitality Management, Level 7 from CIT, as well as recently com-pleting her Level 8 in Human Re-source Management, also graduat-ing from CIT. Whilst studying her degree, she worked her way up in the hospitality industry gaining ex-perience in all departments. Aideen is currently working in Wed-ding & Events Management in Midleton Park Hotel.” She’s an ex-perienced hospitality manager with demonstrated skills in Front office, Reservations, Food & Beverage operations, Conference & Event Management as well as working closely with Brides & Grooms on the run up to their special day and being their catering manager on the day. She is also an extremely customer focused individual and has a genuine passion for the hospitality industry.Instagram @_aideen & Facebook @Aideen McCarthy

#FancyFollowingCIT See more at: twitter.com/CITAlumni

www.cit.ie/alumni

Interested in the paths that current students and soon to be graduates are taking? The CIT Alumni Office offers you that opportunity. Check out some of these profiles and get a taste for how successful you could become after your chosen course at CIT...

STEPHEN RYAN AIDEEN MCCARTHY

The CIT Alumni office develops and supports alumni relations at CIT through a number of initiatives. The office encourages links between CIT and its graduates and supports the ever- growing CIT Alumni Association. The Association proudly

has almost 27,000 members.

14

Health Minister Simon Har-ris claims that by getting the Alco-hol Bill 2018 through the Daíl, he has saved countless lives and made a huge difference in battling cancer via his plans to put cancer labels on alcoholic beverages (though no plans for the same with packaging on food-stuffs with high additive numbers, which can be seen in supermarkets worldwide). The old tried formula that is guaranteed to escalate the drinking culture further negative rather than positive, as usual.Shame this same diligence Harris did towards our social culture - simply for reasons of desire for government control over the people rather than ones of genu-ine reform - has not been implemented in the same respect regarding the actual war against cancer and its saving of lives, mainly for the reason of state cynicism against its citizens for upholding the be-hemoth called the HSE. Sadly it is too late for the courageous Emma Mhic Mhathú-na, who fell victim with her life to the cervi-cal cancer scandal thanks to such cynical state negligence. And when you get the flags at Government Buildings at half-mast on the day of her funeral, our leaders becoming the masters of crocodile weep-ing does not even cut it. And it is high time communities across the country woke up to this malignant culture, as cancer can hit

anyone anytime. Otherwise what was the point of showing our respects to Cork’s late great sporting servant whose name was Liam Miller; the latest victim of the dreaded scourge?An Dheis De go raibh tu Emma.In a Repak Report, Ireland is the 7th most recycling friendly country in the EU. Wow! A big pat in the back for that one, everyone doing their bit! Maybe Brussels bestowed this award on us because the Irish soccer fans cleaned up the messes after the parties in Euro 2016? Lovely Hurling there!Fans who clean up after them? How many of these very fans actively participate in illegal dumping across the country, as what can be seen on any country drive, with black plastic bags torn open to re-veal such revolting sights? Not to mention

the scourge of illegal drinking in parks around the country? And if the hor-rific amount of waste and abandoned tentage that the supposedly environ-mentally friendly Electric Picnic 2018 demonstrated to the extent that exca-vators had to be called in to clean the mess up shows that the principles of festival spirit have had their bars set low. “Well this ensures a healthy mix of the rich and the ignorant, Sir” is what Waylon Smithers famously stated to Mr Burns when Monty once bought

Ticketmaster. Smithers could not have been more prophetic about the attitudes people in general hold regarding the en-vironment, when the rock festival equa-tion is considered. Sticking to all things Springfield, Bono, when U2 performed at Springfield, knew how to compare a good man when Homer Simpson was challeng-ing Ray Patterson for the office of Spring-field Sanitation Commissioner, and when you get Ireland having the true statistics of our recycling record buried like that – Homer at least made an effort to satisfy everyone by literally burying the waste underneath the ground, that did work for a while (only!): no wonder Bono and U2 decided to relocate their taxable income outside Ireland!

Flynner’s Flying Column

By James Flynn

WHAT’S BEEN IN THE HEADLINES…

FIND�JAMES�FLYNN�ON�FACEBOOK�-�THE�FLYNNER�FILES�(current�affairs),�DA�FLYNNER�ROUNDS!� (off-the-wall�humour).�#flynnerswordsofwisdom�–�FACEBOOK/TWITTER

The Main AgendaI have been listening to the Billy Joel song ‘We Didn’t Start The Fire’ (1989), reflecting on all the “burning “ mo-ments in World History in Billy’s life to the point of release “while-the-world-has-been-turning”. And with everything still burning in the world today - Brexit, Trump, EU-gone-corrupt, Putin, Terror-ism, Bailouts, Global Warming (old Joel could do with a 2018 re-release!) - it makes me realise that, no matter what is ever invented for good, it will always be put to use for evil. So using this turn-ing as the basis, I am going to give the top ten factors that cause evil.1. Education. Brought in from ancient times to increase awareness of human-ity and the world around us, it has served

how to progress humanity for the best about living, progress, and the art of self-empowerment. But power can also cor-rupt humanity thanks to the very traits within us (lust, greed, desire, avarice, jeal-ousy, etc), allowing humans to use edu-cation as a means/justification to strive against each other to the point of conflict and war…2. The Wheel. Invented since early man realised via education that the sun rose and set like a circle (or rather/later, realised that the earth revolved around the sun). Has done much to progress life, but the amount of wheelwork in machines and inventions - weapons included - makes terrifying the level of evil and misery that has been perpetrated thanks to such an invention.

3. Vehicles. Created to get humanity from A to B in faster time. Done much to increase human awareness of direction towards greater horizons and explora-tion, it has also been used as vehicles of conquest by transporting hostile armies to such lands for aims of conquest. The Wheel. It has been responsible for killing BILLIONS.4. Aviation. Created for the same rea-son as vehicles. Has been used to trans-port people to the most far-flung places around the world, and to create greater awareness of our planet and our universe. But less than a decade after the first aero-plane flight in 1903, humanity had learned how to use planes to drop bombs on “the enemy”. But for aviation, there would have been no Hiroshima/Nagasaki, no 9/11…

15

Last November, I wrote an article about the Boys in Green, Italia 90 and how it profounded the nation, while in Febru-ary this year, I stated how people seem to be obsessed with trying to recreate these days all over again. And last issue, I wondered about certain novelties in this respect going past their sell-by-date. Maybe I should elaborate on this a little better.Yes Italia 90 was Ireland’s “time of our life”, for the first time. Meaning there has been plenty of “times” since. Including, for example, September 2004, when I saw Cork beat Kilkenny at Croke Park in the Hurling Final, taking part in my only pitch invasion! And, next day, watching our Rebel Heroes return in triumph at South Mall. There has been plenty of leisurely moments that have acted as “times”, maybe because we need to try and har-ness fulfilment in line with our search for our ultimate place in the world. But the in-toxicating nature of such moments should also serve as a reminder that these things do not make one happy, especially when

they are used to escape from reality more often than we are willing to confront it. An example can be the Wedding Cycles – when couples decide to tie the knot: they can be exciting at first, but due to the sheer fundamental culture of such tim-ings they can eventually become highly stressful for everyone involved especially when so many take place at once; after all, Marriage involves the Law of Contract.Which is getting to the point. A truly no-table “time” can be when your local GAA team wins the County Championship, which does not happen too often: when Macroom won it in 2010, my home town (& myself) celebrated for a week! Or when Equality 2015 was passed & the myriad LGBT couples who celebrated like the rainbow after the storm with many a pro-posal being made that night; unlike Italia 90, this was not a “time” to be taken for granted; rather one to be cherished and appreciated forever after a fundamental human right was hard-won. And perhaps the real lesson about this “time” is that constant perseverance is what will bring

in the rewards that one seeks. Maybe this can be seen with the jubilant scenes in Limerick City after their hurlers won Liam McCarthy for the first time since 1973; the Treaty County had found their own Italia 90 to cherish; enjoy the moment, next, defend the prize.And ultimately it is up to all one of us to find our own Italia 90, and not rely solely on others to give it to us. Perseverance is the key to all this, and even if it is no more than finding a lucky partner to love, and who loves you for who you are, and as long as both are willing to cherish each other for what each can offer one another on that long and winding road, then you have won a tournament that is worth cel-ebrating! And the key to this is to love yourself for who you are, appreciate the people who have your back, and that will make the celebrations the more memo-rable! For this is how romance is truly written!In the words of “Don’t Look Back In Anger” after all: Please-Don’t-Put-Your-Lives-In-The-Hands, Of-A-Rock-N-Roll-Band, Or-Throw-It-All-Away”.

HAPPY DAYS!The turnout for the Liam Miller Tribute Match in memory of our late, great Rebel servant: sport is the winner once more! Now how about writing a rendition of the “Banks Of My Own Lovely Lee” for chart release, where Giggs, Petrov et al “sported-and-played”, donating the sales to many great charities in memory of Liam?

WHAT’S THE CIT-UATION ERE?!

5. Resources. Needed to fuel human/inventive consumption, exploration has been done for natural resources and raw materi-als, be it food, fuel, metals, minerals and materials. Has done much to power our machines, fuel our transportation and main-tain our structures/infrastructures. And sadly, increase global conflict for retention of such scarcity, provoke exploitation out of greed, and drive up climate change.6. Alcohol, Tobacco and Drugs. To give relief from the stresses of such a mad race, these were invented. Don’t we not love a nice pint of beer or a glass of wine? Or a smoothing ciga-rette during canteen break? And do drugs not save millions of lives every year? But due to their addictive nature, Alcohol, Tobacco and Drugs also kill millions every year.7. Television. Invented in 1927 to give hu-manity home entertainment. Has provided us with entertainment, current affairs, educa-tion, sports and the arts…and, well, look at it now.8. Information Technology. Invented to give greater awareness of the world and progress humanity further once more. Has benefitted mankind via education, entertain-ment, communications and retail. And has

also increased illegal downloading, cyber-crime, cyber-terror-ism…9. Legislation. To make the world more accountable and with responsibility enforced, lawmakers were brought in that take the form of politicians and public servants, that are generally voted in by representation. Oh, DO NOT get me started on this one please!!...10. Money. In the need to try to get above the negative conse-quences of all this, that is why the race for money has been going on since the dawn of time. Money. The root of all evil, is it not?

So, while the world keeps turning, it seems that no matter what is ever invented for good/positivity, these will always be used for negative/evil purposes by those who choose to, all for their own interests what-ever they may be. All the scarier about it all is the quote from Plato: “One will never see the end of conflict until death”.Still, I suppose I would find it hard to man-age without my pint of Guinness or Chief-tain, my annual flights abroad for holidays or my smartphone.

x

MEND YER WAYS ...The ongoing Brexit saga. Theresa May the “Dancing Queen”? Someone will have to meet their “Waterloo”, sooner rather than later. Somehow, there are not going to be too much actors lining up in the end to star in: Brexit-The Netflix Series. Binge watching at its most boring…

16

By x

AFL: (Australian Football League): Train every Wednesday at 6.30pm in CIT grass pitches. Badminton: Train Mondays, beginners 7-8pm and advanced 8-9.30pm in CIT Sportshall.Canoe: Have Pool sessions in Leisure-world, Bishopstown on Thursdays and go to rivers on Fridays.Darts: Club practices Wednesdays in the Common Room from 6-8pm. Have played 4 matches in the Cork League with 2 wins. We also had a very suc-cessful and enjoyable friendly against UCC.Equestrian: Have been training in run-ning, swimming and shooting for the forthcoming Tethrathlon in Co ClareKarate: Training Wednesdays 7-8pm in Sportshall. New members welcome. Kickboxing: Training Tuesdays 8-9pm in Sportshall. New members welcome.

Powerlifting: Train Mondays at 7pm and Wednesdays at 7.30pm in Tyco Gym. Our Club congratulates & are very proud of our members Ross O Connor and Rachel O’Mahony on their brilliant success at the Worlds in US. Sailing: Competed in their first event in Wexford and also held an Open Day in Royal Cork Yacht Club. Well done to past pupil Donagh Good along with his crew Grattan Roberts (DME 2) who made it to the finals of the All Ireland Sailing Championships in Lough Ree. NMCI Sailing: Competed in their first competition in Wexford. Tae Kwon Do: Train Tuesdays 6-7pm in the sportshall. New members welcome.Tennis: Train Tuesdays 7-9pm in Eden hall courts, 7-8pm beginners and 8-9pm intermediates. Volleyball: Train Wednesdays 8-10pm in the sportshall. Are currently preparing for both the SSI League and the inter-varsities in UCD.

For more info on any of our Sports Clubs please call to the Sports Office, 1st Floor Student Centre. LIVE CIT, LOVE SPORTS

Sporting Review

Over 1200 Runners in CIT for the Rebel RunThe annual “Rebel Run” attracted huge num-bers of enthusiastic participants to the CIT campus over the weekend of 21st of October! From Friday afternoon, Saturday morning and into Sunday morning, participants arrived to the CIT track to collect their goody bags, t-shirts and race numbers. The event now in its seventh year, expanded even further and in keeping with the ethos of being an “event for all”, teamed up with Down Syndrome Cork, and included a Run a Mile Challenge. The 5k and 10k events, catering for the beginner, couch to 5k, recreational and competitive runners proved as popular as ever with the event being sold out well in advance of race day. The memory of our former colleague in CIT Sports & Cork Sports Partnership was kept alive, with the Eithne Lydon-Hammond Prize for Participation being awarded. Massive well done to the over 1200 participants who for some breezed over the finish line, for others it took every ounce of energy but who all finished with a smile on their face and to a tremendous-ly warm reception. The organising committee of Cork Institute of Technology, Cork Sports Partnership and Leisure World Bishopstown would like to thank sponsors Cork City Council and Cork County Council, Run a Mile Challenge sponsors Bos-ton Scientific, Down Syndrome Cork, The Edge Sports and our fantastic team of volunteers. As well as Avonmore Milk and Fulfill, whose re-freshments went down a treat. Thanks also to CIT grounds staff Clive Thomp-son & Colm Craig, the Caretakers and the CIT staff & family members who volunteered their time on a Sunday. The success of this event would not be possible but for the combined ef-forts of all spearheaded by Claire Hurley from Cork Sports Partnership and Mark Mc Manus from Leisureworld, so many thanks. A full list of results is available via the Rebel Run Facebook page (notably with the 5k winner Alan O Do-novan and 2nd place finisher Abdi Issak both CIT students). Well done to all and if aiming for this event next year make sure to register early!

17

CIT host the Australian Football League European ChampionshipsFour-time All-Ireland winner and Mayo legend Cora Staunton has inked a new deal with AFL Outfit Greater Western Sydney Giants, while Kerrys Tadhg Kennelly had 10 seasons with the Sydney Swans, and the AFL arrived to CIT! On Saturday 13th of October, the Ireland, Australia and AFL flags flew as CIT successfully hosted the AFL Eu-ropeans Competition. Five pitches were in full flow with non-stop matches from early morning to late in to the evening (thanks to the floodlights!). This multi-cultural event was some sight as the chants, warm-ups and rituals of the many countries were quite educational and unique! The event was broadcast live with viewings throughout the world of our fine facilities and hospitality. Remarkably in a very efficient manner over 60 matches were played on the day. Both Irish teams ripped through their opponents to both reach their respective

finals. The England Vixens and Irish Banshees renewed hostilities in the women’s division Grand Final, with the Irish ladies beating last years reigning champions. The Irish Warriors fought hard throughout the day, topping their group, but just fell short in the Grand Final against the Danes. A key member of the Irish Warriors team was Paul Murphy from Meadow Park Close in Cork, who graduated from CIT last year with a business studies degree and who was a recipient of a CIT Sports Award in 2018 for his efforts for the CIT AFL Club. Our CIT AFL Club train every Wednesday 6.30pm in CIT and is open to all full-time students.The Welsh Red Dragons won the men’s plate final, as the German Eagles claimed the women’s bowl on their Euro Cup debut. The competition was fierce, but Ireland were well represented on the day. Overall, the success of the Euro Cup 2018 should bode well for the sport here in CIT and beyond. Congrats to all on the successful and efficient hosting of this unique event.

Remarkable success for CIT Students at the World Powerlifting Championships

CIT students Ross O’Connor (Auto & Transport Manage-ment 2) and Rachel O’Mahony (Pharmaceutical Biotech-nology 4) had much heavier luggage, along with a skip in their steps returning from a highly successful World Powerlifting Championships in Virginia, US. Thanks to their achievements with CIT they were both selected on the Irish team. On Thursday 11th of October, both had a superb start and were crowned champions of their age and weight categories in the “Strict Curl” event. Over the weekend the good news continued to flow in. On Friday 12th of October, Rachel took to the platform again in her second and final competition, the bench press. Facing some fierce competition in the 67.5kg category, Rachel remarkably placed first in the Junior (20-

24yr old) division. A 55kg bench secured her placing and in turn she again set an Irish national record with her lift. As if competing wasn’t enough on the international stage, on Saturday 13th, both Rachel and Ross took to the platform as International Referees alongside some big names in the Powerlifting community such as Robert Wilks. Again displaying their dedication to the sport and all-round willingness to help others enjoy the sport.On Sunday, Ross took to the platform in the Bench press, to round off their time at the World championships in Virginia. Ross competed in a very tough category in the 125kg division and placed first in the Juniors (20-24yr old). He finished his bench on 122.5kg, which is a remarkable 17.5kg increase on his overall personal best. While both students were well prepared and confident in their training going to the US, nobody could have predicted such a successful tournament. Their attention to detail, organisational skills, and hard work has resulted in this remarkable success. Both Ross and Rachel are excellent examples to all students and in-deed to all of us, and it is quite remarkable how much they can fit in to one day! Both students have been the driving force for CIT both in competition and administration. They always put the CIT Club first and work constantly on maintaining the high standards of the Club. They have left no stone unturned in the pursuit of success for CIT and this latest success on the World stage is richly deserved. We thank them both for their enormous efforts and congratulate them on their fantastic success. Make sure to say “well done” to them as you rub shoulders with World Champions around the corridors of CIT! The Powerlifting Club diligently train Mondays 7pm and Wednesdays 7.30pm in Tyco Gym and is open to full-time students.

CIT ABÚ!

18

CIT Team Stryde Tech, 2nd Place in University Start-up World Cup

After an arduous week of competi-tion, team Stryde Tech, from CIT, won second place in the prestigious Global Health Category of the Univer-sity Start-up World Cup Finals 2018 in Copenhagen. The University Start-up World Cup is the leading univer-sity business start-up programme and competition, where the most prom-ising university talents, corporates, business professionals and entrepre-neurs come together for a one-week intensive event in Copenhagen.

The goal of the event is to provide a platform for inspiration, development and knowledge sharing of sustainable business ideas across a range of high-er education and industry stakehold-ers. StrydeTech is an innovative and life changing mobility enablement de-vice that provides independence and confidence to those who are unable to stand up on their own.

Over recent years, team Stryde Tech members have included Kevin Hayes, Cian O’Leary, Jonathan Mullane, Muireann Hickey and Alexander So-logub. The team was represented by Muireann and Kevin in Copen-hagen, and they were supported by Prof. Sean F. O’Leary, Department of Mechanical, Biomedical & Manufac-turing Engineering, a serial mentor of award-winning student teams in CIT.

Team Stryde Tech has already re-ceived a number of national and institute awards through 2017 and 2018 including: Enterprise Ireland Student Entrepreneur of the Year, the Cruickshank Intellectual Property At-torney’s Most Technically innovative Product - National Award Winner, CIT Prize for Innovation - Best Concept Award Winner, and the Tim Sexton Memorial Award for Students of Out-standing Achievement.

Dr Barry O’Connor, CIT President, stated that “Team Stryde Tech has maintained CIT’s longstanding tradi-tion of competing on the international stage with distinction. The team’s abil-ity to translate a wonderful concept into an award-winning working prod-uct is a great reflection of their abili-ties and of the wonderful support and guidance that they have received from CIT staff.”

Michael Loftus, Head of Faculty of Engineer-ing & Science in CIT, stated that “it is a remark-able achievement for our undergraduate students to achieve this award ahead of PhD and research teams from universities such as Harvard and John Hopkins. It is fitting that their excellence has been recognised on the global stage, a fact that further highlights the value that CIT STEM graduates bring to our regional and national economies.”

CIT ABÚ!

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