Minister Creed addresses packed house at UCD Careers Fair
Students from the UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science host their annual Careers Fair in the UCD Student Centre.
The UCD Agriculture, Food Science & Human Nutrition Careers Day took place today Wednesday 22nd February 2017. The annual event, organised by students, for students, warmly welcomed the presence of Minister Michael Creed, who opened the annual event.
Minister Creed provided a keynote address to 350 final year undergraduate students in the UCD Garret Fitzgerald Debating Chamber. During the session, students were also briefed by Dr Eileen Gibney, Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning at the UCD School of Agriculture & Food Science and Ms Rachel White, Chairperson, Agricultural Science Careers Committee.
Careers Day is an important event for soon-to-be graduates of Agriculture, Food Science and Human Nutrition programmes as it allows them the opportunity of meeting and engaging with potential future employers. A total of 37 exhibitors attended the event, providing an excellent opportunity for students to network with representatives from a range of organisations.
Dr Eileen Gibney, Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning, UCD School of Agriculture & Food Science said, “UCD are proud to support our students’ learning and development activities outside of the classroom and Careers Day is no exception. Students have demonstrated excellent organisational, entrepreneurial and networking skills and I would like to commend them on a successful event."
Rachel White, Chairperson, Agricultural Science Careers Committee was delighted with the turnout from industry and the eagerness to meet with UCD School of Agriculture & Food Science students, “Careers Day has a significant role to play for the graduating class of 2017, it provides us with an opportunity to showcase all the talents, knowledge and expertise which we have acquired and perfected throughout four years of study and professional work experience.”
In addition to the briefing and careers discussion, Mary Delaney, President, ASA (Agricultural Science Association), made a formal presentation to the winners of the ASA Mock Interviews. ASA hold these interviews to give students an opportunity to practice and improve their interview skills as part of their ongoing professional development. The winners were: David Dunne (Tipperary); James Doherty (Donegal); Liam McCabe (Cavan); Rachel White (Cork); Cliona Costello (Clare) Geoffrey Kennedy (Laois), Peter Doyle (Wexford); Eimear Lynch (Cork); Patrick Hennessy (Tipperary) and Shane Maher (Carlow).