Student Life

There are a huge number of Student Societies available to you to try out during your time here in UCD. You can find the full list, with more information available about each of them, here, on the (opens in a new window)UCD Societies website. Whether you’re into Dance, Film, Juggling or Computing, there’s something for everyone and it’s a great way to get to know other students throughout the year!

In the School of Computer Science in particular, we have a close relationship with (opens in a new window)NetSoc, UCD's Internet & Computer Science Society. Lots of our students join Netsoc each year, and we have previously  collaborated with them on a weekly “Code and Chill” evening where Undergraduate and Masters students are able to socialise, study together, eat pizza and get to know each other in a relaxed environment. 

During the academic year, the School of Computer Science runs a weekly “Code and Chill” social event/study group evening. While it acts as a social meeting point for students from our Undergraduate and Masters programmes, it also allows students to study together, while having Tutor assistance from our Computer Science Support Centre on hand to talk them through any of the trickier parts of the course. We have had incredible feedback from students about how this help has been invaluable, especially coming up to assignment/exam time. Pizza and snacks are provided for students (registration is essential!) and we would love to have you along!

Make sure to keep an eye on your student email each week for the sign-up form to make sure your pizza order is in and you can join us!

The Computer Science Support Centre (CSSC) is a free service offered to UCD students taking Computer Science modules. Please consider availing of it if you are struggling with technical problems and you feel you need a little extra help. Most of the staff are students themselves, and many will have confronted the very same technical problems that you are dealing with now. The CSSC aims include: 

• To provide additional academic support beyond the primary resources, such as lecturers, teaching assistants (TA's) and demonstrators.
• To offer tuition on a drop-in basis, allowing students to visit the Centre during the posted opening hours.
• To help students understand course material they find challenging, even after utilising primary resources.
• To assist students in completing coursework independently.
• To show students how to break down complex problems into smaller, manageable parts.
• To guide students on proper debugging techniques.

The Centre operates as a drop-in service. If you have any computer science related difficulty, feel free to visit Room B1.03 on the 1st Floor of the Computer Science Building. 

If you have any further queries, please contact us at (opens in a new window)cssc@ucd.ie. For more information, check out the (opens in a new window)CSSC website.

Intel Women in Technology Scholarship

Aimed at encouraging the pursuit of a career in science and technology, the programme grants each scholar a monetary grant of €3,000, as well as opportunities for work placements at Intel's Leixlip or Shannon campuses. Additionally, each recipient is paired with an Intel mentor to provide guidance and support in their academic and professional journey.

The UCD students who received the 2024 scholarships are Jingyi Cui, Kalkidan Dessie, Joy Njekwe, and Onosen Ikhide.

Pictured the 2024 WIT Scholarship recipients alongside their Intel Leaders and mentors.

Scholars L-R:  Onosen Ikhide, Rihanna Frawley, Níse Ó Cuill, Kalkidan Dessie, Joe Njekwe; Jingyi Cui, Michelle -Ka Yi Liu, Aoife Steenson.

A total of 12 scholarships were awarded to students across Ireland this year, with the remaining awarded to recipients at Trinity College Dublin, Maynooth University, Technical University Dublin, and University of Limerick.

Internships make up an important part of our undergraduate degree programme, and some of our postgraduate programmes. They allow our students to experience their field of study in the real world, and gain valuable practical experience during their studies, as well as benefitting their CV ahead of graduation. 

For our Undergraduate students, the Internship Module Co-Ordinator is Pavel Gladyshev ((opens in a new window)pavel.gladyshev@ucd.ie). 

For our Postgraduate students taking part in the HDip Computer Science , the Work Placement Module Co-Ordinator is Simon Caton ((opens in a new window)simon.caton@ucd.ie). 

For our Postgraduate students taking part in the MSc Computer Science by Negotiated Learning, the Internship Module Co-Ordinator is Andrew Hines ((opens in a new window)andrew.hines@ucd.ie). 

Any broader questions you may have about Internships within the School of Computer Science can be answered by the UCD Science Internship Office.

While we want you to enjoy your time in University College Dublin, we know that this is just one step in your career and want to support you along that path. UCD has Career Advisors which work with our students to ensure that you are primed for the job market once you are finished your studies with us, and to advise you on what your next move should be dependent on what it is you want to do. 

Edel Caraway

Career & Skills Consultant

Edel works with students of the UCD College of Science to enable and empower them to make the right career choices and to enhance their employability skills. Her work with students ranges from design and delivery of embedded career development within the College of Science curriculum, design delivery and assessment of credit-bearing modules, facilitation of workshops on all aspects of career management and skill development and one-to-one guidance and support. Edel is also the Team Lead for the STEM Team which includes the Colleges of Science, Engineering and Architecture, Health Sciences, Agriculture and Veterinary Science. 

Edel holds a Master’s in Education (Guidance and Counselling) from Trinity College Dublin, and a Graduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning.  She also holds a Graduate Diploma in Accountancy and Finance (ACCA), Graduate Diploma in Business Studies (Marketing) and a BA in Pure Economics. Edel is a certified MBTI practitioner and holds accreditation from the British Psychological Society to administer A and B psychometric inventories. .Edel is a qualified member of the (opens in a new window)Association of Higher Education Careers Services (AHECS)), the(opens in a new window) Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS) and the Institute of Guidance Counsellors (IGC).

Tel:+353 1 716 7559

Email: (opens in a new window)edel.caraway@ucd.ie

Career Consultant

 Ann is a member of the (opens in a new window)Association of Higher Education Careers Serviceand the(opens in a new window)Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services 

Tel:+353 1 716 7596

Email: (opens in a new window)ann.mccarry@ucd.ie

 

Careers Consultant

As Career Consultant, Sarah meets undergraduate and postgraduate students of all disciplines for one-to-one sessions to advise on making effective applications and preparing for interviews. She also facilitates career readiness workshops for all cohorts across the University.

Sarah holds a BSc in Education and Training from Dublin City University and a Postgraduate Diploma in Career Guidance and Development from Nottingham Trent University. Prior to her role here, Sarah worked in the Careers and Employability Team at Nottingham Trent University.

Sarah is a member of the Association of Higher Education Careers Service and the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services

Email:(opens in a new window)sarah.shalloe@ucd.ie

Isobel Tynan

Careers Consultant

As a careers consultant, Isobel meets undergraduate and postgraduate students of all disciplines to advise on making effective applications and preparing for interview. She also facilitates career readiness workshops for all student cohorts across the university.

Isobel joined the UCD Careers network in 2024 following her career as Head of Learning and Development in professional services. She has a Masters in Work and Organisational Behaviour, is MBTI certified and is a  member of the Association of Higher Education Career Services and the Association of Graduate Career Advisory Services.

Email:(opens in a new window)isobel.tynan@ucd.ie

Student Advisers

The Student Advisers for the School of Computer Science are Aine Murphy and Dani Findley.

They are here to ensure your experience at UCD is as fulfilling and enjoyable as possible. They can:

• Provide support with personal, social and emotional issues
• Answer your questions about studying at UCD
• Advise on financial supports for your time as a student
• Help you to navigate UCD policies, procedures and services

If you need to get in touch with them, or to set up an appointment to chat, you can reach them by email or phone. 

Aine Murphy: (opens in a new window)aine.murphy@ucd.ie , 01 7162381

Dani Findley: (opens in a new window)dani.foy@ucd.ie, 01 7162362

Meetings can be carried out on Zoom or in person, in their office in O Brien Centre for Science E.055. 

If you’re a mature student who is looking for support, there is a Mature Student Adviser who will be happy to help you. Emma Somers is based in the Access and Lifelong Learning centre, and can be emailed at (opens in a new window)emma.somers@ucd.ie or reached on the phone at 01 7167542. 

If you’re a postgraduate research student, Eamonn McHugh will be happy to help you as the PG Research Student Adviser. He can be reached by email at (opens in a new window)eamonn.mchugh@ucd.ie or on the phone at 01 716 1875.

Undergraduate Students 

The BSc Director in the School of Computer Science is Prof. Barry Smyth ((opens in a new window)bscdirector.cs@ucd.ie) .

If you have any questions around the BSc programme, please contact our Undergraduate Programme Administrator, Laura McLoughlin , at (opens in a new window)bscadmin.cs@ucd.ie

Postgraduate Students

The manager of the Graduate Taught Office is Imelda Huggins, she can be reached at (opens in a new window)imelda.huggins@ucd.ie 

If you have any questions around our Postgraduate Programmes, please contact us on (opens in a new window)computerscience@ucd.ie and we will be happy to get you in touch with the correct programme administrator who can help you.

Each year, we offer the (opens in a new window)Active Consent* Consent Training to our first year undergraduate students. We are in the third year of offering this half hour long training which students have found to be insightful, educational and helpful in the beginning stages of their university life. 

We also recommend that students take the e-learning module from Active Consent* (opens in a new window)"(opens in a new window)Sexual Violence and Harassment: How to Support Yourself and your Peers". This training is useful for giving students the language and skills to support themselves and others who may disclose to them, as well as guiding them to support services and further informing them on the topic. It takes 40 minutes to complete, and covers the following topics: 

• The legal definition of consent, rape and sexual assault in Irish law
• How external factors (gender roles, alcohol and drugs, etc) can impact our ability to communicate consent with our partners
• Fictional consent scenarios featuring a diverse range of relationships
• How to be an Active* Bystander that intervenes to prevent SVH (sexual violence & harassment) from occurring
• What to do if a close friend tells you about a negative sexual experience they have had
• Interactive content (quizzes, polls, etc) that helps students develop a more nuanced understanding of consent & sexual violence

Students will receive a certificate of completion at the end.

UCD’s Dignity and Respect Policy sets out the framework for dealing with complaints of bullying and harassment, including sexual harassment. It includes information for dealing with complaints informally as well as information on the formal procedure.  It also contains information on the supports available for staff and students.

You can learn more at https://www.ucd.ie/equality/support/dignityrespect/ 

As part of Orientation, all students are given access to a one-hour long Dignity and Respect Service training which they are expected to complete in their first term. 

It is divided in three sections covering what it means to be an active bystander and why it is important, as well as inappropriate behaviours of bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct. There are a range of supports available to students in UCD and we want to ensure that bystanders or people impacted by these behaviours feel empowered to take action.   

• Always use your University College Dublin student email account when emailing members of staff. This way, they know that you are a registered student of the University. Many staff members will not respond to emails from non-UCD email accounts.
• Take the time to figure out who is the best person to send your email to. You can find lists of academic and administrative staff within each College, School and Discipline, along with their contact details, on the University College Dublin website. Staff members get a lot of emails every day and they may not respond if they feel that they are not the right person to answer your query. In general, you should only email your lecturers or tutors about academic or academic-related matters. 
• Only send a query by email if you are certain that your question can’t be answered elsewhere – for example, by checking the UCD website or Brightspace. Staff members receive a large number of emails with questions that could easily have been answered by looking elsewhere, and you may not receive a response to such queries. 
• You can unintentionally cause offence if you don’t get the tone of your emails right. It’s best to start with a formal approach. For example: 
• Open your email with ‘Dear …’ rather than ‘Hey’ or ‘Hi’ 
• Use a person’s formal title, e.g. Professor, Dr., Mr. or Ms. X 
• Use proper English: do not use ‘text speak’ such as ‘u r right’ or ‘LOL’, emojis or GIFs 
• Conclude with ‘Kind regards’, ‘Best regards’, or similar 
• Provide your full name and student ID number at the end of your email
• Be patient while waiting for a response - staff members are quite busy throughout term time, and may not have the chance to get back to you immediately with a reply. Sending multiple emails in a short space of time without a reply should be avoided. 
• If your question/request is with regard to changing a grade, be aware that canvassing for a change in grade will be unsuccessful. There are procedures in place for if you feel like a grade should be double checked, but once that process has been completed, further contact with the module co-ordinator/academic staff/administrative staff should be avoided.