[…]form of an income-contingent loan scheme. ‘While the additional funding is welcomed to prop up crumbling infrastructures, and not burdening students with a new funding model based on loans and debt, there is no financial support in terms grants for students announced today. With the cost of living soaring, SUSI grant thresholds needed to be adjusted to allow middle income earners to be able to access the SUSI grant scheme more allowing for students to be financially able to attend and apply themselves in third level.’ Budget 2018 outlined the rate of the National Training Fund (NTF) levy to be […]
[…]2023. Opening Statement I thank the committee and the Chair for the invitation to participate today. I am the vice president for postgraduate affairs at the Union of Students in Ireland, which is the representative body of students for third level education in Ireland. The research and innovation Bill is being discussed at a time when 50% of the Irish academic workforce is on casualised contracts. Postgraduate researchers have no working rights or living wage, and our expenditure on research and development is among the lowest. Furthermore, poor international research mobility, the highest postgraduate fees in the EU, funding gaps […]
Another scandal engulfing the JobBridge scheme today- A minimum of a PhD required for a synthetic chemistry role. Doctorates required for €50 and a dole payment already reduced significantly for many young people. USI recently called for JobBridge to be phased out in our ‘Vision for Post-Bailout Ireland’. This bridge is broken beyond repair. It is past time to end this scheme and the displacement of paid labour, exploitation of workers and unregulated carnage it consistently produces. We need proper internships, training opportunities and upskilling in Ireland. But they need to provide adequate monitoring, oversight and regulation. Clearly, in far […]
[…]of Higher Education in Ireland. It is a group that USI intend to fully engage with, as it is crucially important that an open and frank discussion about future funding options for Higher Education in Ireland takes place as a priority. In the context of the findings in today’s HEA System Performance Report, it is clear that there are considerable pressures on the Higher Education system, and it is reasonable to assume that further increased demand without matching additional funding will impact on the quality of outcomes the system is able to deliver. The under-funding of the sector manifests itself […]
The National Student QA Reviewers Pool has been established by Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) and the Union of Students in Ireland (USI). The latest call for applications to the pool has now opened. Pool members will receive training from NStEP, QQI and USI on quality assurance in Irish Higher Education and quality review procedures. The Student QA Reviewer’s Pool is made up of students trained by QQI and USI to sit on review panels and ensure the student perspective is evident throughout quality assurance in Ireland. Student Reviewers are paid for their time on panels and are reimbursed for […]
