08 September 2014
RCSI (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland) is gearing up to welcome 470 new students to the College to study Medicine, Physiotherapy and Pharmacy during Orientation Week 2014 which will begin today and last until Thursday 11th September.
This year’s undergraduate intake of 385 medical students, 55 pharmacy students and 30 physiotherapy students come from Ireland and a host of other countries across Europe, North America, Australia, the Middle East, Asia and Africa. 60 of these students will then go on to study at Penang Medical College (PMC) after completing their pre-clinical programme in Dublin.
Professor Hannah McGee, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, RCSI will greet the new intake of students with an opening address this morning, welcoming the new students to RCSI. Further welcome speeches will be delivered by Philip Curtis, Associate Director of Admissions and Student Services and Dr Orna Tighe, Vice Dean for Student Support & Development. Students will then be introduced to academic and administrative staff of the College, as well as other aspects of student life at RCSI such as the Students’ Union, Clubs and Societies and library services within the College.
Later in the day Professor Cathal Kelly, CEO/Registrar, RCSI will give an overview of the College in the O’Flanagan Lecture Theatre, followed by a unique perspective on RCSI and some of its distinguished graduates, presented by Professor Clive Lee, Head of the Department of Anatomy. This will be followed by the special ‘President’s Reception’ for students and their families in the College Hall and Boardroom. This event will give our new students the opportunity to meet with Mr Declan Magee, President of RCSI and a number of other academics and staff.
The 2014 Buddy Programme will also get underway with second and third year pharmacy, physiotherapy and medical students volunteering to act as ‘buddies’ for the new students this year. The Buddies provide an invaluable resource in the form of friendly, knowledgeable and experienced students, who welcome the new students to RCSI for the first time and provide them with first-hand knowledge about the college, the courses, extra-curricular activities and student life in Dublin.
This week the new students will also receive their Apple Mac Book Air 13″ laptops, provided by the IT Department and will also get set up on the RCSI network and collect their student cards.
On Tuesday 9th September, the Annual Undergraduate Prize-Giving Ceremony will be held in conjunction with a White Coat Ceremony in the Exam Hall. The White Coat Ceremony is a welcome event for new undergraduate students which symbolises the professional nature of the careers on which they are about to embark. The evening also comprises of an awards ceremony for students from Foundation Year through to Senior Cycle in RCSI who achieved excellence to date, together with some short presentations by students, the Dean and members of Faculty. The ceremony will be live streamed so that families and friends of students attending the White Coat Ceremony will be able to follow proceedings.
The week-long orientation doesn’t end there as this week is also Fresher’s Week for the students. There are a number of social events organised for students including sign-up day for the multitude of Clubs & Societies in the College on Wednesday 10th September; the Fresher’s Festival on Thursday in the RCSI sports grounds in Dardistown and then a ballad session on Friday in Dublin’s Vicar St venue to close the week, to name but a few. The week’s activities and events are being organised by various departments across the College including Admissions, Student Services, Student Academic and Regulatory Affairs (SARA), and staff from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences as well as the Student’s Union.
RCSI is a not-for-profit health sciences institute which focuses on education and research to drive positive change in all areas of human health worldwide. RCSI is headquartered in Dublin and is a recognised College of the National University of Ireland. In 2010, RCSI was granted independent degree awarding status by the State, which enables the College to award degrees alongside its traditional powers to award licentiates.
