Education: Katie Byrne
Uncontested for the role of Education officer is final-year Zoology student, Katie Byrne. The 23 year old Wexford native has plenty of experience with the Students’ Union, serving as Natural Science School convener and sitting on the Environmental and Education committees, in addition to her role as ZooSoc Ents officer. Byrne was also awarded ‘Class Rep of the Year’ last year.
Byrne views the SU as an important part of student life and intends to build upon the recurring idea of a more accessible and approachable SU by improving the structure and organisation of the Education Office. She is proposing updates to the SU Education website to improve the accessibility of learning resources and advance it as a “key source for information on education for students”. A major focus of Byrne’s education initiative is to better prepare students for life after college; she says, “anyone approaching the end of their course will tell you what to do next can be a bit of a mystery”.
With ambitions of expanding the GradLink programme in addition to organising faculty-specific seminars led by industry experts and providing information on labour markets and career paths available, she hopes to lessen the ambiguity surrounding graduate life. Byrne feels that “inspiration is key to getting students really engaged and involved with their course and prospective careers.” She hopes to aid exploration into coursework and practical applications in working life through the launch of an interactive Trinity Blog, utilising the key role of peers in course engagement.
Byrne understands that there still appears to be a divide between the expression of student opinions and the decisive action that stems from them, a barrier she hopes to minimise, expressing her belief that “if students feel they really can make a difference, they will be empowered to engage with the problems they encounter to try and improve for the future.”
Profile by Sarah Ledden, Contributing Writer
