A group of Trinity’s most senior staff will cycle a 200km race in Wicklow in the name of the raising money for the Postgraduate Hardship Fund.
Led by the Dean of Graduate Studies, Prof Neville Cox, the college officers will cycle the Wicklow 200, a non-competitive one-day cycle, on June 10th.
Cox will be joined by the Senior Tutor, Aidan Seery, as well as Dean of Health Sciences Prof Mary McCarron and Dean of Development Prof Gerard McHugh.
The Wicklow 200, which annually attracts around 3,000 participants, was first held in 1982. With over €3,000 raised for the fund in the event last year, the cycle has become an important source of funding for the Postgraduate Hardship Fund in recent years.
The fund, which is administered by the Postgraduate Advisory Service, provides support to postgraduate students experiencing financial difficulties, with the average applicant receiving €825. The fund has experienced increased demand for assistance in recent years as repeated fee hikes for postgraduate students, coupled with the spiralling cost of living and rent in Dublin, has put students under increased pressure.
Postgraduate Student Support Officer Martin McAndrew emphasised the importance of the scheme in promoting a diverse campus. In a press statement, he said: “Postgraduates are a key part of Trinity’s academic ecosystem. The Postgrad Hardship fund is one of the main ways we are able to secure a more diverse postgraduate student body and, in a very meaningful way, help students in need complete the research they came here to pursue.”
In a press statement, Cox said: “Every year the postgraduate student hardship fund is inundated with applications from students in dire financial need. In an effort to boost this fund and to help our wonderful postgrad students, various Trinity College staff and students will cycle the Wicklow 200 event or do some equivalent feat of endurance on June 10 on a sponsored basis. ”
“We would love people to take part and get themselves sponsored, or to sponsor us or to simply get the word out and try to get sponsorship for us”, he said.
Support is being offered by the Graduate Students’ Union (GSU), with GSU President Shane Collins joining Cox in encouraging staff, students and alumni to participate in the cycle, host an alternative fundraising event on June 10th or to sponsor the event.
