Eight staff members and the former Vice-President of the Graduate Students’ Union (GSU), Madhav Bhargav, cycled the Wicklow 200, raising €6,100 for the Postgraduate Student Hardship Fund.
This is more than double the amount that was raised last year at the non-competitive cycle, which every year sees thousands of participants cycle through the Wicklow Mountains.
Leading the group from Trinity was Dean of Graduate Studies, Prof Neville Cox. He was joined by Senior Tutor Aidan Seery, Dean of Health Sciences Prof Mary McCarron, and Dean of Development Prof Gerard McHugh.
In an email statement to The University Times, Cox praised the team effort that went into the sponsored cycle.
“As dean I really felt the university needed to do even something small to show solidarity with them”, he explained.
Stating on Twitter that he was “delighted” to donate the €6,100 raised to the Postgraduate Hardship Fund, he thanked all those who supported the incredibly worthy cause.
The Postgraduate Student Hardship Fund provides support to postgraduate students who are experiencing long or short-term financial difficulty, which the average successful applicant receiving €825. As postgraduate fees and the cost of living in Dublin has spiralled upwards in recent years, there has been an increase in the number of applicants seeking monetary assistance.
