'AMLÉ' (Aontas na Mac Léinn in Éirinn) is the new name for the Union of Students in Ireland. It's a direct translation.

General:

  • Nominations for the AMLÉ officer board elections are open. For information as to how to participate, click here. Nominations close on Monday the 20th of February. 
  • Nominations for the Student Achievement Awards Ireland 2017 are now open. Click here for more information and to enter.
  • President of NUS-AMLÉ Fergal McFerran, President of NUS Malia Bouattia and President of AMLÉ Annie Hoey met in Dublin and issued a joint statement calling for candidates in the Northern Ireland Assembly election to focus on building a stable future which delivers hope and opportunity for students and young people.

President of NUS-AMLÉ Fergal McFerran, President of NUS Malia Bouattia and President of AMLÉ Annie Hoey met in Dublin

Policy and Campaigns:

  • Assisted National Forum in reviewing funded projects aimed at enhancing teaching & learning in higher education.
  • Met with the Irish Survey of Student Engagement (ISSE) to evaluate progress of survey to date and to plan for second phase of field work.
  • Met with the project manager of a scoping group aimed at identifying ways in which learning analytics can enhance student support.
  • AMLÉ met with the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) to discuss protection of student nurses and midwives pay on placement, what further supports are needed and issues to campaign on.
  • AMLÉ Vice President for Equality and Citizenship attended a seminar in Brussels with the European Students Union (ESU) on the refugees in higher education campaign.
  • AMLÉ became involved in a campaign on disability rights with key disability rights groups and service providers led by Joanne O’Riordan.
  • AMLÉ gained the support of the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) for publicly-funded higher education.
  • AMLÉ re-launched the Student Summit on Twitter and Facebook with new branding and put a call out for students to take part in regional pitch competitions with AMLÉ and Bank of Ireland.
  • The AMLÉ Vice President for Welfare attended the Youth Mental Health Taskforce meeting with Minister for Mental Health and Older people.

Annie Hoey said she knew of one student who was quoted a price of €6,000 to insure their Volkswagen Polo, and that she herself had recently been quoted a price of €3,000 to renew her own policy.

Campaign Spotlight – Sexual Health And Guidance 2017:

  • #SHAG17 trended on Twitter for 7 hours in Ireland and reached 1.4 million people.
  • The Vice President for Welfare handed out 11,000 condoms to students across 4 campuses.
  • AMLÉ launched shag.usi.ie with information on consent, STIs and information on safer sex.
  • AMLÉ became official partners with the HSE and Health Ireland this year.

That’s a big SHAG pack!