November 2022
SETU welcomes many visitors to its campuses across the south east on a daily basis but Thursday, 17 November presented a unique opportunity for SETU staff involved in the change network to visit the Carlow campus, learn more about the key activities taking place there and most importantly, get to know new colleagues.
The change network was formed to help create and drive open, two-way communication between the project team, leadership and colleagues both pre and post launch of SETU.
The programme in Carlow commenced with a change network meeting held in the chamber room of the Haughton Building. Members discussed the merits of the change network to date and how it could potentially evolve to serve the requirements of our staff, students and stakeholders as we move beyond the initial establishment phase of our new university.
The group was then led on a tour of the Carlow campus, stopping off at the Dargan Centre to learn more about Design+, one of Ireland’s leading Technology Gateway centres as well as EnviroCORE which is focused on researching innovative environmental technologies. An update on capital projects on the campus including a look at the new corporate services building, due for completion in summer 2023, was followed by a tour of the Centre for Aerospace Engineering.
At the Apprentice’s Building, the group reviewed the carpentry and joinery rooms as well as the electrican, instrumentation and electrical instrumentation facilities. A tour through the Barrow Centre which houses student services, student’s union, the high-performance gym as well as the sports hall and other activity rooms and learning spaces, brought the group out to the agora where the ‘Portal of Light’, the first piece of artwork commissioned on the Carlow campus in 2001 was discussed as part of the wider campus collection of art.
Following a brief look at the Learning Resource Centre, which houses the library, teaching and learning as well as IT services, SETU change network members had the opportunity for further conversation and discussion on collaboration plans and live projects during a team lunch.
Waterford colleagues then took a bus tour of Carlow town to get a sense of how interconnected the town, the university campus and the main student accommodation areas are. The day concluded with a look at the new world class south sports campus.
David Ryan, Programme Director said ‘The SETU Change Network is an invaluable part of our transformation process with participants from all campuses, functions and faculties getting involved, working together, identifying opportunities and bringing our new university to life. As we continue on our SETU journey and work to develop our inaugural Strategic Plan, we are so grateful for their enthusiasm, expertise and openness and for their contribution to this change process’.
Commenting on the visit, Brian Foley, Programme Director, complimented colleagues in Carlow on ‘giving a real sense of the breadth and depth of activities underway across all areas of the campus. This visit was extremely useful in growing and strengthening our multi-campus relationships’.