Don’t miss out on the chance to make new friends, learn new skills and have a great time! See you at Refreshers Day on Tuesday 30 January at the Astra Hall (UCD Student Centre) 10:00 – 16:00! It’s almost time for the new semester to start and we couldn’t be more excited! We know the festive break has been fun and all, but it’s time to get back into the swing of things. And what better way to do that than by joining one of our student societies and getting involved in UCD Student Life? 🎉 At Refreshers Day you can come and meet all the societies, chat with them, and sign up for membership. Trust us, it’s a great way to make new friends, learn new skills, and have a blast while doing it! Plus, we’ve got tons of events happening throughout the week, so you definitely don’t want to miss out! So mark your calendars and we’ll see you at Refreshers Day! 👋

With the semester halfway done and the days of online society events firmly in the past, arguably the most exciting aspect of society life is back: trips away. Whatever society you are involved in, it’s likely that at some point you will get to go somewhere outside of Dublin and outside of UCD to socialise, take part in an activity or compete. During my time in UCD I have been lucky enough to travel with the Law Society and the L&H to debating competitions, but more on that later.  Going away with your new friends is a great opportunity. With societies like Harry Potter society holding an annual trip to London, and the History Society organising educational getaways in Ireland and abroad there is something for everyone. If going abroad is something you’re interested in, this year the French Society plans on going to Brussels – which is a great chance to put into practice the language skills you may have developed over the academic year with them. If giving back is more up your street, then doing the annual SciSoc cycle for charity to Galway may be something to keep an eye out for. With thousands of euros being raised every year, and a great chance to meet people from all across the science disciplines it has always been a highlight of the year.    If you are looking to compete, then getting involved in Chess Soc, the I&E, the L&H, LawSoc or the SLS may be for you. With MUN taking the I&E to New York, the L&H and LawSoc regularly travelling to debate and the SLS participating in Negotiation competitions you won’t run out of opportunities to hone your public speaking skills. Last year DramSoc not only went to the ISDA’s but dominated, and ended up heading to Edinburgh for the fringe festival.    There is so much going on every week in UCD societies, but the importance of keeping an eye out for what can be the highlight of a society’s year and the highlight of yours can’t be understated!

Applications are invited for the following positions: Societies Council Chairperson (candidate brief – link here) Communications, Social Media and Events Executive (candidate brief – link here)   Note: The deadline for applications is listed in the candidate brief. UCD Societies Council is the representative body of student societies in UCD. Established in 1992, the Societies Council has a membership of over 80 recognised student societies, and is responsible for representing, advocating on behalf of, and supporting the interests and activities of student societies. The Societies Council is responsible for the allocation of funding and grants to each student society. UCD Societies Council operates as UCD Societies. Working in partnership with each student society, UCD Societies support student development and the promotion of student life across the campus. This work caters to current and prospective students, as well as other members of the University community. Alongside the daily work of promoting UCD student societies and the UCD Student Experience, UCD Societies maintains an online events calendar and contributes content to a number of UCD publications. UCD Societies are committed to supporting student enterprise and building a vibrant andengaged community experience based on teamwork and respect.

The UCD Arthur Cox Women in Leadership Conference 2022 takes place on 22 March in UCD’s O’Reilly Hall. Tickets on are sale now at this Eventbrite link. Enter the student promo code (WiLStudent2022) before the checkout to activate the Student Ticket Option and get your tickets today.

Many of you gave a great deal of time to student life in college. This may have been to a sports club, a students’ union or to a particular society. Student societies support personal development and are one of the strongest mechanisms for community building on any campus. The role of societies and the volunteer student leadership that powers them should be cherished and celebrated. The UCD Societies History & Memories Project was established to explore the history of societies in University College Dublin and to reconstruct the unique stories of each society and its members. Please share the form at this link with your own network of Society Alumni to help us reach as wide an audience as possible. This project can only be successful with your support.  

This year the Musical Society will present ‘Once!’ as their semester 1 show! Check out their page here for more information and to get involved! 🇮🇪🎸 🇨🇿  

Dramsoc have released their shows for Semester One. Currently the line up looks like this:   _______________________ Week 8 (1-5 Nov) ‘Precious Little Talent’ @7pm Week 9 (8-12 Nov) ‘Little Women’ @1pm ‘PI$$Slutz’ @7pm Week 10 (15-19 Nov) ‘In the Next Room’ @1pm ‘For Coloured Girls who have Considered Suicide’ @7pm _______________________   Each show runs for 5 days. Dramsoc will be posting audition times posted this week 🤩  Check out their profile here and connect with their channels for more information.

Events, events and more events! To check out what’s coming up this week click here or have a look at societies.ucd.ie/events.