By Martha Brennan
Two NUI Galway colleges were presented with national awards of excellence last month.
The College of Arts, Social Sciences and Celtic Studies and the J.E Cairnes School of Business and Economics were both recognized as the best in Ireland at the 2019 Education Awards.
The categories were judged by an independent panel of judges who praised the NUI Galway colleges for the quality of classroom teaching as well as community impact.
Industry partnerships, collaborations and research were also taken into account.
The Education Awards were established in 2017 to recognise and encourage extraordinary achievements in third level education in Ireland.
Professor John McHale, Dean of the College of Business, Public Policy and Law at NUI Galway said he was delighted with the win for the J.E. Cairnes School.
“This incredible achievement is truly representative of the efforts of all colleagues and reaffirms our commitment within the University to creating transformational opportunities for our students,” he said.
“It is wonderful for the efforts of all colleagues in making this happen to be recognised at the 2019 Education Awards,” Professor Cathal O’ Donoghue, Dean of the College of Arts, Social Science and Celtic Studies said following the awards.
According to Professor O’ Donoghue, the College has worked hard in the past 18 months to ensure its appeal by launching new programmes and working on research.
The College of Arts faced national scrutiny last year following the refunding of fees to BA Connect with Journalism students, after trouble with course organization.
NUI Galway was also shortlisted in multiple other categories including ‘Best Education Outreach Award’ for NUI Galway Youth Academy, ‘Best Online Learning Experience’ for the Centre for Adult Learning and Professional Development, ‘Career Impact Strategy Award’ for the Career Development Centre, ‘Best Marketing/Communications Team’ for the J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics, and ‘Best Business and Third Level Institution Collaboration’ for Deloitte and NUI Galway.
The top prize of Overall Excellence in Education was awarded to the National College of Ireland.
