Eurolink News

UCC students get inside glimpse of the EU on Brussels tour (3rd Feb, 2010)

February 3, 2010 at 2:53 pm Leave a comment

For the twenty-seven UCC students who visited Brussels last week, it was a chance to sample the inside workings of the European institutions and get a sense of the job opportunities the EU has to offer. The group of undergraduate and post-graduate students travelled to the Belgian capital for five days, accompanied by four staff members from UCC’s Department of Government. As well as visiting the European Parliament, the EU Commission and the Council of Ministers, the students also took in a trip to NATO Headquarters and the offices of the IFA in Brussels.
For UCC lecturers Teresa Reidy and Fiona Buckley, the highlight of the tour was meeting the Irish MEPs. ‘Munster MEP Alan Kelly gave us a great introduction to the European Parliament – we saw how the committees debate issues in the chamber and got a real sense of the MEPs in action,’ said Ms. Reidy. Fiona Buckley said it was particularly refreshing for the students to meet Ireland’s five newly elected MEPs ‘who were just pictures on ballot papers six months ago’.
The group also got a warm welcome from UCC graduate Eadaoin Scully, who is now working as an assistant to Irish MEP Mairead McGuinness in Brussels. ‘It was wonderful for our students, who are all aged 19-22, to see a graduate of the BSc Government Degree successfully employed in the EU,’ said Fiona Buckley.

Entry filed under: Uncategorized. Tags: .