DCU Open Day

 At 9:30, we crossed the city to go to the bright and modern DCU campus.

We had read the list of the various lectures on at different times, and chosen the ones we wanted to see. First, it was to what is called the Henry Grattan building. I willingly went inside to the labyrinth of corridors, classrooms and lecture halls. After seeking help from a student, we promptly got to the Law and Politics talk. An interesting lecture, the head of department told us what to expect if doing the degree in DCU; the coursework, job opportunities and class sizes etc.

 Soon it was 11:30, and time for the talk on 'Global Business'. We heard about the great variety on the course, DCU's partner universities around the world. What interested me about this degree was that you spent two years in another country, achieving fluency in the local language, and spending 6 months completing a work placement. Then, it was back to Dublin for two years, where you would study and complete a two year work placement. An interesting degree that has many practical elements to it.

 After lunch in Spar, I split off from the group to pursue my interest in journalism. Unfortunately, I only caught 15 minutes of the lecture, but I learnt a lot. Including the impressive pupils who have passed through the course over the past 30 years. A sample of whom are shown below:

Ardal O'Hanlon

Laura Whitmore

Kevin O'Sullivan

RADMUN 2014

  For anyone who doesn't know, Model United Nations is a programme run all around the world for teenagers to get a feel of how the UN works; how resolutions are passed, how topics are debated and how delegates relate to each other. One of the largest competitions in Ireland is RADMUN- Rathdown Model United Nations.

 It was a first for all of our team, we had never done anything like it before. After a number of meetings with Thomas, Ferdy and Cameron (part of the St. Gerard's MUN 'Dream Team'), we we're set to go.... well, only sort of.

 Suited and booted, we went to Rathdown on Friday evening after school. We got a welcome pack complete with lanyards, placards and information on writing resolutions. Soon after, we went to our committee rooms. I was part of the Disarmament and Security committee. Armed with my speech, and a Bic four-pen, I was ready for battle. Over the two hours following we debated, amended, questioned and defended each others' resolutions. If your resolution was passed through the committee, you would have a chance to discuss it in General Assembly, with all of the delegates.
As darkness set upon the leafy Dublin suburb, it was time to head home.

 Well rested, I headed across to the school at 9am on Saturday. We spent tireless hours debating, voting and amending. Unfortunately, my resolution was not debated. Nonetheless, I still got hours of enjoyment out of critiquing the other delegates presentations. After lunch, we joined together in GA, where we could collaborate, debate (again) and question.

 In spite of the serious and formulaic nature of the tournament, it was a great experience. We made new friends, built up our confidence and learnt more about problems facing the world today.

 Well done to the fifth year team, who won Distinguished Delegation for their contribution, and to Shane Keneally for getting Distinguished Delegate!

Public Access to Law

 On Tuesday, I attended the 'Public Access to Law' course.

 In the morning, the group discussed different aspects of being a lawyer, and different cases in criminal law. After this, we watched a documentary on solving crimes. We then reviewed the two cases, which were both murders.

 Next, we held our first mock trial. The case was about an assault in a bar, in which a man was knocked un-concious by a woman with a pool cue. Barristers were chosen, as were witnesses, the victim and the accused. The rest of us acted as a jury. After the prosecution and the defence had made their case and interrogated the witnesses, we came to our decision. The verdict was that the defendant was not guilty, and had lashed-out at the attacker in self-defence.

After lunch, we began our second trial. The case featured a man who had been accosted by airline staff on a flight. Unfortunately, the prosecution (for which I was barrister), lost the case.

Altogether it was an enjoyable day, where I got to learn more about the legal system in Ireland.

Web Summit

I was delighted to hear that the school had 50 tickets for the Dublin Web Summit 2014, prized as one of the worlds largest technology events.

I arrived back at school at 6pm on Tuesday, eager to see the wide range of guests at the conference. Following a 45 minute bus journey, we had reached the RDS. The event was held in a gigantic hall, with seating for around 1000 people. There was a large stage at the front of the auditorium, in front of two large screens. After a 10 minute wait, it was time to see the first guests.

 The audience was introduced to CoderDojo, an organisation that runs courses around the world teaching children how to create apps and websites. This Irish-born movement is currently spreading across the globe, and now has over 27,000 members internationally. It was something that I had heard about before, but unfortunately never had the chance to do. Onto the stage came the CEO of the organisation along with three kids who had attended the courses. One of whom, was only nine years old and had already created her own series of websites!

In my opinion, the last guests were by far the most impressive speakers on the night. We had a woman from Google and the founder of Indiegogo, the online fundraising site. Full of charisma and passion for their work, they told us about the future of technology.

The lady from Google (who's name escapes me), told us about the internet of things. This is a concept in which many of our devices are connected and in communication with each other. For example, the heating can be turned on by your mobile, and you can boil the kettle with an app! This is the future - and by that I mean the near future. In two or three years, we could be experiencing connected homes.






Danae Ringelmann is an American entrepreneur, and the founder of Indiegogo, the online fundraising site helping millions to raise cash for their causes. She discussed some of the success stories on the site, how groups of teenagers had raised over $100,000 to build a new library, American school kids had raised thousands to help the families of those affected by a recent school shooting.

Danae's ideas were about being a social entrepreneur. She talked about providing services to the world, creating solutions to the many problems we face today. It was this message that struck a cord with me. Business is as much about ethics and ethos as it is about profit.





 I thoroughly enjoyed the event. It got me thinking about how people my age were using technology to shape the world.