News

NUS-USI President Fergal McFerran has said that Northern Ireland must welcome and support refugees, and said NUS-USI will be attending the Refugees Welcome rally organised by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and Amnesty International at Belfast City Hall on Saturday at 2.30pm. Fergal McFerran said: “This is an extremely important event, and I would […]

Following news that Ulster University plans to cut staff numbers and lose a number of significant courses, NUS-USI President Fergal McFerran has said that this move could have a devastating impact on students and on education opportunities for people here. NUS-USI President Fergal McFerran, said: “This is an extremely worrying announcement. It could have a […]

NUS-USI President Fergal McFerran has praised the four students training here who won medals at the WorldSkills championships in São Paulo in Brazil, saying it highlights the high attainment of students in Northern Ireland and the importance investing in vocational skills for the economy here. Four competitors who are training in Northern Ireland won medals […]

Following the announcement of A-Level results here, NUS-USI President Fergal McFerran has congratulated students on their hard work, and said that tuition fees must be scrapped to remove barriers to university, so that education is about achievement not money. NUS-USI President Fergal McFerran, said: “I want to take this opportunity to very sincerely congratulate everyone […]

Student Leader Fergal McFerran, who is President of NUS-USI, has welcomed the launch of a consultation from the Department for Employment and Learning which is examining the frequency of support payments to higher education students. Student support payments, like maintenance loans and grants are currently paid three times a year, and NUS-USI and the wider […]

This year’s all-Ireland higher education student officer training event took place in July at Maynooth Students’ Union.   Students’ union officers travelled from colleges all over Ireland to join together for a highly intensive week of training and specialist sessions that will set them up for the year ahead.   NUS-USI is thrilled that their […]

Trade union body, The Irish Congress of Trade Unions, and student group, NUS-USI, are today launching the first ever partnership of its kind in Northern Ireland between the trade union movement and student movement. The partnership will enable the two organisations to work collectively to create positive change on issues like education, equality matters, apprenticeships […]

Graduating to Success is the first higher education strategy for Northern Ireland. Published in 2012, it is complemented by Access to Success, the integrated regional strategy for widening participation in higher education among those groups which are currently under-represented. Together these strategies set out a challenging vision for the future of the sector and outline […]

NUS-USI was well represented at the marriage equality rally which took place in Belfast city centre on Saturday 13 June. NUS-USI LGBT Officer Colin Chan said Northern Ireland must follow the lead of Ireland and Britain and deliver marriage equality. He said that failure to create measures to implement marriage equality urgently could potentially damage Northern […]

Following the DEL Minister’s launch of a consultation on financial arrangements for postgraduate and part-time students, NUS-USI President Rebecca Hall has said that any changes must robustly address the significant financial worries that exist for students in Northern Ireland. NUS-USI President Rebecca Hall said: “I will examine with interest the proposals that the Minister has […]