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May 2024 Update

wild flowers, blooming

Message from the Director

Last updated May 22nd 2024

Dear Colleagues, 

As I write, we are at that moment in our 2023/24 academic year which sees exams just ending, the peak grading season upon us, research success in the newspapers, second level 5th years about to come on campus for summer schools, all the work that makes these things possible happening as we speak, summer holidays shining on the horizon, the preparations for next September ramping up. Just another May, I hear you say.

It is a good time to reflect on key activities and achievements, with updates this month highlighting some ongoing work aimed at freeing up time for staff and faculty alike.

This month, we talked with Culture and Engagement Specialist, Paul Fitzgerald about the Employee Engagement and Communications platform project(opens in a new window) UCD Workvivo.

Be sure also to visit the platform for regular updates on transformation initiatives and other interesting updates across the University .  

As usual, if  you have any questions or comments, be sure to contact us at ucdpostpmo@ucd.ie

Regards,


Michael

Projects in Focus

Supporting the Changing Needs of Students
Supporting the Changing Needs of Students

So far, we have interviewed more than 20 stakeholders from Colleges, Schools and Units across the campus. We have identified some of the core challenges currently being experienced and have begun to draw up a series of workstreams to propose solutions to these.

The areas of work will entail developing a portal to drive engagement with our flexible and part-time suite of courses, explore opportunities to enhance our part-time and flexible provision and impact and look to support the partnership that already exists between Schools, Colleges and the central units that support them.

For more information and for regular updates, please join our designated workvivo space or contact Lee O'Farrell (lee.ofarrell@ucd.ie) if you have any questions.

Clinical Placements Strategy Project
Clinical Placements Strategy Project

The Clinical Placements Strategy project will identify and address the challenges being experienced by students on clinical placement and by the staff who support them. Engaging with colleagues from ten disciplines across two Colleges, we have identified many shared issues, challenges and concerns.

Five workstreams have emerged so far:
1) Developing consistent agreements between UCD and placement sites
2) Ensuring that staff supporting clinical placements have the structured supports and resources they require
3) Helping to underpin the process of accommodating students with disabilities while on placement
4) Identifying the services that students require in preparation for, during, and after returning from, a successful clinical placement experience
5) Working with public sector partners to explore the possibility of improving network access for students and staff in public hospitals.

For more information please click below or contact Lee O'Farrell (lee.ofarrell@ucd.ie)
Health and Safety Management Project
Health and Safety Management Project

As per our last update, the UCD Safety, Insurance, Operational Risk and Compliance (SIRC) office plans to introduce a comprehensive software solution to facilitate the management and monitoring of health and safety compliance across the University. This will also include the implementation of an online incident reporting system. The tender process for the software is now in its final stages with contracts currently being finalised.

Sarah Carry, SIRC Manager, and Sarah Allen, IT Services are the business manager and the project manager respectively and will work closely with representatives from Colleges, Schools and Units throughout.

If you have any questions, please contact the Implementation Project Manager, Sarah Allen (sarah.allen@ucd.ie).

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Finance Programme for Operations and Services Transformation (FinPOST)
Finance Programme for Operations and Services Transformation (FinPOST)

Progress on the FinPOST programme continues with our Validate workshops ongoing until the end of May. In order to keep our UCD community updated on the ongoing progress of the programme, we will be running a series of information sessions in June, as well as hosting a demo series that will kick off in July.

The June, FinPOST On the Road information sessions are for you if:
A) You raise or approve expenses
B) You are a budget holder
C) You purchase goods and services on behalf of your team
D) You are involved in research budgets and spending

To sign up for any of our information sessions, please visit this link: https://www.ucd.ie/finpost/finpostevents/events/

People in Focus - Paul Fitzgerald

People in Focus - Paul Fitzgerald

The new Employee Engagement and Internal Communications platform ‘UCD Workvivo’ was successfully launched on May 8th 2024. In this issue, we talk to Paul Fitzgerald about his involvement in this transformational project. 

Tell me about yourself?

Hi all! My name is Paul Fitzgerald and I'm currently working as an engagement specialist in Culture & Engagement.

My role is pretty varied, to put it mildly. I find my time divided between engagement events, community building initiatives, developing internal communications and more 'traditional' HR activities like policy development and process design.

I have over 20 years experience working in HR roles from resourcing to people development. Prior to UCD, I worked in graphic design, web design and e-learning.

What project are you working on? Tell us a little bit about it?

At the moment, my biggest project is probably the introduction and embedding of (opens in a new window)UCD Workvivo. This new platform allows colleagues to go from passive recipients of broadcast emails to actively engaging, commenting and collaborating.  It's a massive change to the way we handle internal communications but the level of conversation and sharing of information I've seen already suggests it is being embraced pretty quickly.

What is your role on the Project?

My role is in designing most aspects of the look of the platform (A nice, upbeat yellow for starters), building communities, creating posting guides and helping owners get the most from their spaces.

What do you enjoy most about working on this project?

This project really leans into the skills I've acquired across my many other jobs. I am getting to jump between shooting / editing videos, making animations, designing graphics, interpreting analytics and creating tutorials and guides.

For years, the emphasis has been on 'the student experience' but I'm trying to replicate this as much as I can on the employee side with clubs and community building activities aimed at our staff. (opens in a new window)UCD Workvivo provides me with a great platform to build communities and bring people together from very different fields.