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Galway is 'a University city' – the campus is in the heart of the city center, with all amenities on your doorstep and within walking distance. It is a vibrant place, with a year-long program of cultural and sporting festivals. Did you know students make up 20% of the population in Galway? Our student community is an essential part of Galway's life, and they add energy and color to the city. Galway is an exciting place to be a student. It is big enough to have everything – shopping facilities, theatres, restaurants, music venues, and sports facilities – while small enough to feel intimate and welcoming. Set between Connemara and the Burren, on the broad sweep of Galway Bay, our location is as distinctive as it is beautiful. Galway casually combines the energy of a young and diverse population with the authenticity of a place steeped in history and tradition. We are renowned as a place where arts and theatre are celebrated. The city is a cultural hub, attracting thousands to its many festivals throughout the year, including Cúirt International Festival of Literature, Galway Comedy Festival, Galway Film Fleadh, Galway Arts Festival, Galway Races, and the Oyster Festival. That is why Galway is bidding to become the European Capital of Culture 2020. Galway is Ireland's third-largest city, and it is easy to get around. Once you get to know our city, we are sure you will grow to love it. Moving away from home is a huge step. Finding the right place to live is crucial to a happy and successful university experience. To help make this move more comfortable for you, we are here to offer support and advice on making the right choice. You may wish to stay in one of the Student Residence or share a house, digs/lodgings, flat, or apartment. You can call our office, telephone us or check our website. There are various accommodation options to choose from, and we advise you to consider all the options available before making your choice. NUI Galway has a rich and varied student life offering a wealth of experience outside the classroom. With over 110 societies and over 50 clubs, you can share your passion for your favorite sports, hobbies, and interests with other students. Joining a Society will help you make friends, learn new skills, pursue your interests, broaden your horizons, and go on incredible trips. Societies provide the best free/affordable entertainment in Galway. Our societies are officially the best in the country and are the top of the leader board for society wins at the BICS National Society Awards. If you do not find what you are looking for, we encourage students to set up their new societies. Students who get actively involved and participate in student life are happier and, as a result, more productive and successful in their studies. Our student completion rate is higher than any other university in Ireland at NUI Galway, at 86%. NUI Galway is Ireland's leading university for student volunteering, with more than 4,000 registered volunteers. Each year thousands of students sign up for the ALIVE program, volunteering with over 450 organizations and providing hundreds of community experience opportunities. Volunteering is about contributing time, skills, and energy towards something bigger than you. You will gain new skills, make new friends, make a difference, and increase your job prospects. We understand that there may be times when you need advice, support, or a listening ear, and we have a network of services available to cater to your needs. We want you to have an excellent learning experience and make the most of your time at university. You can call in to see us about personal, social, or practical issues you may have throughout the year. Learning at university is, of course, a very different experience to that of being at school. If you are experiencing difficulties or take ill, please make sure that you contact your lecturer or the appropriate person in your College or School. Please do not hesitate to let us know of any issues to provide help where possible. View full university

Welcome to GMIT. "At GMIT, we develop life-long learning opportunities through our teaching and research by supporting regional development consistent with national higher education policy." Learning is and will be the core activity of the Institute, bringing students, staff, and the region together to share, apply, test, and create knowledge; GMIT will continue to develop as a regional organization with an international focus committed to the personal and professional enrichment of its students, the needs of its region, national priorities and global opportunities, GMIT will both shape and respond to the perspectives and expectations of its stakeholders and will work in collaboration with them to meet their needs, GMIT will be an organization characterized by its flexibility, creativity, responsiveness and a capacity to adapt. In the 1960s, Ireland was characterized by a small elite system of higher education, catering almost exclusively to professional and public sector employment. The Mulcahy Report (1967) recommended establishing several Regional Technical Colleges around the country, highlighting that Irish people generally did not have the opportunity to become technically skilled because of the prevalent academic bias in the educational system. Increased technical knowledge and skills were regarded as essential prerequisites for further economic growth, promoting innovation and enterprise. The Mulcahy Report recommended that the Regional Technical College in Galway be designated as the leading center outside Dublin for both craft and management education and the hotel industry training. The first students entered the Regional Technical College Galway on Monday 18 September 1972, and a new era in the educational history of the city and region began. The Regional Technical Colleges' Act of 1992 defined the function of the Regional Technical College sector as follows: "To provide vocational and technical education and training for the state's economic, technological, scientific, commercial, industrial, social, and cultural development with particular reference to the region served by the College." This legislation also authorized a college, subject to such conditions as the Minister for Education may determine: "To engage in research, consultancy and development work and to provide such services about these matters as the Governing Body of the college considers appropriate." In 1998, the Regional Technical College Galway (RTC) was legally designated an Institute of Technology and renamed the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT). The Institutes of Technology Act 2006, among other things, brought the Institutes under the aegis of the Higher Education Authority (up until then, they were under the Department of Education), similar to Ireland's university sector. Currently, Technological University (TU) legislation is being drafted due to the National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030, which allows for amalgamated Institutes of Technology, upon reaching set criteria, to apply for re-designation as a TU. GMIT, Letterkenny IT, and IT Sligo have formed a strategic partnership, the Connacht-Ulster Alliance, to achieve the criteria required for designation as a Technological University. All three Institutes are working together on flexible learning delivery, research, innovation, bespoke delivery for industry, links to local Education and Training Boards, international student recruitment, and staff development. GMIT and LIT have an alliance involving a detailed program of enhanced collaboration, co-operation, and development. The alliance activities enhance the development of the West/North West Regional Cluster and the Mid-West Regional Cluster. GMIT and NUI Galway have a strategic alliance that allows for collaborative opportunities in teaching and learning, research, entrepreneurship, regional development, commercialization, innovation, distance education, and work-based learning. GMIT and the Marine Institute have a strategic alliance that develops marine research capabilities, undergraduate and postgraduate marine science programs, and staff training & development initiatives in the two institutes. The memorandum of agreement allows for joint adjunct appointments between the two organizations. The Academic Council is responsible for developing appropriate procedures for academic quality assurance in the design, delivery, learning, and assessment methodologies of programs regarding change and best practice. The underlying thrust of these procedures is towards continuous improvement in practices relating to the development and operation of programs and fostering high academic standards across the Institute. All institute staff and students are involved in the achievement of academic excellence. GMIT assures its programs' quality by adopting and implementing a Quality Assurance Framework consisting of a series of academic policies and procedures. GMIT was the first Institute to introduce the First Year Experience initiative, which consists of the #First5Weeks welcome program, an innovative module (Learning and Innovation Skills) designed to ease the transition to higher education, and a peer support program (Peer Assisted Study Sessions - PASS). The Peer Assisted Study Sessions program (PASS) offers cross-year support between students on the same program. It is designed to engage students more with their learning and give them a sense of belonging in a large organization. View full university