GMIT Open Mornings: Letterfrack (Fri 22 Jan), Galway (Sat 23 Jan)

GMIT is holding an Open Morning for mature students and Leaving Cert students at its two Galway city campuses – the Dublin Road campus and the Centre for Creative Arts and Media (CCAM), on Saturday, 23 January (10am – 12.30pm), and at GMIT’s Letterfrack campus this Friday, 22 January, at 11am. Parents, teachers and members of the public are welcome to attend these events which offer information about all of GMIT’s CAO programmes and GMIT student life.

The Institute offers over 80 CAO programmes (37 at honours degree level, 37 bachelor degrees and 9 at Higher Certificates level) in disciplines such as Business, Computing & Science, Creative Arts and Media, Engineering, Tourism and Hospitality, and specialist disciplines such as Nursing and Social Care, Outdoor Education, Furniture Design and Teaching Education.

At the Galway city campus Open Morning, information will be available about programmes in all campuses (Galway city, Castlebar, Mountbellew, Letterfrack). Talks will be held on CAO, and SUSI will be on site to give advice. The morning will also include campus tours and a Games Zone where visitors can experience a Smart Car in Action, Spaghetti Structures, Real or Photoshop, Lego Robots, Wave Phenomena, the Laser Grid Challenge and more.

GMIT Schools Liaison Officer, Dr Carina Ginty, says “It’s a fun and interactive morning that runs from 10am to 12.30pm this Saturday. Leaving Certificate and mature applicants will get a chance to interact with a range of exciting learning games and activities while also networking with GMIT teaching teams to discuss career paths and CAO options”.

“We have lots of new honours degree programmes (level 8) including Business Entrepreneurship, Finance and Economics, Computing & Digital Media, Contemporary Arts and many more. In addition, SUSI will be on site providing advice on grants available and there will be a number of talks and exhibits on the 80 plus programmes available on the CAO from GMIT."

GMIT Letterfrack offers CAO programmes in Furniture Design, Wood Technology and Teacher Education.

Its Open Morning takes place this Friday, 22 January, at 11am and booking are advisable (tel. Samantha on 091 742653).

Mature student Karl Elliffe from Athlone came to a Letterfrack Open Day a few years ago and is now in his third year of a B.Sc (Hons) in Education (Design Graphics and Construction). “I was a carpenter for a number of years before I decided that teaching was something I would like to do. I suffered a traumatic brain injury which effectively meant that I could no longer work in construction as a carpenter so I came back to college to further my education and upskill.

“I attended the open day at GMIT Letterfrack and found it very informative. We were given a campus tour, met students and lecturers. As it is a smaller campus I had to opportunity to stop and talk with lecturers and students and get a real feel for the place.” 

“I’m studying subjects such as the Built Environment, Applied Theory of Education, Curriculum and Assessment, Industrial Design History and Applied Graphics. I am enjoying it immensely. Letterfrack is a small campus, all the lecturers and students know one another by their first names and by the end of first year it’s like being part of a community. Rather than just attending college every day and going home in the evening it begins to feel a bit like a home away from home.”

“The support services in the college have really been a great help such as the Access Office, Student Services, the staff in admin and the lecturers themselves. As a mature student you sometimes feel that the younger students have an advantage over you as they are used to the education system but the lecturers in Letterfrack are so approachable. They are always there to give you that bit of advice that helps make things easier.  I’d advise all new students to get involved in college life. It’s a great way to integrate.”

Other GMIT students share their GMIT stories. See: https://www.youtube.com/user/gmitchannel