The theme of this year’s conference, which is organised by marketing lecturers at the Institute for the regional business community and for students of the Masters in Marketing, is ‘Innovative Marketing’.

Guest speakers will include Dr. Aidan Daly, Adjunct Professor of Marketing, NUI Galway; Ms. Heather-Ann MacSharry, Director of IDA Ireland and Chairman of the Trustee Board of Bank of Ireland pension fund, former General Manager of Reckitt Benckiser and former Managing Director of Boots Healthcare; and Mr. David Bunworth, former Marketing Director of Bord Gáis Energy, former Head of Sales and Marketing at Esat BT Ireland and former Commercial Director of Aer Lingus.

All interested members of the business community are invited to attend; no registration fee will apply.

If you have any queries, or would like to book a place contact Andrew Lang by email at lang.andrew@itsligo.ie

Please note that places are limited.

Image Caption: Staff from the Masters in Marketing at IT Sligo are organising a conference on Innovative Marketing. Pictured from left to right, are: Suzanne Ryan, Ann Higgins, Nicola Lacey, Dr Catherine McGuinn and Joanna Sweeney.

The 60 entries were shortlisted by a selection panel which included IT Sligo’s Communication Manager, Sinéad McGovern, Aoife Porter, Digital Marketing Consultant at Bua Marketing, and James Connolly, professional photographer and owner of PicSell8.

A wonderful selection of entries were received from all over the country – thank you to everyone who took the time to take part in this innovative, social media competition.

The shortlisted entrants hail from Mayo, Sligo, Roscommon, Cavan, and Dublin. So check out their photos and get voting for your favourite by clicking here!

The winner receives an iPad 2 and the two runners up will both receive an iPod Touch. The entry with the most votes wins!

Our voting period will be open from February 3rd to 17th. The winner of the Imagine IT Sligo Photo Competition will then be announced on the 17th.

So cast your vote now for your favourite photo by visiting  http://on.fb.me/ImagineITSligo. Good luck to all finalists!

Guest speakers at the event will include Minister of State for European Affairs, Lucinda Creighton; Head of European Commission Representation in Ireland, Barbara Nolan; Economics Editor with The Irish Times, Dan O’Brien; and Economic and Financial Affairs Advisor to the European Commission, Nigel Nagarajan.

Barbara Nolan, Head of the Commission Representation in Ireland is encouraging members of the public to attend the event: “The European Commission is organising this event in Sligo to provide people with an opportunity to hear from the experts, but also to ask the questions they have about the current economic situation and what lies ahead.  This event comes at a crucial time for Ireland, the Eurozone and the European Union as a whole,” she said.

The seminar will take place from 6pm in A0006 in IT Sligo’s Main Building on Monday, February 6^th.

For more information, and to RSVP for this free event, contact events@europeanmovement.ie or call 01 662 5815.

For more information, click on the image below.

Main Image Caption;Barbara Nolan, Head of the Commission Representation in Ireland.

DCU clinched the WSCAI National Futsal Cup with a well-earned 3-1 victory over hosts IT Sligo in a high level final last Friday.

In a tournament  at IT Sligo’s Knocknarea Arena that showcased the rising standard of female futsal in this country, the Dublin side emerged victorious.

The final was a real thrilling battle with Rachel Graham giving DCU an early lead after three minutes when she found the net with a snap shot.

DCU captain Becky Walsh produced a brilliant second goal for her side two minutes later with an excellent low strike.

IT Sligo reacted quickly and Deirdre Doherty made it 2-1 in the seventh minute with a snap shot after excellent work by Aileen Gilroy.

The hosts battled hard to get an equaliser but eventually they were caught on the break and Cliodhna McHugh made it 3-1 after good set-up play with Amy Ryan.

Inchicore goalkeeper Jade Corrigan was named player of the tournament. Corrigan had produced a string of brilliant saves to keep her side in contention.

Other players to stand out include DCU’s Becky Walsh and Amy Ryan, IT Sligo’s Kim Flood, Aileen Gilory and Deirdre Doherty, Inchicore College’s Clare Kinsella and UCC’s Zoe Murphy and Michelle McNally.

Squads:

DCU: Lynn Dowling; Becky Walsh, Rachel Graham, Orlagh Murphy, Michelle Watson, Amy Ryan, Cliodhna McHugh.

IT SLIGO: Emma Cullen; Amy Roddy, Aileen Gilroy, Kim Flood, Sarah-Louise McMoreland, Anna Grant, Maria Harrington, Roisin McCafferty, Deirdre Doherty, Annie Lynskey.

INCHICORE COLLEGE: Jade Corrigan; Michaela Kavanagh, Clare Kinsella, Ashling Dent, Emma Gregg.

UCC: Katie Hannon; Niamh Foley, Patrice Kearney, Zoe Murphy, Yvonne Cahill, Clare Cooney, Sarah Clune, Michelle McNally.

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Image Captions:

First Image: Semi final penalties at the WSCAI National Futsal Cup

Second Image: IT Sligo’s Aileen Gilroy v UCC

Third Image: IT Sligo’s Deirdre Doherty v UCC

Fourth Image: Team Caption Roisin Mc Cafferty v DCU

Fifth Image:IT Sligo Futsal National Runners Up 

IT Sligo will host of the College Football Association of Ireland Finals 2012 which will take place on March 7th and 8th.

The CFAI Finals destination will remain in the west for a second year with IT Sligo succeeding GMIT Castlebar as the host for the annual finale to the Colleges soccer season.

The event will see 2 semi-finals and 4 finals contested by 10 colleges from across the island who have won their way through to the latter stages of the college’s cup competitions.

The UMBRO Colleges Cup which has been running since 1973 saw 26 third level colleges from across the island of Ireland compete in the largest third level knockout competition. The UMBRO Colleges plate is a competition for teams who are defeated in the first round of the Colleges Cup.

The Robert Eustace Cup, now in it’s sixth year, is limited to teams which compete in Division two of the Colleges and Universities Football League, and will be contested by 16 teams this year. The cup is played in honour of Bob Eustace the associations former Chairman and current President.

The third cup is The B-Teams Cup, which is a competition for the second teams of colleges who compete in the UMBRO Colleges Cup. Also in it’s sixth year, this year’s competition will be contested by a further 16 teams.

Image Caption: Gerry Dalton IT Sligo Knocknarea Arena Manager, Emma Mullin FAI Development Officer at IT Sligo, Padraig Carney CFAI Chairman, Ross Lappin Sports Development Officer, IT Sligo, Paul Powell, IT Sligo Manager Men’s Soccer Club

Fair Trade Fortnight will run throughout Sligo from February 27 to March 11, and the star of Dragon’s Den and owner of Insomnia coffee shop outlets, Bobby Kerr, will speak about his business experience with fair trade suppliers at a public lecture in IT Sligo on Thursday March 1^st.

Head of Department of Business at IT Sligo, Dr Catherine McGuinn, is encouraging members of the public to get involved in Fair Trade Fortnight; “Sligo Fair Trade will be holding a number of events around town during the fortnight and I want to encourage as many people as possible to get involved in this very worthy initiative.”

Marketing students at the Institute are coordinating the Institute’s events, she explained; “Our Bachelor of Business in Marketing involves a strong project based learning element to allow students experience real like projects and Fair Trade Fortnight is just one of the campaigns they’re involved in during the year.”

Sligo sixth class students have until February 24^th to enter their pictures; “We’re looking for pictures with a theme of ‘Fair Trade’. The entries will be displayed in the Johnston’s Court Shopping Centre and there are some great prizes up for grabs,” said Dr McGuinn.

The public lecture by Bobby Kerr will take place at 1pm A0006 on Thursday, March 1^st in the Institute’s Main Building and all are welcome to attend.

Primary schools that would like to participate in the Art Competition should contact the Institute by Wednesday the 8^th February by emailing Paul at s00088990@mail.itsligo.ie

Image Caption: Pictured at the launch of Fair Trade Fortnight at IT Sligo are: Paul O’Donnell, marketing student; Nicola Allan (Fair Trade Sligo), Kevin Meehan, marketing student; Dr Catherine McGuinn Head of Dept of Business at IT Sligo), marketing student, Paddy King.

Want to learn more about ecars? Ever wondered what it’s like to drive one, or what implications ecars have for renewable energy targets?

A lunchtime Open Seminar on ecars for interested IT Sligo staff and students will be held at Main Reception tomorrow Thursday, February 2nd from 1.15pm to 2pm.

The event will be facilitated by a number of IT Sligo engineering lecturers, including Seán Conlan and Conor Lawlor.

The focus of the seminar will be on the history of and potential for ecars as well as some related initiatives at IT Sligo. The new Nissan Leaf, (named European Car of the Year in 2011) will be on display also for the purpose of the discussion. The Leaf is on loan to IT Sligo currently from the ESB ecars division.

All are welcome to attend.

Caption for photo: The Nissan Leaf at IT Sligo.

The event will see up on 3,000 surfers from IT’s and Universities from all corners of Ireland competing for the title of National Intervarsity Student Champions 2012.

IT Sligo Surf Club are the current national champions.

Each competitor is given points based on their placing in the following events, and those points count toward the overall total.

Ranking Categories:

• Men’s Surf (open to any male student riding any type of surfboard)
• Women’s Surf (open to any female student riding any type of surfboard)
• Men’s Bodyboard (open to any male student riding a Bodyboard)
• Women’s Bodyboard (open to any female student riding a Bodyboard)
• Men’s Longboard (open to any male student riding a Longboard)
• Women’s Longboard (open to any female student riding a Longboard)

Other Categories

• Novice Men/Women
• Expression Session

Each individual event will be sponsored by a business in the North West and Strandhill and Sligo will benefit hugely from the off season surge in visitors to the region.

Image Caption: Local professional surfer Easkey Britton on one of the great waves near Sligo. Photo by Roo McCrudden.

Institute of Technology, Sligo and Ocean FM are linking up in a unique venture that will see increased co-operation between the two regional leaders.

As part of the initiative, a new weekly business programme and a weekly campus news feature broadcast during the station’s new youth focused music programme, have been developed. In recognition of this unique collaboration, Ocean FM’s newly rebranded Roadcaster will also be supported by the Institute.

With almost 6,000 students and over 500 staff, IT Sligo is the largest higher education institution in the North West. Ocean FM was the fastest growing local station in 2011 and was voted second in the prestigious Local Station of the Year award at the Annual PPI Radio Awards.

The exciting collaboration is aimed at promoting and improving regional engagement.

The new business programme ‘Up and Running’ will be produced in association with staff at IT Sligo and businesses in the Institute’s Innovation Centre. Starting this Saturday, February 4^th at 9.30am, this programme will feature regional business news and interviews with business leaders. Produced and presented by Daniel Browne, it will provide encouragement for budding entrepreneurs and advice on the many enterprise supports available across the region.

Meanwhile, every Tuesday night, Ocean’s new music programme, The Wave, will feature a snapshot of life on campus at IT Sligo from the perspective of students. ‘Campus Beat’ will focus on the non-academic side of the student experience. Produced and presented by Karen Spellman, the programme will air from 10.00pm to midnight Monday to Friday and is targeted at the 15 to 30 age group.

Chief Executive Officer of Ocean FM, Tim Collins, said  “ We are really pleased to be making this positive announcement today with IT Sligo.  The Institute is a major stakeholder in the region and this relationship represents a very significant milestone for Ocean FM and our listeners. At a time when job creation is so important, our new business programme developed in partnership with IT Sligo will celebrate innovation and focus on business success in the region,” he concluded.

Commenting on the development, Communication Manager at IT Sligo, Sinéad McGovern, said: “IT Sligo is the largest higher education institution in the North West, offering more than 50 CAO courses and almost 40 part time and online courses. The Institute contributes enormously to the economic and social fabric of the North West and we see this link up with Ocean FM as an extension of our outreach into communities throughout the region.”

Head of Innovation at IT Sligo, Niall McEvoy said that ‘Up and Running’ will highlight the daily conversation between the Institute, the Innovation Centre and the business community; “IT Sligo’s Innovation Centre is a fantastic resource for entrepreneurs, new start ups and established businesses. Our team looks forward to working with Ocean FM on this exciting new programme which will share positive news and interesting stories, and offer advice for anyone thinking about getting a business up and running!”

For more information see www.oceanfm.ie and www.itsligo.ie

Image Caption: Pictured with the newly branded Ocean FM Roadcaster at IT Sligo are Tim Collins, CEO, Ocean FM; Terri Scott, President, IT Sligo; James Dillon, IT Sligo Student Union President; Sinéad McGovern, Communication Manager, IT Sligo; Karen Spellman, presenter of The Wave, Ocean FM; Niall McEvoy, Head of Innovation, IT Sligo; Niall Delaney, Head of News and Sport, Ocean FM.

Computing Conversion Programme starts next month

Applications from job seekers are now invited for a Higher Diploma in Science in Computing at IT Sligo, a special conversion programme targeted at meeting the growing skills shortage in the IT sector.

The Government has estimated that more than 1,000 jobs are currently available in the ICT sector, and the new H Dip Sc. in Computing has been designed by a consortium of Institutes of Technology and industry representatives to provide the graduates needed for these opportunities.

Commencing in March 2012, the H. Dip Sc. in Computing is a one year, full time programme incorporating a significant work placement element.

Speaking at the launch of the Joint Government – Industry ICT Action Plan: Meeting the High Level ICT Skills Needs of Enterprise in Ireland, today (January 30, 2012) the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD, said that “..the ICT sector, where there are over 1000 vacancies and great potential for future growth, provides a major opportunity for employment if we can provide the necessary skills.

“The government is determined to train more people to take up these jobs, and today we are committing a series of ambitious targets, including doubling the number of graduates in this area by 2018. With proper implementation this will make a major contribution to getting the country back to work,” he said.

Peter O’Neill, President of the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland, said that the publication of today’s ICT Action Plan was an important initiative which will be brought to fruition by government, industry and academia collaborating to address this area of real opportunity for Ireland. “Increasingly, the availability of skills is a key driver in foreign direct investment decisions and Ireland’s young, skilled and flexible talent pool has been a strong attraction for multinational companies locating here. There is a real opportunity for us to build on that reputation so that Ireland can continue to attract investment and grow both exports and employment.”

Employment prospects in the area of computing have never been stronger in Ireland, according to Head of Department of Information Systems in Institute of Technology, Sligo, Keith McManus. “This is a great opportunity for graduates to re-skill. The course will be designed to train people in the areas of Software Development, Computer Games, IT Security and Geographic Information Systems, where there currently are significant openings throughout the country.”

Applications will be accepted from prospective students who have an Honours Degree (NFQ Level 8) qualification in a discipline other than ICT. Graduates from disciplines such as Engineering, Architecture, Mathematics, Science, Business and numerate disciplines will have an advantage in the course but those from non-numerate disciplines may also be eligible.

For further information contact Aisling Kearney, Recruitment at (0) 71 915 5241 or kearney.aisling@itsligo.ie. To apply see http://www.bluebrick.ie. The application deadline is 5:00pm on Friday, 17^th February 2012.

Image Captions:

First Image: Keith McManus, Head of Department of Information Systems in Institute of Technology, Sligo.

Second Image: Computing students at IT Sligo. A new Government initiative is providing an opportunity for job seekers to re-skill in the area of ICT.