Technology keeps our learning community together.
The PPCI 2020 ran against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic. We worked with the PPC1 Social Committee to help them organise and adapt events so that they could run virtually via iPad throughout the academic year. PPC1 2020 trainees were given access to social and cultural groups never before seen on campus.
We designed events that allowed trainee solicitors stay connected with their peers and to provide some much-needed relief from the demands of an intensive virtual training course. Virtual events delivered via iPad included:
- A BYOB social night,
- a cocktail making class,
- an evening with Bob Ross,
- a cook along with Ciara’s Kitchen, and
- a Christmas event, ‘the 12 Breakout Rooms of Christmas’.
Members of the committee also helped to organise a range of fundraising campaigns including a Christmas fundraiser in aid of The Peter McVerry Trust, the Team Hope’s Christmas shoebox appeal and a Fundraising Cookbook in aid of ALONE.
Organising all of these events was made easier as the committee knew each trainee solicitor had access to an iPad and using various quiz apps and questionnaires during live sessions meant the committee could keep their finger on the pulse and make sure the next upcoming event was exactly what this cohort of trainee solicitors needed.
The Social Committee assisted trainee solicitors with the setting up and organisation of a wide range of societies. Virtual events to suit all interests were hosted with strong attendance reported thanks to the ease of access that each trainee solicitor had to technology. Some of the highlights included the following:
- The International Law and Affairs Society organised the ‘Blackhall Briefings’, where guest experts shared insights on a range of issues, from the future of the Republican Party to Ireland’s changing position in international politics.
- The Legal Sign Language Society hosted sign language classes tailored to the legal profession. These were taught by Assistant Professor of Deaf Studies in TCD Patrick Matthews and ISL interpreter Pauline McMahon. Five separate six-week courses were held, with a total of 61 trainee solicitors completing their certification.
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