Two future doctors at the new School of Medicine at Magee will have their degree costs covered by a construction and property development company.

Heron Bros has pledged to provide two local students with full scholarships for the entirety of their four-year degree programme at the school, which is due to open in August.

NI students applying for the Graduate Entry Medicine programme are eligible to apply for the scholarships where they meet widening access and participation criteria. Applications will open on 5th July and close two weeks later, on 16th July, for students starting the Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Surgery programme this August.

Mr Damien O’Callaghan, Group Managing Director for Heron Bros Ltd said:

“Heron Bros are honoured to partner with Ulster University’s School of Medicine at the Magee Campus. In funding Scholarships to students, Heron Bros will build a better future for the local community, support upskilling of local talented people and provide health benefits for all of us. Heron Bros have been involved in various health, education and third sector education construction projects over the years and the Scholarships truly showcases our business values of passion, forward-thinking and relationships. As we progress from the Covid pandemic Heron Bros Medicine Scholarships will support our future Medicine Students provide a vital and enduring service in our community.”

The Foundation Dean of the School of Medicine, Professor Louise Dubras, has welcomed the scholarship announcement for prospective students:

“Ulster University and Heron Bros have enjoyed a longstanding partnership which has seen many of our students work with the team on a variety of Apprenticeship, Placement and Graduate programmes, enriching their learning experience and increasing employability. We are very proud to continue to strengthen this partnership through this scholarship announcement and we are delighted that Heron Bros will support two of our students through the brand new Graduate Entry Medicine programme, starting in August 2021.”

Louise added: “This presents opportunities for those who may face barriers to developing their vocation for a career in medicine – thanks to these scholarships they can now access and achieve the qualifications needed to become a doctor, joining the ambitious, capable healthcare hub here in the North West in four years’ time.”

President of Ireland Michael D Higgins has appeared alongside international politicians, academics and writers at a virtual conference broadcast from Ulster University’s Magee Campus.

The ‘Heritage, Healing and Home’ discussion took place earlier this month at the American Conference for Irish Studies 2021, which also featured contributions from US Congressman Brendan Boyle the UK and Irish Ambassadors to the US, filmmaker Maurice Fitzpatrick and local journalist Susan McKay.

Professor Malachy Ó Néill, Irish language scholar and Provost of the Ulster University Magee campus said: “Ulster University is delighted to host the ACIS 2021 conference and to welcome academics from 110 different institutions across the world to this global conversation. In partnership with Derry and Strabane District Council and Donegal County Council’s Colmcille 1500 initiative, this event is the academic highlight of the year-long commemoration of Colm Cille (Saint Columba), patron of the city of Derry and the wider North West and one of the most significant figures in early European Christianity. The overarching conference themes of ‘Heritage, Healing and Home’ act as a pathway for these times. Time for reflection, sense-making and collective restoration and healing is needed more than ever as we emerge from our homes after the challenging period during COVID-19.

City and region leaders got behind the international conference. Sportswear brand O’Neills designed a commemorative jersey featuring a beautiful digital artwork of Magee College by Carla Fulton, artist and recent Ulster University. Gavin Killeen and colleagues at NuPrint Technologies produced conference postcards to complement the O’Neills jerseys. Also, Visit Derry worked with Ulster University to bring this multi-faceted event online for the people of Derry.

A series of Fireside Conversations and speeches are still available to watch online.

Musicians with a link to Ulster University have been invited to submit their music to a new record label, with a debut release due this autumn.

Outworker Recordings will showcase original music created by students past and present and staff of the university, which has 200,000 alumni in 148 countries worldwide, 25,000 current students and 2,500 employees.

Inspired by Derry’s rich heritage of textile making ‘Outworker’ was a name given to people throughout the region who, in the 19th and early 20th century, made shirts in their own homes to help the thriving Derry shirt factories meet escalating demand. These Outworkers were the remote workers of their time.

Leah Bell, 3rd year Music student from Cookstown said: “As a young composer of music which doesn’t fall into the pop category, it’s really refreshing that my university is providing musicians with this opportunity to experiment and to showcase their music. I am excited to get involved. I’m looking forward to seeing where this goes.”

Dr Rob Casey, Lecturer in Music, at the School of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Ulster University’s Magee campus said: “We are delighted to launch Outworker Recordings. We want to help build an edgy innovative music scene and to support musicians to be inventive, to push boundaries. We are excited about the contribution this new music label will make to musicians lives and the rich creative life of Northern Ireland today.”

To be part of the first release that will launch the label, composers and musicians can submit a high-quality recording for consideration before 5pm on Friday 16 July. Find out more here.