WITSU Social will provide students with a chill out area, complete with couches, PlayStations, Netflix, confidential offices and meeting rooms for WITSU officers to support students with a greater service, one which is accessible and welcoming to all.
It is hoped that this new space will create an intersection of people and ideas, where every student will feel welcomed and there will be a real centre of campus life which will enhance the ‘student experience’ for all. Students will be able to use the centre between lectures to make new friends, chill out with old ones and interact with all that the Students’ Union has to offer.
Research conducted by SETU Waterford Students’ Union showed that students craved an area where they could go to hang out, relax and even do some light study, either on their own or with their friends and students saw the Students’ Union being integral to the delivery of this cohesive student life.
WITSU’s main goal is inclusivity of all and so reserves have been put away over the years by WITSU along with aid from SETU Waterford Campus Services to fund the new fit-for-purpose space.
This dream has finally become a reality for SETU Waterford Students’ Union to provide this to students as it is social interactions that build a vibrant and strong campus community.
“The WITSU Social will be a space where you can be who you want to be, express yourself however you want to and develop as a person. This has been a dream of every WITSU team for the last 15 years and this social learning space has now finally become a reality. We couldn’t be more excited and proud about what potential this new space will provide to current and future students of WIT,” said Michael Murphy, SETU Waterford Students’ Union President 17/18.
The hope is that the social space will ensure a positive experience in SETU Waterford so that students will always feel they have somewhere to go.
SETU Waterford Students’ Union, along with input from students and the greater SETU Waterford community, had previously identified that the current Students’ Union offices were no longer fit for purpose for the students; and services were being provided from an extremely limited area where privacy and accessibility was low.
At the heart of the partnership between SETU Waterford Students’ Union, SETU Waterford and Campus Services is the student and improving their life on campus, the result of this collaboration is a greater integration of skill sets across SETU Waterford to ensure the success of the new WITSU Social Space.
The WITSU Social will make it easier for current and prospective students to witness the great sense of community and welcoming that SETU Waterford provides and the space may also be used for other various functions e.g. student information pop-up stands, training etc.