Program Overview

Quercus Talented Students' Programme

The Quercus Talented Students' Programme is a prestigious program offered by University College Cork.

About the Program

The program is designed to recognize and support talented students in various fields, including academic, active citizenship, creative and performing arts, innovation and entrepreneurship, and sports.

Quercus Lecture Series

The Quercus Lecture Series is a key component of the program, featuring lectures by renowned experts in their fields. The series includes lectures on academic, active citizenship, creative and performing arts, innovation and entrepreneurship, and sports topics.

Quercus Lecture Series 2022/23

The 2022/23 Quercus Lecture Series featured the following lectures:

• The Hon Gary Gray gave the 2023 Quercus Lecture on Australian Policy in Southeast Asia.
• Student Led Workshops:
  • Gaisce – The President' Award: Becoming more civically minded in my studies and beyond, presented by Quercus University Scholar, Orla Leahy.
  • The Covid Leaving Cert & the Role of Student Voices, presented by Quercus Active Citizenship Scholars, Emer Neville & Reuban Murray.
  • How to win the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards: the playbook to survive your first 24 months as a startup and become a world-class founder, presented by Quercus Innovation/Entrepreneurship Scholar, Nick Cotter.
  • The Life of a Tri-athlete, presented by Quercus Sports' Scholar, Maeve Gallagher.
  • The Spoken Word, presented by Quercus Creative & Performing Arts' Scholars, Otto Goodwin & Rere Ukponu.

Quercus Lecture Series 2021/22

The 2021/22 Quercus Lecture Series featured the following lectures:

• Student Led Workshops:
  • Marieke's experience as a student nurse working in the ICU/CUH during the first Covid lockdown, presented by Quercus University Scholar, Marieke Buckley.
  • Don't Be Trashy: Sustainability in Business, presented by Quercus Innovation/Entrepreneurship Scholar, Emma Coffey & Quercus Active Citizenship Scholar, Anna O'Connor.
  • Asylum & Refuges, presented by Quercus Active Citizenship Scholar, Fidaa Marouf.
  • 'Harping On - A Focus on the Irish Harp', presented by Quercus Creative & Performing Arts' Scholars, Donnchadh Hughes, Iona Ritchie & Sophie Ryan.
  • Different Strokes - The Parallels between rowing and studying, presented by Quercus Sports' Scholar, Paul O'Donovan.

Quercus Lecture Series 2020/21

The 2020/21 Quercus Lecture Series was suspended due to Covid-19, but the Quercus Student Led Workshops were started to fill the void. The workshops featured the following topics:

• Life as a Student Entrepreneur, presented by Quercus Innovation/Entrepreneurship Scholars, Nick Cotter, Annie Madden & Mary Murphy.
• Occupational Therapy: Where Creativity, Compassion & Science Collide, presented by Quercus University Scholar, Louise Coombes.
• Beyond Performance: Four Unique Recitals and the Story Behind Them, presented by Quercus Creative & Performing Arts Scholars, Nicole Delaney, Kyle Macaulay, Jennifer Barry, Nyala Grunwald, & Ciara Cullinane.
• The Road to Tokyo 2021, presented by Quercus Sports' Scholars, Aoife Casey, Mags Cremen, Tara Hanlon, Lydia Heaphy & Emily Hegarty.
• Applied Active Citizenship live from Europe's Largest Refugee Camp, Moria in Lesbos, Greece, presented by Quercus Active Citizenship Scholar, Vera Stojanovic.

Quercus Lecture Series 2019/20

The 2019/20 Quercus Lecture Series featured the following lectures:

• Supporting autistic students on their journey through higher education: small changes, big impact, presented by Dr. Marc Fabri.
• Global action for a better world: the potential of the Sustainable Development Goals, presented by David Donoghue.
• 'Changing the Game' - A Personal Reflection on a career in the TV sports business, and the urgent need for fresh thinking on how sport can play a powerful role in the areas of Gender Equality and Mental Health, presented by Clíona O'Leary.
• The role of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in driving the Irish economy, presented by Julie Sinnamon.
• Music Generation: transforming lives through access to performance music education, presented by Rosaleen Molloy.

Quercus Lecture Series 2018/19

The 2018/19 Quercus Lecture Series featured the following lectures:

• John Moriarty, the environment, and the cosmos: rumminations on a Big Thinker, presented by Prof. Michael W. Higgins.
• From Alfred Nobel to Bill Gates: The Power of Active Citizenship, presented by Dr. Finola Doyle O'Neill.
• 20/20: If She Can't See It, See Can't Be It, presented by Mary O'Connor.
• Change or Transformation, presented by Lord David Puttnam.
• The National Ploughing Championships, Europe's Largest Outdoor Event, presented by Anna Marie McHugh.

Quercus Lecture Series 2017/18

The 2017/18 Quercus Lecture Series featured the following lectures:

• Atlas of the Irish Revolution, presented by Dr. John Borgonovo.
• High Performance Sport in Ireland, presented by Paul McDermott.
• Global action for a better world: the potential of the Sustainable Development Goals, presented by Bridget Quilligan.
• Identity is Everything, presented by Lord David Puttnam.
• The Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority, presented by Dr. Susan Steele.