Andrew Forde will be the first Vice-President for Postgraduate Affairs in the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), after being elected today at the union’s national council.
Forde, the NUI Galway Students’ Unions (NUIGSU) Vice-President for Education, defeated Trinity Graduate Students’ Union’s (GSU) Alexander Cosgrave.
Forde was elected with 79 per cent of the vote.
The role of Vice-President for Postgraduate Affairs is expected to cost USI approximately €20,000 and Forde will now take responsibility for developing the role and reaching out to postgraduates across the country.
Forde was involved in the protests against a €1,000 price hike by Galway student accommodation provider Cuirt na Coirib, which attracted national attention. He also spoke at USI’s postgraduate symposium in February, which discussed the common challenges faced by master’s and PhD students.
The part-time position was introduced in April after an overwhelming vote at USI’s annual congress. USI Vice-President for Academic Affairs Oisin Hassan called the position “a compromise solution” in response to the postgraduate community’s lobbying for better representation.
The GSU worked with USI last year to develop the role and GSU President Shane Collins has repeatedly expressed concern about the challenges faced by postgraduate students today. He commended the decision at congress to introduce the role for “recognising that we need to make sure that postgraduates are represented nationally”.
