Dr Áine Ní Shé, MTU
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Dr Áine Ní Shé, Registrar & Vice President for Academic Affairs (Acting), MTU, Cork Campus
Dr Áine Ní Shé is currently Registrar & Vice-President for Academic Affairs (Acting) at Munster Technological University (Cork), Ireland. In this role, she has responsibility for academic affairs across the Bishopstown Campus, Cork School of Music, Crawford College of Art & Design, and the National Maritime College of Ireland.
Dr Ní Shé is the current Chair of THEA’s Council of Registrars. Nationally, she is an experienced reviewer in the area of academic quality enhancement. Having been a member of the Athena SWAN Self-Assessment Team which developed CIT’s successful bronze award application, she is the current Vice Chair of the National Athena SWAN Committee and also chairs its Communications Sub-Committee.
A native of Cork, Áine initially graduated with a BEd degree from Mary Immaculate College Limerick, Ireland, after which she worked as a primary teacher for ten years. Concurrently, she undertook postgraduate study in Mathematics in University College Cork, graduating with a PhD in 2000.
Áine joined CIT as a Mathematics lecturer in 2001. She taught Mathematics and Statistics on various programmes in engineering, science, business and humanities and worked on initiatives in relation to access and assessment.
In 2012, Áine was appointed Head of the Department of Mathematics at CIT, a role which saw her lead and manage all activity in relation to Mathematics teaching, research and engagement across the Institute. She is a former governor of CIT (2010 to 2015).
A former member of the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland, Áine continues to be involved in music to this day. A keen violinist and singer, she is an active participant in the cultural life of Cork and Ireland, and currently sits on the Board of Directors of Cork Opera House.
"It was at my nephew’s birthday party, on 29th December 2019, when I first heard the stories of field hospitals in Wuhan. That said, I still breezed into 2020 ‘all systems go’, having decided – in typical New Year fashion – to address my work life balance by making more time for music and joining a gym.
"Monday 16th March saw me ‘remote working’ for the first time ever. In those early days, the focus was on collaborating with colleagues to implement our academic continuity plan. It was a period of enormous uncertainty, but we were united in our determination to enable our students to successfully complete the academic year.
"Each day brought a new challenge. My colleagues pulled out all the stops in the sudden and unexpected move to remote teaching, learning, and assessment, and the associated reconfiguration of our student supports and services to the online context. Looking back, I am extremely proud of what we, students and staff alike, have achieved in partnership.
"From a personal perspective, I have (somewhat) managed to maintain my fitness, whether through pilates, running, training, or ‘coffee-walks’ along the ‘Banks of my own Lovely Lee’. We’ve done some choir rehearsals on Zoom, but there’s no denying that Christmas 2020 was a Christmas like no other for choristers worldwide. While the orchestra rehearsals will have to wait, it was a joy to reunite with friends for socially distanced Mozart string quintets on a balmy August evening when the second wave was just a faint possibility in the back of our minds.
"Overall, however, I am very mindful of those lives lost to COVID-19, those who mourn them, and so many others for whom life has changed utterly, often irrevocably. Each morning brings those orchestra and choir rehearsals one day closer, and there’s nothing to stop me doing a bit of practice in the meantime…"
