The BICS Awards 2014 took place in Titanic Belfast on April 10th. 420 people were in attendance for the presentation of the adjudication process and the awards. You can see full details of all the nominees and winners on the night. Thanks to all the society committee members in attendance, to the 48 adjudicators and to the chief adjudicators Aoife Kelleher and Paul Lee. Thanks to all the hard working BICS Awards Teams for making the whole night happen and congratulations to all involved. If you missed the event or if you just want to relive it all again you can check out a recording by the DCU Media Production Society here.
The Results
Best Society (in a Cultural, Academic, or Social Field) in a Large College
The nominees are:
DCU Dance
DIT Drama
NUIG GIGsoc
NUIM Dance
QUB SCRUBS
UCC Economic
UL International
and the winner is…
UCC Economics
The UCC Economics Society held a wide range of social and academic events in the past year. They started with a fantastic GAAconomics event and went out on a bang too, as Economics Week featured Tim Harford, Megan Greene, David McWilliams and a celebration of Chinese New Year.
Best Society (in a Cultural, Academic, or Social Field) in a Small College
The nominees are:
CIT International Students
DBS Radio
IT Tralee Manga, Anime & Gaming Society
IT Tallaght Radio
Mary Immaculate Writers Society
NCI Peer Mentors
and the winner is…
CIT International Students
Cork Institute of Technology’s International Student Society is a student focused and driven society. The society is filled with rich cultural and diverse backgrounds making the ISS a preferred society on campus. The Committee officers are focused and passionate to ensure all members are motivated and happy.
Best Society (in a Civic / Charity Field) in a Large College
The nominees are:
DCU RAG
NUIG VSA
NUIM SVdP
QUB Red Cross
UCC Surgeon Noonan
and the winner is…
DCU RAG
The Raising and Giving society aims to harness the energy of the student population and empower them to do good in their community. Students are engaged by innovative events run by RAG that encourage them to ‘get stuck in’ and volunteer with our wide variety of social projects which are set up and run by students.
Best Society (in a Civic / Charity Field) in a Small College
The nominees are:
GMIT Best Buddies
IT Tralee SVdP
Letterkenny IT Gaisce
Mary Immaculate One World
and the winner is…
Letterykenny IT Gaisce
LYIT GAISCE Society is a proactive society at LYIT, consisting of students who are focused on volunteering, fundraising and community engagement. Each year this group visits the ‘Garden Of Eden Project’ in Thailand. ‘The Garden of Eden’ is a rehabilitation community for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Even though the PLWHA were still healthy, they were rejected by their families and communities. The goal is to create a self-supporting community of people living with HIV/AIDS.
The students from LYIT Gaisce Society 2013 interacted with children and adults with HIV/AIDS and built fish/frog farms to help the people in this project gain self sufficiency and some financial independence.
Best Event in a Large College
The nominees are:
Vodafone DIT Fashion Show (DIT Fashion)
DCUtv 24 hour broadcast (DCU Media Production Society)
The Drowsy Chaperone (NUIG Musical Society)
Mini-Musical Festival (NUIM Musical & Dramatic Society)
SWOT Fashion Show (QUB SWOT)
Relay For Life (UCC Cancer Society)
Women’s Rights Conference (UL Law Society)
and the winner is…
Vodafone DIT Fashion Show (DIT Fashion Show)
The Vodafone DIT Fashion Show is not simply fashion societies performance but a spectacle encompassing students from across DIT involved in a variety of societies. The show was a star studded event this year attracting a crowd of celebrities and notable influencers in the fashion industry.
Best Event in a Small College
The nominees are:
Dance Intervarsities (CIT Dance Society)
Cash on Delivery (IT Tallaght Drama Society)
24 Hour Challenge (IT Tralee Enterprise Society)
Cats the Musical (Mary Immaculate Dramatic Arts Society)
PokéCon (NCI Pokémon Society)
and the winner is…
Cats the Musical (Mary Immaculate Dramatic Arts Society)
Cats the musical brought MIDAS to the next level in terms of production, design, costumes, location and promotion. As a completely student run event it demanded excellent teamwork and dedication from the students involved and was enjoyed by over 3000 audience members during its six show run.
Best Individual in a Large College
The nominees are:
Helene Duffy – DIT
Francine Kwan – DCU
Eamonn Doran – NUIG
Danielle O’Sullivan – NUIM
Laura Cashman – UCC
Tríona O’Sullivan – UL
and the winner is…
Tríona O’Sullivan – UL
Tríona is a final year student studying Business with HRM and has been involved in the Society for the last 4 years. She has been nominated by the UL Wolf Community for her outstanding dedication, constant positive demeanour and good nature that has brought the society from strength to strength.
Best Individual in a Small College
The nominees are:
Trish Elliott – IT Blanchardstown
Benjamin Henry – CIT
Joanne Mullins – GMIT
Emma Nolan – IT Tallaght
Róisín Harty – IT Tralee
Claire Cotter – Mary Immaculate
Josephine Andrews -NCI
and the winner is…
Emma Nolan – IT Tallaght
Emma has been involved with the Society for a number of years, hosting shows and organising events. Her year as Chairperson saw the society grow in numbers, engage with other clubs & socs, hit people with fish and add online streaming throughout the year. Affectionately referred to as “Momma Bear”.
Most Improved Society in a Large College
The nominees are:
DCU Africa
DIT Islamic
NUIG DJ
NUIM Pride
QUB Radio
UCC Amnesty
UL Music
and the winner is…
UCC Amnesty
The UCC Amnesty International society has grown from strength to strength this year. It has held over 40 events including the Amnesty Ireland National Student Conference which was held in UCC for the first time. The society also participated in the national student fundraiser #Jailbreak14.
Most Improved Society in a Small College
The nominees are:
CIT Music
GMIT Mature Students
IT Tralee Sign Language
IT Tallaght Mature Students
Letterkenny IT LGBT
Mary Immaculate Debating
and the winner is…
CIT Music
CIT Music strives to provide and outlet for their member’s musical passions, all the while organising events that provide an unforgettable experience and showcase some of Cork City and County’s greatest talents. They provide a rehearsal space for students equipped with amps and instruments, organise free monthly gigs, weekly Jam Sessions, drum and guitar lessons and run a highly successful Battle of the Bands.
Best New Society in a Large College
The nominees are:
DCU Friends Society
DIT PRPA
NUIG Astronomy
NUIM Enactus
QUB Michaela Foundation
UCC Engineers Without Borders
and the winner is…
NUIG Astronomy
Astro Soc seek to boldly go where no society has gone before inspiring students, staff and the general public to explore and look up at the night’s sky. Our galactic variety of events to promote astronomy across campus has awakened a curiosity to what the cosmos is all about. We even organised a Science Fortnight…
Best New Society in a Small College
The nominees are:
CIT Cancer Society
IT Tralee Enterprise
IT Blanchardstown Social Care Society
IT Tallaght Airsoft
Mary Immaculate Harry Potter Society
NCI Pokémon Society
and the winner is…
Mary Immaculate Harry Potter Society
This year, Mary Immaculate College welcomed its first Harry Potter society. Co-founders and co-chairpeople Emer and Claire decided it was time to gather students together in their mutual love for all things Potter. Overcoming the challenges of muggles and stubborn hippogriffs, the MIC Harry Potter society has had a magical first semester.
Best Fresher in a Large College
The nominees are:
Michael Batten – DIT
Eoin Lúc Ó Ceallaigh – DCU
Leah Heffernan – NUIG
Kelsey Neal – UCC
Darragh Keane – UL
and the winner is…
Eoin Lúc Ó Ceallaigh – DCU
Eoin Lúc is a 19 year old Journalism student from County Carlow. Since starting in DCU in September he has been extremely involved in society life. He was elected Events Coordinator and First Year rep of the Raising and Giving society as well as being Brand Development Officer for Cumann Gaelach and an active member of the Media Production Society.
Best Fresher in a Small College
The nominees are:
Jackie Ní Fhogartaigh – CIT
Jamie McMahon – IT Tallaght
Clíona Lawton – IT Tralee
Damien Kiely – Mary Immaculate
Eve O’Connor – NCI
and the winner is…
Damien Kiely – Mary Immaculate
Damien was nominated for his contribution to the One World Society in Mary Immaculate College. His enthusiasm towards the society and bringing fresh ideas for the society. His event of renown was the “Help for Heroes” initiative, which raised money to purchase toys for University Hospital Limerick.
Best Publicity Campaign
The nominees are:
DCU Redbrick
DIT Fashion
IT Tralee Tattoo & Piercing
IT Tallaght Radio
Mary Immaculate One World
NUIG Akumakon
UCC Cancer Society
and the winner is…
UCC Cancer Society
This year, the PR team at UCC Cancer Society were hard at work promoting Relay for Life UCC through YouTube videos, social media campaigns, on and off campus inclusive campaigns and trending hashtags!
Best Poster
The nominees are:
CIT Christian Union
DIT Fashion Society
GMIT Best Buddies
It Blanchardstown Social Care Society
IT Tralee TV & Film Society
IT Tallaght Radio
Mary Immaculate Harry Potter Society
NCI Pokémon Society
NUIG Dramsoc
UCC Dramat
UL Out in UL
and the winner is…
DIT Fashion Society
Best Promotional Video
The nominees are:
DIT Fashion
IT Tallaght Radio
IT Tralee Airsoft
Mary Immaculate One World
NCI LGBT
NUIG Film & Drama
UCC an Chuallacht, Choral and Traditional Music Societies
UL Music
and the winner is…
IT Tallaght Radio
IT Tallaght Radio run two radio weeks, Freshers and February as ITTFM, along with streaming online throughout the year. The Soc held numerous events including Killer Karaoke, and this video was used in promoting it.
Best Photo
The nominees are:
CIT Photographic Society
DIT DJ
IT Tallaght Radio
IT Tralee Metal Society
NCI Peer Mentor
NUIG Rover Society
UCC Medieval & Renaissance
UL Photographic
and the winner is…
NUIG Rover Society
Rover Soc is an outdoor society based on the scouting ethos. All our activities that we undertake are done through the scouting spirit! There are already many outdoor clubs in our college so we pride ourselves on being able to put our own spin on things!