UNIVERSITY of Limerick (UL) officially opened its landmark new student centre, a hub designed by and for students.
The €34million facility was inaugurated by Minister for Further and Higher Education, James Lawless.
Located between the well-known Stables complex and the Glucksman Library, the purpose-built four-storey 3,529 square-metre building offers a flexible space for events, student media, governance, clubs and societies, and socialising, the university said.
The new centre also includes a rooftop garden, 173-seat auditorium, games room, multimedia wall, and a dedicated radio and multimedia podcast studios.
Professor Shane Kilcommins, acting UL President, said the “landmark project demonstrates UL’s commitment to providing top-class facilities that enrich student experience”.
“It will serve generations to come and stands as a lasting testament to the vision of our students.”
Síofra Foley, UL Student Life president, also that the new centre “is the result of years of collaboration and determination, and it’s finally here”.
The student centre was made possible through the ‘Leave a Legacy’ initiative, in which UL students voted to co-fund the project via a phased levy beginning in 2017, rising in €2 increments each year.
Nearly 80 percent of the cost was student-funded, however the levy faced backlash in 2018 when some students were informed they were to be fined €200 for non-payment of an €18 levy to help finance the construction.
Students took to social media at the time to complain they were not adequately informed of the deadline for payment of the levy. Others complained the levy should not apply to them as construction of the centre would not be completed until after they graduated and they would not be able to avail of its services.
However, in a statement released by UL thereafter, the university accepted students had not been adequately informed of the payment deadline and the €200 fines would be reversed if the levy was paid by April 20.
Due to cost increases for the project, it was announced in 2022 that the timeline for the student levy was further pushed out from its previous 2037 date, and will now see students paying the levy until 2040.
The launch of the new UL student centre was attended by Mayor John Moran, Kieran O’Donnell TD, Conor Sheehan TD, senators Maria Byrne and Dee Ryan, UL founding president Dr Ed Walsh, along with past presidents of the UL Student Union, alumni, staff, and students.
