Welcome to ERS in our Community
Our community is at the heart of our operations and impact; our internal community at CUBS (staff citizenship, well-being and our operations) and our local, national and international community (organisations and charities we work with and our wider social contributions). CUBS researchers influence and inform the development of ERS policy, working with government and key policy makers to implement positive and sustainable change that will benefit wider society. We are committed to make a difference and leave no-one behind.
Athena SWAN Charter
As a signatory to the Athena SWAN (AS) Charter and a successful Bronze Award recipient CUBS is committed to “Enabling Individuality, Empowering All” by
Pieta Amber Flag
In June 2025 CUBS were awarded the Pieta Amber Flag, a national recognition of our commitment to promoting mental health awareness and wellbeing within our school community. The Pieta Amber Flag was initially awarded to CUBS students in Business Information Systems (BIS) in May 2022 who designed and implemented three initiatives to promote positive mental health in BIS to achieve the award. As part of our Amber Flag journey, we hosted a range of activities during Amber Week in 2025, aimed at raising awareness and funds for Pieta House. Thanks to the generosity and enthusiasm of our community, we raised an impressive €2,022 through initiatives such as a campus-wide fundraising drive and a memorable Sunrise Sea Swim.
Leaders of Tomorrow
Building on UCC’s Graduate Attributes Programme, CUBS Leaders of Tomorrow is an initiative that formally recognises the impact of students beyond academic grades. Open to all undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes, Leaders of Tomorrow enables students to articulate a complete picture of their impact during their time in CUBS. Some examples of the activities that got recognised include: charity work (Global citizen), coaching and mentoring (Learning Transformation), improvements made in the workplace (Innovation and Entrepreneurship), supporting fellow students (Student’s choice), overcoming personal challenges or life-changing situations like a bereavement (Exceptional Journey).
Neasa O Sullivan (BSc Finance4): won the Global Citizen category helping to create successful social enterprises that delivered positive impacts for both the environment and society. She got the opportunity to represent Ireland and present the social enterprises at the Enactus World Cup in 2022
[There is a video on the Leaders of Tomorrow page of Neasa that could be used here?]
CUBS Leaders of Tomorrow award recipient and UCC Quercus Scholar, Emma Coffey, BComm (2023) is the CEO and founder of FinalBend. With a driving statement of "save the impact for your workouts - less impact on the environment and on your wallet", FinalBend specialises in providing sustainable sportswear at sustainable prices.
Global Citizen Prize
On the international stage, BSc International Development graduate (2021), Sophie Healy-Thow was a winner of a Global Citizen Prize for her work in food, agriculture and nutrition. Sophie’s award was in recognition of the work done by an organisation she founded in 2021, a youth-led movement called Act4Food, which aims to make the food we eat more sustainable from farm to table.
Entrepreneurship, Creativity and Innovation Summer School for Second-Level Students, 2024.
Working to impact future generations of leaders, CUBS faculty lead on the annual HEA funded Entrepreneurship, Creativity and Innovation Summer School for Second-Level Students. The 2024 programme combined multidisciplinary contributions from across the UCC Entrepreneurship Ecosystems and was themed across the focus areas, of business, entrepreneurship, marketing, innovation, leadership and sustainability. Course participants included students from DEIS (Delivering equality of Opportunity in Schools) schools based in disadvantaged communities across Ireland.