For three days from 21-23 May 2020 the UCD Festival adapted to the COVID–19 restrictions and moved to an online edition of the annual UCD Festival.

UCD Festival@home embraced technology to continue in a virtual space. Although there were no physical events, all the inspiring, engaging, informative and fun activities of the regular Festival remained. The team discovered new ways of presenting content while expanding the festival’s digital and worldwide festival audience.  

It all happened via the UCD Festival @home website and through Youtube, Zoom and Facebook.

Throughout the Festival weekend a global audience of 22,500 alumni, faculty, staff, students, future students and friends, engaged with a programme of 67 virtual events. They joined from over 58 countries worldwide. There were live conversations, science shows and interactive workshops delivered by festival partners and Schools, Colleges and Units UCD.

There was something for everyone!

Take a look through the categories below and find an event that interests you.

Simply click on this event and watch it back. Most of the UCD Festival@home content is still available on our Youtube Channel for you to enjoy long after the event.

The festival would not have been possible without the generous support of so many alumni, special guests, contributors and collaborators who joined us as speakers at events and prepared content. We are also enormously grateful to all our partners for supporting the UCD Festival@home at such a challenging time with engaging content, a special thank you to Intel, Microsoft, MoLI, Explorium, Hugh Lane Gallery, EPIC and Glór na Gael.

Festival@home 2020 highlights included:

The Launch event ‘In Conversation: Colm Tóibín with Professor Margaret Kelleher’, with attendees from across Ireland and far beyond,includingIran, Nigeria, the USA and Europe. UCD Research and Innovation’s ‘Kids Q&A with Dr Tony’,wasan event hosted by science journalist DrClaire O’Connell where children across Ireland zoomed in to ask the celebrated UCD alumnus and Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan questions about the COVID-19 pandemic. UCD Business alumni and four of Ireland’s top athletes talked about leadership, teamwork and resilience – Johnny Sexton (Leinster & Irish Rugby), Cliona Crammond (All-American Soccer & UCD Soccer), Brian Fenton and Cian O’Sullivan (Dublin Senior Football Team, GAA) discussed how they are staying mentally and physically fit through quarantine, at the ‘Leadership in Sport Event.

A very special virtual performance of Maid of Culmore from theChoral Scholars of University College Dublin also featured. There were interactive workshops for all ages from colouring to baking ‘as Gaeilge’ and from drawing to earthquake-proof engineering with the Microsoft Dreamspace Challenge. Mind and Body events included, Dr Mark Rowe’s talk on Managing Stress and Avoiding Burnout in Uncertain Times, there was Pilates By the Lake with Colette O’Flynn, Professor Gary O’ Reilly from the UCD School of Psychology gave a talk on helping young people understand their emotional response to COVID-19, and there was advice from Healthy UCD on nutrition and physical activity across the lifespan.