Networking is the very essence of Network Ireland West Cork and as we embrace a new year in an everchanging world it is essential that we are match fit for all the networking opportunities that we will encounter in 2021 and beyond.

Dr. Jean van Sinderen-Law is the grand master when it comes to purposeful networking and we are delighted that she has agreed to share her secrets of success with Network Ireland West Cork.

Expect a rich evening of learning which will arm you with the knowledge to:

• make sure you are attending the right events
• decide which events are worth your time
• prepare for networking opportunities
• plan to get the best out of networking opportunities
• manage your time at events
• ensure you reach your networking goals
• maximize the networking potential in each event
• amplify your networking post event
• think outside the box and network effectively and safely in a Covid-19 landscape

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EMBRACE FARM

Embrace Farm is the 2021 Network Ireland charity partner of the year. We will hear a short talk from their team on the important services and supports they provide.

Embrace FARM was founded by Brian Rohan and his wife Norma, a farming family from Shanahoe, Co. Laois. Founded in 2014, it provides a bereavement support group for farm families. It helps families, like them, who have lost a loved one or, indeed, suffered serious injury in a farming accident.

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AGENDA

20:00 Welcome & Introductions

Katherine O'Sullivan - President, Network Ireland West Cork & General Manager O'Donnell Furniture

20:05 Embrace Farm

20:15 Dr. Jean van Sinderen-Law - Associate Vice President, Director of European Relations and Public Affairs, University College Cork

21:05 Closing Remarks

Katherine O'Sullivan - President, Network Ireland West Cork & General Manager O'Donnell Furniture

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MORE INFORMATION

Dr. Jean van Sinderen-Law, Associate Vice President, Director of European Relations and Public Affairs, University College Cork (UCC), Ireland

Dr. Jean van Sinderen-Law graduated from UCC with a Bachelor of Science degree and a PhD in Microbiology. In 2018 Jean was appointed as Associate Vice President/Director of European Relations and Public Affairs. Formerly she held the roles in UCC of EU Projects Officer, Research Support Officer, Director of Development and Alumni Relations, Associate Vice President/Director of Principal Gifts, each of which has been a new role created in response to changing economic/Government circumstances in which the University sector operates. Prior to her commencement on staff at University College Cork Jean held an EU funded Marie Curie post-doctoral research fellowship at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands.

As Director of European Relations and Public Affairs, Jean is responsible for establishing key partnerships for the University with the European Institutions, Universities, Governments and agencies to advance UCC’s education, research and public engagement missions. These partnerships bring new ideas and new practices to the University which cultivate work ready and world ready graduates through postgraduate research and training, staff and student mobility, investment and the delivery of excellence in teaching, cultural, sporting and social programmes. Such partnerships enable input to policy and funding opportunities in a timely and planned manner resulting in harnessing of new opportunities, not only for the University but for its partners and stakeholders nationally and internationally thus contributing to economic, social and cultural growth.

Jean served as a Governor of UCC and also was elected as a member of the Senate of the National University of Ireland. She is a founding member of the European Association of Research Managers and Administrators (EARMA) and the European Commission Marie Curie Fellowship Association. She is a Trustee of CASE Europe (Council for the Advancement and Support of Education), an organisation with a global membership of 3,500 educational institutions.

Jean has worked or is currently working in a pro bono capacity for several organisations including the Haven Partnership in Haiti, the Hope Foundation in Calcutta, Concern in Addis Ababa, The Tomar Trust, Our Ladies Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin, Dublin, the Irish Film Institute and the Ludgate Centre, Skibbereen, Co Cork. She serves on the board of management of Presentation Brothers School, Cork and is a non-executive director of Egerton Capital Equity Fund.

Jean was selected as the Women Mean Business (WMB) Businesswoman of the year in Ireland in 2010.

Her “otherness” is as an actress for which she has trained and has considerable experience in film, television (22 IMDb credits) and theatre.

Embrace FARM, the farm accident support network, supports all those affected by farm accidents. Established in 2014 by Norma and Brian Rohan following the death of Brian's father Liam in 2012, they felt there wasn't a support out there for farm families who had experienced the grief and loss their own family was enduring. They held the first Remembrance Service in 2014 in Abbeyleix, Co. Laois where over 600 people attended from all parts of Ireland. They had a huge response in the first call of Remembrance they decided to hold the service each year since then. The organisation developed as a CLG and effectively a charity by 2017. It provides listening and signposting service to individuals and families affected through the fatal loss of a loved one or those who have suffered a serious life changing injury as a result of a farm accident. Throughout the year it hosts online and face to face support groups for the bereaved and survivors of farm accidents. It hosts annual residential counselling weekends for spouses who have lost their partner/husband and for families who have lost a child/sibling to come together and share their experiences. Each support group and residential weekend is facilitated by a counsellor/psychotherapist who is fully accredited to deal with bereavement, loss and trauma. Embrace FARM advocates for the people it supports in its network and it supports all efforts of farm safety initiatives around the country. Embrace FARM operates solely on the donations and fundraisers organised by the Agri Community, businesses and individuals that have been affected by farm accidents and support farm safety. Embrace FARM operates around the 32 counties of the island of Ireland