Back to Maynooth — Talking housing futures with social science students

As graduates of Maynooth University, Julian Nagi and Alannah MacNamara were delighted to return, this time as members of the CIH Futures Board promoting careers in housing. Alannah is a trainee housing officer with the Housing Association for Integrated Living (HAIL), while Julian is a staff officer in the housing delivery section of Fingal County Council. Recently, they returned to Maynooth University to speak with final year BSc (Bachelor of Social Science) students — a class within the Social Science Department that Alannah herself graduated from.

Julian and Alannah break down their recent experience at Maynooth University.

Adapting the CIH Futures presentation

We used the CIH Futures college presentation as a starting point for the talk but adapted it to reflect our own backgrounds and the academic background of the students we were speaking to.

As part of our presentation, Alannah spoke about her work in HAIL, and how its housing model is grounded in the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). Particularly, the right to live independently and be included in the community, with full participation in society on an equal basis with others.

Julian concluded our presentation by focusing on public sector housing, giving an overview of the types of roles available in the Civil Service, Local Authorities and State Agencies, how graduates can access those opportunities, and the range of skills that are needed across housing delivery.

What students wanted to know

Students were engaged and curious, asking about:

• What a housing officer does day to day
• The types of housing Local Authorities deliver, including housing for older people and people with disabilities
• What opportunities exist in the housing sector for new graduates

It was clear there’s strong interest in housing, but often limited awareness of the pathways into the sector.

Lessons learned

Reflecting on the session, a few things stood out. It would be useful to engage with students earlier in the year, and possibly with second year students, to give them more time to research their options for after they graduate. We also think there’s scope to look at attending open events for students across courses, rather than targeting individual classes.

The session came about through engagement with academic staff from our student days, and it really underlined to us just how important those relationships are. Lecturers understand their students, their courses, and where input from people working in the sector can add real value. Without that connection, these kinds of conversations just don’t happen.

Why this matters

It was a welcome return to campus, this time from the other side of the lecture theatre, and we were grateful to be able to engage with students who are beginning to think about what comes next after graduation.

Outreach like this matters because the housing sector needs people to function. We want the next generation of professionals to discover that housing is a viable and rewarding career — and that there’s space in it for a wide range of people who have different skills, interests and values.

For both of us, returning to Maynooth was a reminder of where we started, and why it’s important to keep the door open for those coming after us.