Clubs & Societies
Medical students do have spare time outside academia, despite the common perception that we don’t. It’s just a matter of what we choose to do with that spare time.
UCD offers a wonderful range of extracurricular opportunities to add some spice to your university experience. There are over 80 student societies and over 60 sports clubs for you to get involved in, to meet new friends with the same interests, and to make new memories along the way. These range from career-oriented societies like Medical Society and Law Society (often abbreviated to MedSoc and LawSoc respectively), to religious groups like Islamic Society and Christian Union, to cultural societies like Malaysian Society and Japanese society, to more unique societies like SciFi, Chess and even Juggling. There
However, if you’re really into Medicine and want even more out of it, MedSoc actually branches into several smaller societies such as Emergency Medicine Society, Student Medical Journal, Paediatrics Society, Medical Students Overseas Relief and many more. These societies carry out a variety of academic and social events. For example, the Surgical Society carries out Surgical Skills Night every year, where medical students from all years can learn and practice how to suture like a surgeon and compete in doing simulated laparoscopies. MedSoc itself also hosts a range of events, such as the annual Med Ball for medical students to dress up and socialise over a three-course hotel dinner, as well as a sports tournament known as Med Cup, fundraisers, student summits, ski trips, career evenings, guest speakers and many more. In fact, MedSoc even won UCD Society of the Year 2020-2021!
Worried you’d miss home? Don’t worry, UCD has the biggest Malaysian Society (shortened to MSoc) in the whole of Ireland. It also hosts Ireland’s only Malaysian Night (MNight), which is a play run and directed by Malaysian students that all Malaysian students look forward to every year. Almost all MSocs in the UK and Ireland host an MNight each year, and it’s a common tradition for friends to buy tickets to each other’s MNights to show support and enjoy a good show!
To join these clubs, look out for Freshers’ Week, which is when tents and booths will be set up inside and outside the UCD Student Centre in the first few weeks of each semester.
