UISCE Interns & Scholars

Donum est in provocatione: Tá an Bronntanas sa Dúshlán: The gift is in the challenge

Creatively and sensitively exploring the resistances to peacebuilding

UISCE was founded in 2020 as a not-for-profit organisation committed to bringing a fresh approach to peacebuilding in Ireland.

Our main focus is The UISCE Leaders Programme. We are currently seeking scholars and interns to research, design and deliver our upcoming Leaders Programmes.

Opportunities

“Experience cross-cultural immersion while engaging with an international cohort of peers and the local community”

UISCE Interns

Interns focus on one area of UISCE’s operation, such as programme research, marketing, our digital community, fundraising, media or copywriting. Interns are typically undergraduates who receive credit through their university.

UISCE Scholars

The UISCE scholars programme is made up of university students, graduates, teachers, professors or others with particular expertise who periodically join the UISCE community to research a specific project related to peace in Ireland.

Upcoming UISCE Leaders Programmes

“Participants will develop an in-depth understanding as they explore and experience first-hand the diverse components and complex dynamics of peace in the Irish context”

Spring 2023 Workshop

Weekly from April 10th to 22nd
The Clinton Centre, Enniskillen

Aim: “Creatively and sensitively identify, explore and engage with the dynamics that affect and effect cross-border and cross-community relations along the Sligo-Enniskillen Greenway that could be resources for transformation”.

The Greenway passes through some of Ireland’s most underdeveloped communities, spanning history from previous millennia to the current day, throughout some of Ireland’s most traumatic periods, including the Famine, partition, and the current EU Brexit process.

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Summer 2023 Workshop

Weekly from July 2nd to 29th
The Clinton Centre, Enniskillen

Aim: “Creatively and sensitively identify, explore and engage with dynamics relating to understanding of justice and forgiveness in society, both at a sectarian and wider local community level to identify resistances that can be resources for transformation”.

From the context of the Irish peace process, this being the 25 th anniversary of Belfast / Good Friday Agreement, this programme will have particular reference to the 1987 Enniskillen Remembrance Day IRA bombing which occurred on the site which now is The UISCE Campus.

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The UISCE Scholar Experience

“UISCE is a hands-on think tank where you will help to develop programmes to inform leaders, educators and policy makers”

Collaborative Research

All workshop topics are open to the interpretation of UISCE scholars, as long as they focus on creatively and sensitively exploring peacebuilding and transformation.

Community Development

Make a meaningful contribution to peace and social progress, by helping to develop our future programmes to inform schools, educators and policy advisors.

Journal Publication

UISCE will publish its first annual research journal in 2023. This journal will consist of papers that present the research that has been completed by UISCE scholars over the past year.

Academia Meets Application

Engage with key local and national spokespersons and meet with those affected by conflict to create research that will set the groundwork for social change.

Make a Real Impact

You will be entrusted with a high level of responsibility and autonomy to shape research, develop hypotheses, compile reading lists and apply your own unique experience and expertise.

3rd Sector Career Development

Non-profits and voluntary groups provide essential services and play a vital role in local communities. Gain practical experiences needed to build a purpose driven career.

Meet The UISCE Scholars Network

“UISCE’s Scholars Programme is a specialised role of particular appeal to academics or professionals with a greater understanding of issues pertaining to peacebuilding”

Melissa Clement

I am a Masters of Anthropology student from Leipzig University, Germany, but am originally from Canada. I was at the Clinton Centre over the fall of 2021 to work on both my Masters thesis and to research for UISCE’s Youth Leadership program.
I am currently in the second year of my masters degree with a focus on political anthropology and transitional justice studies. In Northern Ireland, I am studying the post-conflict generation’s experience with reconciliation and the struggles between community and personal identity. For UISCE, I am focusing on the school system to determine what the challenges and resistances are to teaching and learning about peace building and reconciliation. This is a continuation of Jason Gappa’s research and will be used in the upcoming Youth Leadership program.
Alberto Vidal Guerrero

During the summer of 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, I spent three months as a volunteer at the Clinton Center in Enniskillen where I collaborated in maintenance and research tasks, accompanying the first steps of UISCE. I returned to Fermanagh in the summer of 2021, this time to focus on Irish historical-cultural and social research and reflection on the island's past, present and future.
Born in Castellón (Spain) in 1991, I completed my first studies in Valencia. In 2014 I spent six months training with the Spanish Navy. 2016, I graduated in History (University of Valencia). In 2017 I served two years as an infantryman in the Spanish Army and in 2019 I moved to Madrid where I combined the specialization in Early Modern History (Master of History of the Hispanic Monarchy) with my collaboration in the YouTube channel Academia Play (Visual Academy). I currently reside in Castellón where I work as a teacher and collaborate with other historical-cultural entities.
Daniel “Ike” Sherr

I was born in Great Malvern, Worcestershire on 8 November 1998 to a Finnish mother and a South African-Israeli father. However, I have lived a relatively international life, having lived in Israel, Tanzania and Finland at different points in my life.
I stayed at the Clinton Centre from 17 April to 25 July 2021. This is my second time volunteering for UISCE, the first being in late 2018, also together with Mai. I have researched and written about various subjects in Irish history, ranging from the 17th Century to the Good Friday Agreement.
I am currently studying Drama and Acting in UWE Bristol. I also partook in a foundation theatre course in Finland from 2019 to 2020. My other interests include, history, geography, culture, mythology, linguistics, literature and film.
Mai Westerlund

I am 22 years old. Originally Finnish, grew up in Israel and I have been living in Austria for the past few years, where I study Tourism Management in the IMC Krems university of applied sciences.
I stayed at the Clinton Center from March 2021 until July 2021. I researched and wrote a series of papers covering the span of Irish history.
I'm interested in History, Folklore, Theology, Languages and Art.
Niamh O’Neill

I am a recent graduate from College Dublin. I am very interested in culture, politics and current affairs, I love to travel, and I speak four languages (English, German, Irish and French). Before coming to the Clinton Centre in summer 2021, I just finished my degree in European studies. Now I’m living in Switzerland, doing an MA in European Global Studies at the University of Basel.
In Enniskillen, I worked on a paper about Brexit and its potential benefit for Ireland and Europe. More recently, I have been looking at the Northern Irish memory discourse and the memorialisation of the ‘Troubles’, in particular the Enniskillen bomb, which killed twelve people on Remembrance Day in 1987.
Jason Gappa

One paper, currently in process, written by Jason Gappa (Berkshire School), presents research on how schools in Ireland, from all backgrounds, are engaging with the Peace Process and the "other side". This will be a timely and significant work for UISCE, helping it develop its future programs and informing schools, educators and policy advisors.