Frequently asked questions

The organisation of the Alumni Gathering is of utmost importance to the RCSI Alumni team and the Association of Medical and Dental Graduates.

Throughout the planning and organisation, we remain mindful of the potentially disruptive impact of COVID-19 and the evolving nature of variants.

We are hopeful that we will be able to deliver the overall programme without disappointment as a result of unforeseen developments, but we reserve the right to amend the event format and programme at a later date in light of public health regulations or recommendations.

The Alumni Gathering will take place from the 17-19 August 2023.

The Gathering is for alumni from the School of Medicine and Faculty of Dentistry who graduated in the following class years: 1958, 1963, 1968, 1973, 1978, 1983, 1988, 1993, 1998, 2003, 2008, 2013 and 2018.

If you are travelling from a country that requires you to have a visa, please email gathering@rcsi.ie and request a visa invitation letter.

Please include your full name as noted on your passport, as well as the full name(s) of any accompanying guests.

You can contact us by emailing gathering@rcsi.ie or by calling the Alumni Office on +353 1 402 2523.

Spouses or partners of alumni are very welcome to attend the Alumni Gathering. Please ensure that you register their details and purchase a ticket for them.

Young children are welcome to attend any of the marked family-friendly events for free. However, we cannot permit children to attend the adult-only aspects of the Gathering, including: the Welcome Reception, Scientific Meeting and Gala Dinner.

We are delighted to advise that we have an optimum capacity of 500 attendees – this includes alumni and guests.

Please email us at gathering@rcsi.ie to advise us of the requirements of any guests with a disability and we will respond promptly.

There will be photographers onsite at the event. Photographs may be used on social media, in our Alumni Newsletter, Alumni Magazine and any other material we see fit.

If you would not like your photograph used, please email gathering@rcsi.ie.

The Alumni team will assist to organise class dinners on a class-by-class basis subject to request and/or demand from the class. The organisation of class dinners will happen once registration is closed (May 2023) and exact attendance figures are known. At this point, the Alumni team will ask the Class Ambassador/s to advise if a dinner is something the class is interested in.

Class dinners will take place on Friday, 18 August. Class dinners will be located in selected restaurants – no dinners will take place in RCSI. The cost of the class dinner is not included in the overall registration cost. A class may decide to organise a dinner without the assistance of the Alumni team.

The Gala Dinner is included in the overall registration cost. The Gala Dinner will take place in the Mansion House on Saturday, 19 August. At the Gala Dinner, alumni and guests will be sat at tables assigned to their class year but there will be free seating at the assigned tables.

You will be/have been asked when registering if you have any special dietary requirements. At all events, we will always have both halal and vegetarian options available. If you have a severe food allergy or you wish to discuss your requirements, please contact us on +353 1 402 2523 or email gathering@rcsi.ie.

Further information regarding tours will be provided after registration is closed in May 2023.

Please email travel@rcsi.ie or call +353 1 402 2343 and inform us that you are travelling for the Alumni Gathering. You will be providing with a list of hotels and some discounted rates.

All hotel bookings must be made through RCSI Travel in order to avail of the discounted hotel rates.

No. Unfortunately, we do not have any student accommodation available.

Registration costs will vary depending on which elements of the programme you would like to attend. Ticket prices per person are detailed below:

• Jubilee Celebration (includes drinks reception, ceremony and light lunch with wine, tea and coffee): €0 – for Classes of 1958, 1963, 1968 & 1973 only
• Welcome Reception (includes drinks reception with finger food): €0
• Scientific Meeting (includes refreshments throughout the day and hot buffet lunch): €20
• Golf (includes tea/coffee, 18 holes, light lunch and transport from RCSI if needed): €80
• Gala Dinner (includes drinks reception, three course meal with wine, dancing and a late bar): €145

You can register your attendance online here. The first page will ask for your contact details and for a short biography of no more than 250 words. The second page lists all the Alumni Gathering events; simply choose the events you wish to attend.

The third and final page requests your payment information – payment can be made by credit card or Visa, but we cannot accept payment by American Express. As soon as you have inputted your payment information, please press the 'OK' button just once. Within a few seconds, a confirmation page will appear and you will also receive a confirmation email.

Please check your email junk/spam folder. If there is no email in this folder, please contact us on +353 1 402 2523 or email gathering@rcsi.ie.

If you can no longer attend the RCSI Alumni Gathering, please email gathering@rcsi.ie requesting a refund.

Refunds can take up to 14 working days to process.

Please note: Should you request a refund prior to 31 July 2023, a full refund will issue. Refunds after this point are at the discretion of RCSI.

Please contact our Alumni Office on +353 1 402 2523 or email gathering@rcsi.ie.

• Please note: Our online booking system does not accept American Express.

We are encouraging everyone from the reunion years to attend the Alumni Gathering and will be promoting the reunion via emails, website, the Alumni eNews and on socials in the coming weeks and months.

If you would like to know whether any of your classmates have registered, please contact us via email and we will share the list of registered alumni on a weekly basis.

Due to GDPR we cannot share alumni contact details without permission, but if you are looking to get in contact with a classmate please send us an email and we will do our best to forward to the classmate who you want to get in touch with.

Firstly, we’d encourage all alumni to get involved in spreading the word to your classmates via your own network. Secondly, we invite alumni to step forward as a Class Ambassador and/or a Class Champion. 

Class Ambassadors are essential to ensuring the Alumni Gathering is a well-organised event attended by as many classmates as possible.

The role of a Class Ambassador is to: advise on the event programme and schedule; use existing networks to spread the word about the event and encourage classmates to attend; liaise with the Alumni team to organise a class dinner (if the class wants one). We encourage more than one Class Ambassador per year and it is often helpful to have three or four based in different parts of the world.  

Class Champions play an integral role in communicating with classmates about the class giving campaign, whereby class years returning for their reunion set out to raise money for student support programmes in RCSI. The role of the Class Champion is to: work with the fundraising Team to compose a communication for the class informing them of the giving initiative; use existing networks to communicate with classmates about class giving and encourage them to get involved; act as a champion for the initiative by setting the pace and making an early gift; communicate any feedback from the class to the fundraising team and keep the class informed of their progress. We encourage more than one Class Champion per year and it is often helpful to have three or four based in different parts of the world.

Alumni can volunteer to be both Ambassadors and Champions or can volunteer for one particular role.

Class giving is a tradition that started back in 2015 at RCSI by a number of classes celebrating milestone reunions.

Every five years, alumni come together as a class to raise funds to support current and future RCSI students. Classmates make a donation which goes towards their collective class effort.

Your gift will support student programmes at RCSI. Student programmes encompass a range of additional supports provided to students throughout their time at RCSI, including: scholarships, clinical elective grants, hardship supports, Research Summer School grants.

You can read a little more about each programme:

Scholarships
Our scholarship programme helps talented students from all over the world to study at RCSI. Our aim is to support the most passionate students who would benefit from financial assistance throughout their studies. The programme is widely supported by alumni, who champion RCSI’s motto: Consilio Manuque (meaning scholarship and dexterity) and embrace these values long after they leave 123 St Stephen’s Green. The life-changing effects of a scholarship cannot be overestimated. Thanks to the ongoing generosity of alumni, a new group of young people have the opportunity to attend RCSI each year and take important steps to fulfil their dream of becoming doctors.

Clinical Elective Grants
Clinical electives are an essential part of a student’s medical training – a critical step on a student’s path to becoming exceptional healthcare leaders able to impact the lives of patients across the world. In order to secure the best internships and residencies upon graduation, clinical elective experiences help set highly motivated students apart, making them more competitive. Students universally report that their experiences have made them better doctors: better skilled, better equipped to make the best use of resources, and more empathic with their patients. As places for electives are becoming more expensive, more students are seeking out financial support. 

Hardship supports
The Student Hardship Fund acts as a vital support to our students, who through no fault of their own find themselves in financial difficulty. Current students are facing unprecedented challenges, as a result, more students than ever are seeking financial assistance. The fund acts as a lifeline to these students enabling them to continue their studies.

Research Summer School grants
The RCSI Research Summer School programme helps ignite scientific enthusiasm amongst the next generation of clinical scientists and healthcare leaders. It is a unique initiative that encourages 120+ undergraduate students to participate in research projects, lectures and workshops each summer. This gives students the opportunity to gain practical laboratory and clinical experience under a Principal Investigator's supervision. The Research Summer School eight-week placements are very competitive and grant funding is currently only available for 10% of applicants.

There is no obligation to make a gift. Many of our alumni see class giving as a way of giving back and paving the way for students who make be struggling or may not have the same opportunities as others, and that is why they choose to get involved.

There a various was you can get involved. The easiest way is to go to visit the following page and commit to gift online. If you received a letter from your Class Champion, you can complete the enclosed donation form and return it in the free post envelope.

Alternatively, you can contact the development team directly by emailing alumnioffice@rcsi.com and a member of our team can talk you through the process.

Tax efficient giving does vary from country to country; however, you can contact us by emailing alumnioffice@rcsi.com and we can advise you based on your region.

Yes, of course, Dedicated members of the development team are on hand to speak to you.

Simply email your contact details along with a short summary of your query to alumnioffice@rcsi.com and we'll be in touch.