Husband and wife graduate

Stephen and Joanne Annesley both completed the specialist two-year course, which was offered at the Strand Road campus. And, despite a little competition during the programme, the couple said they enjoyed the experience of studying together – again.

After meeting on a ‘first diploma’ course in Science in 1989, Joanne and Stephen’s romance blossomed as they studied alongside one another on their respective National Diploma and both successfully gained entry to the degree programme in Biological Sciences and Applied Ecology at the University of Ulster.

Joanne is now employed as Biology Lab Technician at North West Regional College while Stephen works as Water Quality Inspector for Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) and they decided to return to learning as a couple once again.

“I initially enquired about the course and Stephen thought it would be useful for his job too – we’ve both found it beneficial in our work,” said Joanne.

Both gained distinctions on the course, being able to draw on each other’s strengths when required. At the recent presentation Stephen was also recognised with a special award from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency.

“We really enjoyed studying alongside the class, who all share our interest in the environment and science. It was an enjoyable experience with people from different backgrounds who were able to share their skills and help learn from each other,” she said.

Also recognised at the presentation ceremony was Derek McHugh, a carpenter by trade, who joined the course thanks to a recommendation from a friend, Gavin Duffy, from his fishing club.

Derek has followed closely in Gavin’s footsteps, as Derek was named as the winner of the Loughs Agency Award, an accolade previously held by Gavin.

The course is equivalent to two A levels, and Derek was very enthusiastic about it, saying:“This course was brilliant. We made so many field trips which really made the content make sense. I’ll never forget one trip when we got up close to some basking sharks off the Inishowen coast - that was totally amazing.”

The programme, which is delivered part-time one afternoon per week, provides both practical and theoretical knowledge required for modern countryside and fisheries management.