As thousands of students across Northern Ireland prepare to start university life this autumn, the Royal Navy is offering unique adventures through its exciting student programme.

The University Royal Naval Unit (URNU) in Northern Ireland is based at HMS Hibernia, home of the Royal Navy Reserve, in Thiepval Barracks, Lisburn. – and is now recruiting undergraduates from across Northern Ireland to join its ranks.

The URNU offers a remarkable opportunity to add adventure, leadership, gain qualifications and experience life at sea, all while studying for a degree.

Launched in April 2022 as the 16th URNU unit, URNU Belfast is the first in Northern Ireland, offering around 20 sought after places each year to students from any local university or college.

The University Royal Naval Unit Belfast is based at HMS Hibernia in Thiepval Barracks, Lisburn – and is now recruiting undergraduates from across Northern Ireland to join its ranks. Picture: URNU

placeholder image — The University Royal Naval Unit Belfast is based at HMS Hibernia in Thiepval Barracks, Lisburn – and is now recruiting undergraduates from across Northern Ireland to join its ranks. Picture: URNU

Speaking about her experiences as part of the Belfast URNU, Officer Cadet K McWilliams said: “This was an absolutely incredible experience for me. I got to travel to new countries, meet other officer cadets from different universities, and learn more about how the Royal Navy works in practice.

"I had never been to Denmark or Germany before, and it was so interesting to explore all the towns we stopped in. The crew on HMS Biter were so lovely, and were always willing to teach me new things and answer my questions. They even invited me and the other OC's on the ship out to dinner with them!

"I learned new skills like how to handle lines and drive the ship - a lot of responsibility. Most importantly, the deployment taught me a lot about cooperation between militaries - there is so much planning that goes into these exercises, even for something as simple as taking a photo.

"One of my favourite things to do was the ship's log, because there were so many different variables to consider, like the ship's position and speed. The log was also on the enclosed bridge - right in the middle of the action, and I enjoyed being able to see everything that was happening.”

The University Royal Naval Unit Belfast offers the opportunity to add adventure, leadership, gain qualifications and experience life at sea, all while studying for a degree. Picture: URNU.

Students train alongside Royal Navy personnel and have the opportunity to gain first-hand experience about Royal Navy vessels during Easter and summer deployments.

They eperience life at sea, during deployments, practice leadership in real maritime settings, learning new skills such as navigation, damage control and seamanship.

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Also on offer is adventure training, from skiing in the Alps, canoeing in Scotland and sky diving in England to taking part in many local water-sports as well as exciting training nights.

Students get paid, with participants paid for weekly training nights, weekends and deployments – with travel, uniform and sports kit all provided free of cost.

They also gain professional qualifications: Including a Chartered Management Institution (CMI) Level 4 certificate in Leadership and Management along with Royal Yachting Association (RYA) sailing certificates and, for Queen’s University students, The Queen’s Future Ready Leader Award.

There is no service commitment and students are free to leave whenever they wish. They choose how much to participate and most students join for the journey not a career.

Following graduation, the lessons learned with URNU will help students stand out in getting their first post university job.

For more details go to the Royal Navy’s URNU Belfast page