Volunteers make up the heart of Cell EXPLORERS. Since our creation in 2012, we have had over 2500 volunteers be part of our team! Our volunteers demonstrate at school visits, festival workshops and open days, bringing their love of science to children, their parents and the general public. Have a look at our 2022 activity report to see the type of activities our volunteers are involved in. You can also read the testimonials that previous volunteers have written.
Cell EXPLORERS now has 12 teams based in 10 different institutions across Ireland including University of Galway, ATU Donegal and Galway city, Dundalk IT, FutureNeuro SFI centre, MTU Cork and Kerry, NVRL-UCD, TUS Midlands and MidWest, UCC and UL. If you are staff or student in any of these institutions, you can volunteer with us. We also have a team in Durban, South Africa, in the university of Kwazulu Natal!
In 2023 we had over 280 volunteers working with us nationally, mostly undergraduate science students. These students provide excellent role models for children in the classroom as real young scientists whom they can relate too.
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If you want to find out a bit more about what it is like to be a Cell EXPLORERS volunteer, you can check out our news. You can also follow our adventures on Instagram , Bluesky, X, Facebook or youtube!
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Volunteers can also apply for their institution's volunteer awards (for example, the ALIVE president's volunteering award, the employability award, or the University Skills Passport in University of Galway). Join us!
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About volunteering with us
Join us and be part of the team!
You can commit to as much or as little time as you like and we can work around when you are free. You will learn valuable skills in communication, organisation and team work as well as have a lot of fun!
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For University of Galway students/staff: Find us on yourspace or contact the volunteer coordinator at volcord.cellexplorers@universityofgalway.ie.
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We run an information session at the beginning of each academic year and monthly volunteer social meeting where you can meet our team. We ususally meet in the Biochemistry Seminar room 125, ground floor of Biochemistry, in the Arts & Science building. ​​
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For other CE partner teams: Contact the local coordinator - you can find their email on the Contact Us page.
Example Volunteering opportunities Semester 1 2022-23*
*Example from the University of Galway team. Contact your local coordinator for specific opportunities in your team.