Aontas na Mac Léinn in Éirinn (AMLÉ, formerly USI, the Union of Students in Ireland) is the national representative body for third-level students in Ireland, and it is a confederal organisation comprised of and funded by student's unions in various higher education institutions across the island of Ireland.
AMLÉ advocates for doctoral candidates on the basis of their status as students in both the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, and has a full-time representative, the Vice President for Postgraduate Affairs, who is elected at the annual AMLÉ Comhdháil (Congress), alongside the other 9 officers who comprise the Coiste Gnó (Executive Committee). The Vice President chairs the Postgraduate Affairs Working Group within AMLÉ, which is open for both doctoral candidates and student union officers to join and contribute to matters relating to postgraduate and doctoral education.
AMLÉ was one of the founding members of Eurodoc in 2001, and since then has continually advocated for the betterment of doctoral education on the basis of principles established in its Postgraduate Researchers Rights Charter, which was endorsed by Eurodoc in 2022. Reforms AMLÉ has advocated for in this regard include, but are not limited to:
- Employment status for doctoral candidates.
- PhD salaries to be paid at a rate at or above the prevailing minimum wage.
- Improved researching and working conditions for doctoral candidates.
- Increased representation for doctoral candidates both within student unions and university governance structures.
- Increased access to social benefits and state support for doctoral candidates.
- Streamlined pathways for visa applications and residency for non-EU doctoral candidates.
Contact information:
postgrad [at] amle.ie
Postgraduate Researcher's Rights Charter: Postgraduate Researchers’ Rights Charter | Union of Students in Ireland