College of Humanities
Claire O' Reilly
BA
Many law graduates want to become solicitors or barristers and both of these careers require further professional training. Claire O'Reilly, a Law and European Studies graduate, had other career plans however.
Claire was attracted to the University of Limerick because the degree allowed her to continue her study of German while gaining her qualification in Law. For her Cooperative Education, she undertook a placement with Libertas Verlag, a German research and publishing house. As an undergraduate she also took the opportunity to study in a German university for a six-month period. These experiences engendered in Claire a strong interest in cross-cultural issues.
Following her graduation in 1995, Claire received a one-year Department of Education scholarship as a Teaching Assistant in Vienna. She returned to UL in 1997, enrolling first as a Masters student and transferring to a PhD within two years. The subject of her PhD research is cross-cultural studies. When she completes her degree, Claire plans to work as a lecturer in Business German or in the area of cross-cultural studies.
Following a six month lecturing post (substitution contract) in German as a foreign language in 2001 at the University of Limerick and a post-doc in Germany in 2002, she commenced in the Wintersemester 2002 an assistant professorship position in intercultural communication studies at the Technische Universität Chemnitz in East Germany. Her teaching focus is on intercultural management, intercultural training and communication. Her PhD on the subject of German expatriates and their spouses working in Ireland was published in 2003 and she is currently working on other publications concerning intercultural training and bi-cultural marriage in Germany.
"Cooperative Education definitely influenced my choice of career. It gave me insights into what it was like to live in another country and what work I enjoyed doing, and providing opportunities to advance in the language".