This is a trip to London, UK and Prague, Czech Republic.
We plan to fly to London where we will spend 4 days.
The main reason we plan to go to London is to see Bletchley Park where during the second world war they cracked the enigma code.
Alan Turing was the one who did this.
London is also the biggest tech city in Europe.
Other attractions we plan to visit included are the science museum, the Greenwich Observatory and the Faraday Museum.
We will then be heading to Prague to visit some more museums and attractions.
We will be visiting the National Technical Museum.
There is also one of the largest Lego Museums in Prague we plan to have a look at. There is also a Museum of Senses that looks very interesting.
Prague has a lot of reminders and museums about the cold war which we think would be interesting for our members. There is a Nuclear Bunker that we can take a tour of.
We will give members a chance on travel days to do some sight-seeing, but we will be emphasising that we are not flying to London just to see the London Eye or the Crown Jewels.
The focus will be on the museums, exhibits and society development.
We have looked into the possible effects of the Ukraine Russia situation on our travels, but we believe it shouldn’t affect the Czech Republic Covid also shouldn’t impact us next year as most countries and flights in Europe are back to normal.
Social distancing mandates etc have mostly been reduced/removed in the countries we will be visiting and by next year they should be gone entirely.
The developmental reason for the trip is that the members of the Computer Society are very interested in learning more about the history of technology, computing, electronics and its application.
The museums that we have picked showcase some extremely interesting exhibits on computing and technology. Some other museums and exhibits we plan to visit are to inspire and learn about the history of technology and computing.
Our trip in 2019 before Covid helped to develop the society both socially and in relation to knowledge of tech from the past and how far it has come.
We saw how successful our trip was in 2019 and because of being unable to go for the past few years with COVID we wanted to up the trip capacity again this year.
From a quick gauge of interest in the society it seems like we have a lot of interest for the trip.
This has made us decided to go from 15 to 20 spaces on the trip.
The Computer Society Committee will ask each candidate why they intend to travel on the trip through email.
The committee will then review these answers and select individuals to attend the trip, also taking into account the candidates participation in the society.
The committee reserve the right to refuse trip attendance to any member provided a valid reason is given by the committee.
At least two thirds of the available twenty spaces on the trip will be reserved for undergraduate/postgraduate UL students who are members of the society.
The other third will be offered to other Computer Society members (e.g. alumni or external members) but higher preference will be given to undergraduate/postgraduate students.
As part of an information meeting which will be held before we depart on the trip we will discuss safety with each member of the society that is attending the trip.
We will also ensure that every member of the group has a European Health Insurance Card and a valid passport.
### 14 - Do you need to carry out first aid, a health and safety briefing or specialized training in order to maximise your time on the main training trip?
EU Citizens do not need a visa to enter the UK for the duration of our trip, but any non-EU citizens within CompSoc may have to apply for a standard visitor.
Each person may have to spend 115 GBP, in addition to sending their biometric data and a picture of their face to the British authorities through the Visa Application Centre in Dublin, assuming they are applying for the visa from Ireland.
Address of Visa Application Centre:
Dublin Visa Application Centre,
Suite 213,
Blanchardstown Corporate Park 2,
D15CC84
Dublin, Ireland.
In addition to sending their biometric data through the VAC they will also need to fill out the application form for a visa, and pay their visa application fee (115 GBP). This can be done online, on the [visa application website][British_Visa_Application_Portal_Link].
After verifying their identity, and submitting their documents and application online and attending their appointment at the Visa Application Centre to provide fingerprints and a photograph, that person would then need to wait approximately 3 weeks to recieve their visa, assuming no roadbumps occur.
### Prague
From there, for our journey to Czechia, non-EU Citizens will require a Schengen visa to enter.
Similar to earlier, EU Citizens do not require a visa to be allowed entry into the Czech Republic.
Schengen visa applications can be submitted six months at the earliest and 15 days at the latest ahead of the trip.
To begin with applying for a Schengen visa, the applicant must first schedule an appointment with the Czech Embassy in Dublin by sending an appointment request to their email address at Dublin.Tourism@mzv.gov.cz
The requirements for what should be in that e-mail request can be found on their [website][Czech_Embassy_Email_Requirement_Link].
After scheduling an appointment, the applicant must then physically come to the embassy to lodge their application, with the following documents:
- Biometric Information (Which is collected at the embassy)
- Booked plane tickets that show when you are entering and leaving Czechia
- Proof of Accomodation (Proof of hotel reservation)
- Bank statements showing you have at least 1,565 CZK(62 EUR) in your bank account
- Travel Medical Insurance
- Any other documents that might be required depending on your citizenship. They can be found by searching your country in the ["Harmonized List of Supporting Documents" page][Harmonzed_List_Page]
In addition you will also need to pay a fee of 90 EUR to process your visa.
After processing the visa it will take approximately 3-5 days, assuming no complications arise, to make a decision on if you are to be issued a visa.
The applicant can then return to the embassy to get their passport back with the Czech visa on it.
