Art exhibition and special concert from Galway Music Residency kick-off Culture Night and the beginning of culture, learning and research link Twenty-one uniquely decorated currachs have journeyed from Inis Oírr to the NUI Galway campus to officially launch a new partnership between Áras Éanna arts centre and the University. The special exhibition - showcasing unique works by John Behan, Jennifer Cunningham, Ger Sweeney and Áine Phillips, among others - is opening as part of Culture Night. The currachs will remain on display in the Quadrangle at NUI Galway for one month, with the public invited to visit free of charge and without prior booking. The new partnership between NUI Galway and Áras Éanna will see the University and the arts centre on Inis Oírr work together to promote the islands and the West more generally as places of culture, learning and research. A new fund has been established by the University to support staff and students who wish to travel to the island and use the facilities at Áras Éanna as part of their studies. NUI Galway President, Professor Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh, said: “I often use the metaphor of the ‘currach full of fish coming in to shore’ from Máirtín Ó Direáin’s poem ‘An tEarrach Thiar’ to describe the resourcefulness and potential of our university community and our region. “I am delighted that 21 currachs have come to campus to launch the new partnership between the University and Áras Éanna. We respect the unique language, culture and environment that we share in the West of Ireland and we are open to collaborating with Áras Éanna and the Inis Oírr community to promote that distinctiveness as part of the life of our university.” Áras Éanna Artistic Director, Dara Mac Aoidh, said: “After a very successful summer exhibition across Inis Oírr, we are delighted to bring the ‘Curacha’ exhibition to NUI Galway where the University community and the wider Galway community will get to see this wonderful exhibition. “We welcome this new partnership between the University and Áras Éanna, and look forward to working on many collaborations and projects in the future that will benefit both the University and the island of Inis Oírr.” NUI Galway and Áras Éanna formally launched the exhibition, coinciding with nationwide Culture Night celebrations, in partnership with Galway Music Residency. As part of the launch, ConTempo Quartet performed a specially selected suite of classical and contemporary music connected to the ocean, composed by Alec Roth, Claude Debussy and Katharina Baker. NUI Galway Drama students were also on hand to recite a selection of poetry by Máirtín Ó Direáin. The exhibition of 21 currachs will run until 10 October 2021. Ends

SFI CÚRAM backed piimpact.com to help academics focus on impact and public good CÚRAM, the SFI Research Centre for Medical Devices based at NUI Galway has launched a new website and online toolkit to support researchers in developing a more holistic view of the impact of their work. piimpact.com has been designed to help both experienced and early-career academics gain a better awareness of how the work will benefit the public and what difference it has the potential to make.  Dr Brendan Dolan, lead postdoctoral researcher on the Principal Investigator Impact project, said: “We wanted to identify the strategies and approaches of our individual scientists, and PIs in particular, to enhance the impact potential of their work, including how they engage and collaborate with various stakeholders who could benefit from the research undertaken. “Our aim is to use these findings to inform and assist new principal investigators taking on this role by providing practical learning tools and resources for learning and professional development training.” One of the research themes within CÚRAM since 2015 has focused on translation and impact of research in medical devices. Professor Abhay Pandit, Scientific Director of CÚRAM, said: “At CÚRAM, we are focused on designing the next generation of ‘smart’ medical devices. We want to provide our researchers with extensive pathways or routes to impact, through the productive and focused industry, clinician and public engagement and collaboration. “This website and toolkit offer a fantastic opportunity to begin to prepare for and plan one’s journey as a successful Personal Investigator and plan for impact. Moreover, the toolkit offers a novel approach to planning for impact, wherein one can plan one’s collaborations to maximise impact.” The piimpact.com online resource and toolkit was developed on the back of the Principal Investigator Impact project and feedback from almost 600 principal investigators across Ireland. It highlighted the need for increased support structures to enable researchers to work more effectively and efficiently towards impact, while taking on the ever increasing responsibilities. The project aims to support research relating to the development of medical devices, and in academia in general. It will allow researchers to more effectively plan for, monitor and evaluate the broader, non-academic impact – the benefits to society beyond traditional metrics such as journal publications and citations. A white paper on preparing medical device scientists for the PI role and impact, developed by the Principal Investigator Impact project is available here: http://www.piimpact.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/curam_whitepaper_spreads.pdf. -Ends-

More than half of productions at the 2021 GIAF feature former students of the University NUI Galway and Galway International Arts Festival (GIAF) have joined forces to herald the role of the University’s graduates in this year’s theatre productions. More than half the shows at the 2021 GIAF feature former students working behind the scenes and on stage to bring a wealth of drama, arts and culture to audiences as they flocked back to live, in-person events. Patrick Lonergan, Professor of Drama and Theatre Studies at NUI Galway, said: “We began partnering with Galway International Arts Festival from our shared desire to ensure that the next generation of theatre-makers and artists would have the skills and experiences needed to build sustainable careers, both here in the west of Ireland and in other national and international contexts. “Through programmes like the SELECTED internship scheme, our students have gone behind the scenes to meet artists, producers, and other professional experts on GIAF shows. We're seeing the fruits of that approach now, with more than half of this year's theatre productions featuring recent NUI Galway graduates.” Among the alumni are recent graduates from the BA in Drama who took part in the SELECTED programme this summer and went on to work as stage manager, assistant stage manager and props person on Cogadh Na Saoirse. Others are playing key roles in the performances on stage, with actor Catherine Denning, a BA and MA graduate, featuring in Branar's Sruth na Teanga, while Cogadh na Soairse was written by MA graduate Philip Doherty and After Love was written by BA graduate Dani Gill. NUI Galway graduates are also working on the Abbey Theatre's Happy Days on Inis Oírr and Druid Theatre's The Seagull. Professor Lonergan highlighted that NUI Galway is also proud to support the Irish premiere of Enda Walsh's Medicine, starring Domhnall Gleeson, and that another production, Ar Ais Arís, emerged from the University’s Aistriú project. John Crumlish, chief executive of the Galway International Arts Festival, said: “Galway International Arts Festival's partnership with NUI Galway on SELECTED has been very rewarding. We always envisaged the programme being a support for young people who wanted careers in culture, so we are delighted to see alumni working for arts organisations that are part of the festival programme itself. We hope to work with NUI Galway to further develop the programme over the coming years and play our part in developing the careers of the next generation of arts professionals." Professor Lonergan added: “The development of this SELECTED programme as a conduit from the University to the Galway International Arts Festival is an important part of our contribution to Irish culture and Irish life. “Our University believes in engagement, both as an important part of our teaching and as a societal good - and our partnerships with the Galway International Arts Festival is an important manifestation of those values.” The two week SELECTED programme offers an opportunity for a number of NUI Galway students to experience a unique academy initiative which gives them full access to many aspects of the Galway International Arts Festival and a behind-the-scenes insight into how the programme is put together. Ends