NUI Galway’s School of Psychology is hosting a public lecture delivered by Professor Carol McGuinness, Queens University Belfast, on Teaching Thinking: Learning How to Think. The lecture will take place on Wednesday, 6 March from 5-7.30pm in IT250, Information Technology Building, NUI Galway. Drawing on research, this presentation will outline the key concepts for successfully teaching children to think and implications for teachers and curriculum designers will be emphasised. The session will be conducted in seminar style and will include demonstrations of useful techniques for classroom teachers.  Professor Carol McGuinness, a consultant on several national curriculum projects in the Republic of Ireland and the UK, is an expert in the application of psychology to learning and teaching in classrooms. Professor McGuinness is Director of the Activating Children’s Thinking Skills (ACTS) project in Northern Ireland and has helped launch similar projects across the UK.  She has also devised professional programmes for teachers embarking on thinking developments in their classroom. She is author of From Thinking Skills to Thinking Classrooms and a forthcoming book entitled Thinking Lessons for Thinking Classrooms.  According to Dr AnnMarie Groarke, Head of the School of Psychology at NUI Galway: “This topic is of immense interest as equipping children with skills on how to think will provide them with a valuable resource to help manage the increasingly complex social and educational challenges they will face. ”   Sponsored by Brainworx, this is the third in a series of jointly organised free public lectures from the Psychological Society of Ireland and the Northern Ireland Branch of the British Psychological Society. To book a place, visit www.psychologicalsociety.ie/page/all_events/102. -ENDS-

NUI Galway’s Commerce students scooped first, second and joint third prize in the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport Ireland ‘Student Idea of the Year’ Awards at a special ceremony in Dublin recently. The awards are presented to the originators of the most innovative ideas which could make the most significant contribution to some aspect of the logistics industry in Ireland. NUI Galway student Seán Ó Muircheartaigh from Rahoon, Galway City, was announced winner with his project ‘Easy Smart Travel Ireland’. Seán wrote a paper which focused on the feasibility and the design of a system which integrated public transport services using seamless smart mobile ticketing technologies. Second place was awarded to NUI Galway student Alex Hannon-Cross from Barna, Co. Galway. His project, ‘An Intelligent Public Transport System’, aimed to assess the viability of big data application orientated solutions for the public transport system, with the purpose of increasing efficiency and maximising resource usage. Third place was presented to NUI Galway international student, Kerry Creehan from Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, USA. Her project ‘Exploring Out of Bounds’ designed a mobile application which uses offline capabilities for navigation and points of interest. The prototypes uses technology efficiently employing vector based maps rather than raster so that data is not stored as pixels. Mary Dempsey, College of Engineering and Informatics, NUI Galway said: “The positive indicators of economic growth are fuelled by the knowledge economy. I believe our graduates are well positioned to aid in the continued recovery of our country. Our students have an important role to play in creating the technologies of the future and engineering a path to a better future for all citizens. NUI Galway has established a learning platform for student innovations to be nurtured. I am encouraged that professionals in the industry who judge this national competition continue to reward our students for their innovations.” -ENDS-

Public invited to a keynote lecture by Dr Kevin McNamara, former Labour Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland NUI Galway’s Moore Institute will host a two-day international conference on 8-9 March on the theme of ‘The British Labour Party and Twentieth-Century Ireland’. The conference will take place in the Moore Institute at the University, with the keynote address scheduled for the Harbour Hotel, Galway, on Friday, 8 March at 6.30pm. Keynote speaker for the event is Dr Kevin McNamara, Labour Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 1987-1994. He will deliver an address entitled, ‘The Cause of Labour is the Cause of Ireland, the Cause of Ireland is the Cause of Labour’. Dr McNamara, who was succeeded by Dr Mo Mowlam as Labour spokesperson on Northern Ireland under Tony Blair’s first government, is a seasoned commentator on Anglo-Irish affairs. He has researched and written on the MacBride Principles and is an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Irish Studies at Liverpool University. The aim of the conference is to explore the relationship between the British Labour Party and Ireland over the course of the last century. At its foundation in 1900, the Labour Party was broadly supportive of Irish nationalist demands for self-determination in the form of ‘home rule’. Yet Labour’s responses to the Irish question would become more complicated over successive decades, particularly after the first Labour government came to power in Britain in 1924. Dr Laurence Marley, conference convenor and historian at NUI Galway, said: “The theme of the event provides an opportunity to examine a largely neglected aspect of Anglo-Irish relations in the twentieth century. By drawing on the expertise of a broad range of scholars from Ireland and Britain, the conference will bring a fresh perspective to the historical and commemorative focus on relations in ‘these islands’ and at a cross-border and regional level.” The conference is free and open to the public, and the keynote event, chaired by Professor Gearóid Ó Tuathaigh, Emeritus Professor at NUI Galway, will feature a questions and answers session. ‘The British Labour Party and Twentieth-Century Ireland’ is supported by the Community Knowledge Initiative, NUI Galway, and by the Department of Foreign Affairs Reconciliation Fund. -ENDS-

A symposium entitled ‘Embedding a Children’s Rights Approach into the new Child and Family Support Agency’ is being held today (27 February 2013) in the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin. The establishment of a Child and Family Support Agency is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to revolutionise the delivery of child protection, family support and other children’s services. This is a radical and important change, involving far more than simply switching logos at the top of payslips and headed paper. The design of the new agency will have a profound impact on services delivered to children and families for decades to come and will be one of the biggest tasks of the current government. Tanya Ward, Chief Executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance, said:“Today is about kick-starting discussion on the new agency. There is no doubt that the agency has the potential to be a powerful vehicle for reform. There must be a transparent approach from the outset to ensure future accountability and buy-in from all stakeholders, including children and families themselves. Key to this is a commitment from Government to consult comprehensively on the draft legislation establishing the new agency. We have just passed a referendum on children but it will be an empty referendum if the new agency is not properly resourced to protect children and support families. A child-centred approach must be the starting point for the agency. This means treating all children equally, making decisions in their best interests and taking account of their views when making decisions about them.” “The potential for the Child and Family Support Agency’s success is indisputable, helping to draw a line under past failings such as those so tragically outlined in the 2012 Report of the Independent Child Death Review Group. It is also vital that the agency starts life without the burden of the existing HSE budgetary deficit, and that it is given adequate resources to fulfil its statutory duties to children.” Professor Pat Dolan, Director of the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, NUI Galway, said: “The failings of the child protection and welfare system in the past have consistently focused on a lack of collaboration between professionals in the interests of children and children’s voices not being heard. People are tired of hearing about the failings of the system. In the future we should be hearing about its success. A system whereby workers at the frontline commit to upholding children’s rights, through the introduction of a children’s rights charter to be adhered to in practice, coupled with all children’s services coming under the umbrella of one transparent and accountable agency, will be the true test of positive change.” Noel Kelly, Chair of the Prevention and Early Intervention Network, said: “The Prevention and Early Intervention Network (PEIN) welcomes the establishment of the Child and Family Support Agency. This is an agency for all the children of Ireland and universalism must be its hallmark. Ensuring a prevention and early intervention approach within the design of the new agency will generate benefits for all children and families as well as reducing the numbers of families requiring intensive or specialist interventions. The new Prevention and Early Intervention Network website www.preventioninpractice.ie is also being launched today. It showcases the network's research, service and advocacy work, as well as being a valuable source of information about prevention and early intervention in Ireland.” This symposium, which has been heavily over-subscribed, is the first opportunity to publicly discuss the new agency. It is jointly organised by the Children’s Rights Alliance, the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, NUI Galway and the Prevention and Early Intervention Network. Speakers and Chairs include: Paul Gilligan, Chair of the Children’s Rights Alliance Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Frances Fitzgerald TD Gordon Jeyes, CEO Designate, Child and Family Support Agency Young People from the Department of Children and Youth Affairs’ Voice of Children in Care Implementation Group Dr. Geoffrey Shannon, Child Law Expert Professor Pat Dolan, Director of the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, NUI Galway Jim Breslin, Secretary General, Department of Children and Youth Affairs Jennifer Gargan, Director, Empowering People in Care (EPIC) Catherine Ghent, Gallagher Shatter Solicitors Toby Wolfe, Start Strong and Prevention and Early Intervention Network  Today’s event aims to explore how children’s rights, including a prevention and early intervention approach, must be translated into the structures, governance, design and service delivery of the agency. ENDS

Sligo-based blue chip company ProTek Group have announced that it has acquired the business of Galway-based medical device design firm AP Design which is based in the NUI Galway Business Innovation Centre. Based in Sligo’s IDA Business Park, ProTek Medical is one of Ireland’s leading contract manufacturing providers to international blue chip medical device companies. ProTek Medical specialises in injection moulding components for critical care medical device applications such as, stent delivery devices used in minimally invasive cardiovascular surgeries. According to Enterprise Ireland the medical device sector is worth €7.2bn to Irish exports each year. The new ProTek Design facility in Galway puts the company in the centre of Europe’s largest medical device hub. Employing over 125 highly skilled people in a state of the art facility, the additional capabilities mean ProTek is poised to generate job growth across a variety of disciplines over the next 12 months. AP Design has been supporting companies in new product development since 2006. The acquisition means AP Design will continue to deliver innovative product design together with the infrastructure, resources and support services of ProTek Medical to become a complete outsourcing provider to Medical Device and Healthcare companies. Des Regan Owner of AP Design, said: “The company is committed to our existing projects and has strategic integration plans prepared to ensure projects run seamlessly. The entire team here at AP Design will remain in our Galway office with myself assuming the role of Design Director at ProTek Medical. We are very excited of this new venture and are looking and are looking forward to providing added manufacturing capabilities that complement our design services.” Speaking on behalf of the Technology Transfer Office at NUI Galway, Fiona Neary said: “We in NUI Galway are delighted to hear about the acquisition of AP Design and Protek Medical one of Ireland’s leading contract manufacturers, we are confident this enhanced team will deliver innovative products and design and continue to go from strength to strength. We look forward to building further relationships with Protek Medical as we have with AP Design and NUI Galway is happy to offer any supports required going forward. I wish you every success for the future as you grow and strengthen your collaboration." ENDS

Pat McCabe makes a return to Galway for a public interview hosted by the Centre for Irish Studies at NUI Galway on Wednesday, 20 March. The interview will be conducted by Kevin Barry, author of There are Little Kingdoms, which won the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature in 2007, City of Bohane (2011) and Dark Lies the Island (2012). Pat McCabe’s 1992 novel The Butcher Boy, which ‘takes you seductively to places you had no wish to visit’ as ‘Dennis the Menace becomes Jack the Ripper’ (The Observer), was awarded the Irish Times-Aer Lingus Prize for fiction and brilliantly adapted to film by Neil Jordan. His subsequent novels include The Dead School (1995), Breakfast on Pluto (1998), also adapted to film with Cillian Murphy in the lead role, and Winterwood (2006).  During his visit to NUI Galway, where he was writer in residence in 1999, McCabe will contribute to the Centre for Irish Studies Archive of Irish Writers. The archive includes recordings of more than 25 authors, including John McGahern, Eugene McCabe, Hugo Hamilton, Dermot Healy, Desmond Hogan, Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, Biddy Jenkinson, Paul Durcan, and Paula Meehan. The public interview will take place in the O’Flaherty Theatre at 8.00pm.  Admission is free and everyone is welcome to attend. For further details, contact Samantha Williams at 091 492051 or samantha.williams@nuigalway.ie Ends

NUI Galway, in conjunction with Coláiste Iognáid, is delighted to announce the final concert of the Arts in Action concert series on Thursday, 21 March in The Bailey Allen, featuring special guests Cora and Breda Smyth. Performing also on the night, the University Medical School Orchestra directed by Carl Hession, the newly formed Choral Scholars of the St Nicholas Schola Cantorum directed by Mark Duley, The Jes Choir and a special appearance by Frankie Gavin and Michelle Lally. The programme for the finale concert is a fundraising event for the local Jesuit Secondary School Building Fund (Coláiste Iognáid) and promises to be a compelling concert featuring a mix of musical styles and song that includes classical, traditional, and Jazz, among many others, artfully juxtaposed to create a truly remarkable and enjoyable experience. Cora Smyth is a musician and performer of the highest quality. Whether it’s lighting up a stage for Prince Albert of Monaco or bringing Michael Eavis to his feet at Glastonbury festival Cora never ceases to bring her audience under her charm. Cora gained years of valuable experience performing alongside Michael Flatley in “Lord of the Dance”, “Feet of Flames” and “Celtic Tiger”. In January 2011 and 2012 Cora was nominated for “Top Fiddle” in the IMA awards in the US. Breda Smyth plays fiddle and tin whistle and has won many All-Ireland titles. She has toured extensively not alone with Lord of the Dance but also with her own solo performances. She released her debut album ‘Basil and Thyme’ in 2002 and was subsequently nominated as female traditional musician of the year by the ‘Irish Music Magazine’. She has recorded and performed with many international artists including Paul Brady, Eddie Reader, Sharon Shannon, Gerry Douglas, Luka Bloom, Hazel O’Connor and many more. The Medical Orchestra at NUI Galway has been in existence for two years and it has already established itself as a very positive initiative with a number of high profile public performances. In September 2012 NUI Galway and the Collegiate Church of St Nicholas entered into a new partnership with the establishment of twenty choral scholarships for promising young NUI Galway student singers. The scholars form a small chamber choir offering a high level of engagement. Arts in Action concerts are free for students at NUI Galway but this fundraising event will have an admission of €15 for the general public. Students will need ID on the night to gain admission. The Arts in Action concert in the Bailey Allen Hall on Thursday, 21March will start at 8pm sharp. Tickets can be purchased directly from Catherine Hickey at Coláiste Iognáid on 091 – 501550 or on the door on the night. Ends

Third-level student volunteers from NUI Galway and GMIT, together with Transition Year students from Taylor’s Hill and Salerno Secondary schools were acknowledged for their volunteering throughout the 2012 Galway Science & Technology Festival at a special ceremony at NUI Galway recently. Professor Tom Sherry, College of Science at NUI Galway and Vice-Chairman of the Galway Science & Technology Forum and Tom Hyland, Chairperson of the Galway Science & Technology Forum presented certificates to 70 students for their volunteering efforts at the Main Exhibition of last year’s festival. Professor Sherry highlighted the contribution of the Volunteers to the festival: “The group of student volunteers we are thanking today contributed significantly to the success of the Festival Main Exhibition last November. Over 25,000 members of the public, young and old, visited the NUI Galway campus to see the extremely informative and interactive industrial and research exhibits and the highly entertaining science shows aimed at the younger visitors.  Members of the public, young and old alike were full of praise for these volunteers without whom the festival could not have been such a success.” Tom Hyland also congratulated the student Volunteers for responding to the call to help out at this great annual event: “Science, technology, engineering, innovation and research are extremely important to the economic future of Galway and Ireland.  This annual festival captures the interest and imagination of young people and encourages them to imagine future careers in these areas. Our message to these young people is to continue to study and be interested in the STEM subject areas – science, technology, engineering and mathematics.” -ENDS-

As part of the international Brain Awareness Week, staff and students of NUI Galway’s Neuroscience Centre will hold a public information exhibit from 13-14 March in the Aula Maxima, NUI Galway. Members of the public and children from local schools will have the opportunity to visit the exhibit to learn more about how the brain and nervous system work. The exhibit will consist of interactive displays where visitors can learn more about the nervous system in a hands-on way.  For example, there will be various puzzles and tests of hand-eye coordination, visual perception, left/right handedness, creativity and many others. Approximately 180 million Europeans are thought to suffer from a brain disorder, at a total cost of almost €800 billion per annum and visitors will have the chance to learn more about the brain and related disorders through a series of large information posters prepared by the staff and postgraduate students of NUI Galway Neuroscience Centre.  The posters will cover a variety of illnesses including: Epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, Pain, Anxiety, Depression, Schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s Disease, Stroke, Brain Injury and Spinal Cord Injury. Information leaflets obtained from brain-related charities and organisations will be displayed and available for the public to take away, such as MS Ireland, Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland, Parkinson’s Association of Ireland, Aware, Chronic Pain Ireland, Shine, Acquired Brain Injury Ireland and Brainwave. Microscopes which can be used to view brain cells and brain tissue sections will be available for those interested in seeing what a brain cell and brain tissue really looks like. Additional features include plastic models of the nervous system, and even Play-Doh and colouring books for the very young! There will be short talks on the brain by neuroscientists from NUI Galway and Galway University Hospital. Dr Una Fitzgerald, lead organiser of the exhibit, said: “We hope that this event will increase public awareness about how the brain and nervous system work, and increases awareness of brain disorders and the need for further research and investment in this area.”   NUI Galway’s Neuroscience Centre acknowledges funding from the Dana Foundation and the University’s National Centre for Biomedical Engineering and Science. -ENDS-

New findings about how the brain functions to suppress pain have been published in the leading journal in the field Pain, by NUI Galway researchers. For the first time, it has been shown that suppression of pain during times of fear involves complex interplay between marijuana-like chemicals and other neurotransmitters in a brain region called the amygdala. The work was carried out by Dr David Finn and his research team in Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Centre for Pain Research and Galway Neuroscience Centre at the National Centre for Biomedical Engineering Science, NUI Galway. The research builds on previous breakthrough findings from Dr Finn’s research group on the role of marijuana-like chemicals in the brain’s hippocampus in pain suppression during fear. Pain is both a sensory and an emotional experience and is subject to modulation by a number of factors including fear and stress. During exposure to a high-stress environment or stimulus, pain transmission and perception can be potently suppressed. This important survival response can help us cope with or escape from potentially life-threatening situations. One brain region that is integral to the processing and expression of both emotional responses and pain is the amygdala. Working with Dr Finn, first author Dr Kieran Rea was able to confirm the amygdala as a key brain region in the suppression of pain behaviour by fear (so-called fear-induced analgesia). Fear-induced analgesia was associated with increases in levels of marijuana-like substances known as endocannabinoids in the amygdala.  Furthermore, fear-induced analgesia was prevented by injecting a drug that blocked the receptor at which these endocannabinoids act into the amygdala. Further experimentation revealed that these effects involved an interaction between endocannabinoids and the classical neurotransmitters GABA (Gamma-amino butyric acid) and glutamate. An increased understanding of the biological mechanisms involved in fear-induced analgesia is important from a fundamental physiological perspective and may also advance the search for new therapeutic approaches to the treatment of pain.  Dr David Finn, Leader of the Galway Neuroscience Centre, Co-Director of the Centre for Pain Research at NUI Galway and study leader says: “The body can suppress pain when under extreme stress, in part through the action of marijuana-like substances produced in the brain. This research provides information on the complex interactions between multiple neurotransmitter systems including endocannabinoids, GABA and glutamate in times of stress and pain. This research which was funded by a grant from Science Foundation Ireland, advances our fundamental understanding of the neurobiology of pain and may facilitate the identification of new therapeutic targets for the treatment of pain and anxiety disorders.” -ends-