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Open Your Mind Seminar Series

‘Open Your Mind’ seminar series was launched in 2009. This was a knowledge-sharing initiative that was developed to enable university staff to learn more about the diversity of innovative science and engineering research going on around the campus. A series of friendly and informal talks, delivered by a senior NUIG scientist or engineer, were held over several lunch hours. The topics themselves were selected by the staff through an online survey, and the whole process was designed to allow University staff to feel more a part of the wider university research effort.

A staff member who attended the series commented that: “We work in a large community but it can be a disconnected one and this kind of showcase helps to address that. It's also great to see the kind of talent we have on campus, those who not only do research, but who can present complex material to a general audience.”

The talks were all well attended and feedback from staff has been very positive. Vice President for Research Prof. Terry Smith noted: “This initiative provides an opportunity for staff to become more engaged in the research community. Full engagement from across the whole University would be of enormous benefit to all staff. I hope to see the programme grow over time.”

Developed by GRO (Galway Region Outreach) - a team comprised of communications and outreach officers from Applied Optics, DERI, ECI, NCBES and REMEDI – it is hoped that ‘Open Your Mind’ will occur annually and spread its focus to include other areas of research. Staff surveys showed that the addition of talks from the humanities and business disciplines would be well received.

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