Beidh dioplóma nua páirtaimseartha á reáchtáil ag Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge i réimse na haisteoireachta an bhliain seo chugainn. Cuirfear tús leis an gcúrsa i Meán Fómhair 2006 agus déanfar ceardlanna aisteoireachta á reáchtáil gach Satharn ar an gcampas sa Cheathrú Rua. Tá an dioplóma seo feiliúnach do dhaoine a bhfuil spéis acu san aisteoireacht ghairmiúil, do dhaoine atá ag plé leis an drámaíocht phobail nó do dhaoine a bhfuil spéis acu san aisteoireacht ar bhonn pearsanta. Is cúrsa an-phraiticiúil a bheidh ann a thabharfaidh oiliúint san aisteoireacht agus sa phuipéadóireacht agus beidh deis ag baill an chúrsa a gcuid scileanna a chur i bhfeidhm nuair a chruthóidh siad dráma le chéile. Cothóidh an cúrsa scileanna foirne chomh maith. Is scileanna iad seo atá luachmhar in aon réimse oibre. Ní gá taithí aisteoireachta a bheith ag iarratasóirí. Fáilteofar roimh iarratais ó aon duine a bhfuil suim acu sa drámaíocht agus a bhfuil an Ghaeilge ar a dtoil acu. Beidh an rogha ag baill an chúrsa deiseanna fostaíochta a ghlacadh i réimse na haisteoireachta stáitse agus i réimse na haisteoireachta teilifíse. Glacfar suas le fiche duine ar an gcúrsa. Ní mór iarratas a dhéanamh roimh an 16 Lúnasa le d'áit a chinntiú. Le haghaidh tuilleadh eolais a fháil faoin gcúrsa cuir glaoch ar Nora Nic Con Ultaigh in Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge, Ollscoil na hÉireann, Gaillimh ag 091 495381 nó seol ríomhphost chuig nora.nicconultaigh@oegaillimh.ie.

Ireland's recently launched research centre on economic and social ageing, the Irish Centre for Social Gerontology (ICSG) at NUI Galway, has announced details of its first education initiative, the Diploma in Social Gerontology. The part-time, two year programme for mature students, commences in September 2006 and the closing date for applications is Friday 18 August. Classes and workshops will be held on Saturdays to accommodate the work and family commitments of prospective students. The diploma covers a broad range of economic, social and political theories relating to ageing and examines public policy for older people across a number of fields. It is designed to equip students with the professional and analytical skills necessary to understand age and ageing in an economic, social and policy context and to enhance and develop their careers in age-related fields. The course is aimed at those working with older people in health or social care settings, and governmental, non-governmental, or voluntary organisations. Members of active retirement groups, older volunteers, members of community groups and people with an interest in ageing issues would also be candidates for the course. Professor Eamon O'Shea, Director of the ICSG, commented, "This course is designed so that participants can bring their own life experiences to bear on the programme, enabling students to contribute to debate and discussion, which is an important part of the learning process". The Irish Centre for Social Gerontology is the first of its type in Ireland which will examine the economic and social aspects of Ireland's ageing population across multiple disciplines including: social gerontology, economics, sociology, psychology, law, nursing and medicine. According to Professor O'Shea, "The Centre aims to develop social gerontology as a subject at diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, educating future policy makers, public servants and leaders of private industry on ageing issues. The new diploma for mature students is the first step in that process". Students on the Diploma course will attend classes at NUI Galway on six Saturdays in Semester 1 and six Saturdays in Semester 2 in each year. Classes run from 9.00am-12.00pm and from 2.00pm-5.00pm, with opportunities for lecturer consultation and library visits in between. The programme is offered on a two-year cyclical basis. Further information can be found at http://www.icsg.ie/education.html -ends –

28 September 2006: NUI Galway today (Thursday) showcased Hazard IQ, a suite of software products for accurate, rapid identification and quantification of materials, including illegal narcotics, explosives and medicines. The technology can be used in many different practical applications such as airport security screening, poison testing at accident and emergency departments, and on-the-spot forensics analysis. The intelligent software has been developed at NUI Galway by Dr. Michael Madden, Department of Information Technology, and Dr. Alan Ryder, Department of Chemistry and the National Centre for Biomedical Engineering Science. Hazard IQ was presented at the Enterprise Ireland Informatics Technology Showcase in Dublin, an event designed to connect Ireland's finest technology researchers with entrepreneurs, industrialists and companies who can participate in the commercialisation process for mutual commercial gain. Michael explained the technology, "If, for example, suspicious materials are discovered at an airport, they can be analysed where they are found and Hazard-IQ can identify the substance in a matter of seconds. This is much faster than dispatching samples to a central laboratory for standard testing, which can take several days. Likewise, in a hospital environment, the identification of hazardous materials ingested by patients can be made rapidly, speeding up diagnosis, and leading to faster treatment times." Hazard-IQ automatically learns to identify hazardous and illicit substances, by examining a wide variety of samples that have been prepared in a lab. Hazard-IQ has been 'trained' to recognise different categories of drugs, poisons, explosive and corrosive materials, and estimate their concentrations accurately. It can then recognize new samples within milliseconds. "The basis of the project is about using the Raman spectra of drugs as molecular fingerprints", explained Alan. "These molecular fingerprints are unique to different drugs and materials and so can be used for unambiguous identification. Portable Raman detection equipment is smaller than a shoebox and can test bulk samples of a variety of materials, including drugs, explosives and hazardous industrial chemicals." Hazard IQ identifies the components of mixtures and estimates their concentrations, by combining Raman Spectroscopy – which is a laser-based method for 'chemical fingerprinting' of materials – with Machine Learning, which is a family of analysis techniques that automatically improve with experience. Drs. Madden and Ryder developed the novel technologies and software with support from Enterprise Ireland as part of the Commercialisation Fund for Technology Development. -ends-

Innovation is to be the subject of a free public lecture at NUI Galway, for business and industry professionals, by a leading Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor. Dr. Richard Lester, Director of the Industrial Performance Centre at MIT, will deliver a lecture entitled 'Innovation – the Hidden Dimension', on Thursday 28th September, at 6.00pm. The venue will be room BS118, J.E. Cairnes Graduate School of Business & Public Policy, NUI Galway. The event is hosted by NUI Galway's Centre for Innovation and Structural Change (CISC), where Director, Dr. William Golden, commented: "The prosperity of our economy hinges on the ability of businesses to continually introduce new products and services. This innovation can be difficult to sustain in the long term and a strategic approach must be adopted by companies and organisations. Professor Lester will be able to give insights to the local business community as to how best channel innovation within their organisations". Professor Lester will discuss two fundamental processes at the heart of every successful innovative organisation; rational problem-solving and interpretation (creative problem solving). These two processes are radically different from each other in almost every respect, and require vastly different managerial approaches, yet both are needed to sustain the creative output of both individual firms and entire economies. Drawing on research at the MIT Industrial Performance Centre into various sectors from mobile phones to medical devices to fashion, Professor Lester will show how innovative companies have managed to prevent vital interpretive processes from being crowded out by the insistent demands of problem solving. He will also provide examples of how the two processes have been successfully combined within the same organisation. Professor Lester's visit to Galway is part of the Queen's University, Belfast First Trust Bank Innovation Lecture Series, a unique initiative supported by First Trust Bank and Invest NI which brings international expertise in innovation to Queen's and the wider Northern Ireland Business Community. - ends -

NUI Galway is to be the venue for the 5th Annual Irish Universities Association Human Resources Conference, from 27-29 September. The conference, entitled An Bóthar Romhainn – The Road Ahead', will focus on a wide range of Human Resources (HR) issues facing Ireland's universities. Danuta Gray, CEO, O2 will deliver the keynote address on 'The challenges of leading in an ever changing and competitive environment'. Further input from eminent industrial relations and human resource management experts, trade unionists and policy makers will include presentations by: Brendan McGinty, Director of HR & Industrial Relations, IBEC Kieran Mulvey, Chief Executive of the Labour Relations Commission Tom Boland, Chief Executive, HEA Elspeth MacArthur, Director of HR, University of Edinburgh Jack O'Connor, General President, SIPTU Dr. Iognáid Ó Muircheartaigh, President of NUI Galway and the Irish Universities Association, who will give the welcome address at the conference commented, "There are seismic changes underway in our sector, the net results of which will benefit the entire nation as we support moves toward the progression of the knowledge economy. We value the input and expertise from the private business and industrial relations experts will bring to this event". The conference is being hosted by the Human Resources Department at NUI Galway, whose Director, Chris McNairney, commented, "The strategic importance of 4th level (post-graduate) skills to developing Ireland as a knowledge economy is widely accepted and is a challenge to which the university sector rises. HR professionals within the sector have a critical role to play in supporting this challenge and accommodating the changes 4th level brings. This conference is an opportunity for management and unions to explore and discuss the best way forward". More information about the event can be found at www.conference.ie - ends -