Monday, 20 March 2017

Two nursing students studying the new Masters Degree in Children’s Palliative and Complex Care at NUI Galway receive Victoria Thompson Scholarships The School of Nursing and Midwifery at NUI Galway hosted the inaugural launch on (Tuesday 14 March) of ‘The Victoria Thompson Scholarships’. Comedian and TV presenter, Tommy Tiernan presented two nursing students who are studying on the new Masters in Children’s Palliative and Complex Care, with the scholarships. The dedicated Masters/Postgraduate Degree programme in Health Sciences specialising in children’s palliative and complex care, aims to equip nurses with the necessary skills for the increasing numbers of children and adolescents who have complex, life-limiting or terminal conditions and require care in a variety of settings (hospital or community), according to child and family preference. Dr Georgina Gethin, Head of the School of Nursing and Midwifery at NUI Galway, stated: “It is timely that this first scholarship is awarded in the very same week that the School of Nursing and Midwifery has been recognised for its work and nominated in the Top 100 Globally for the subject nursing in the 2017 QS World University Subject Rankings. We are delighted with the opportunity this scholarship provides for nurses to further their studies and acquire new knowledge and skills in this highly specialised and very challenging field of nursing. We wish the recipients every success and know that they will make a positive impact on the lives of so many children and their families.” The Victoria Thompson Scholarship was established to assist nurses in obtaining specialist qualifications in the care of children with terminal and life limiting conditions. The scholarship was setup in memory of baby Victoria Thompson who lived for exactly nine months and required the help of specialist pediatric palliative care nurses as a result of a rare disease. It is run by Victoria’s parents Sharon and Brian Thompson from Donegal. NUI Galway students of the new Masters/Postgraduate Degree in Health Sciences, nurses Anne Browne and Aisling Devitt, were the proud recipients of the scholarships. Commenting on the scholarship, Victoria’s mother, Sharon Thompson, said: “When we were told Victoria’s condition was rare and terminal, we found it difficult to find specialised nursing care for her. In her memory we highlight the need for rural palliative care services for children. Families should automatically get access to options of care for a child with complex or palliative medical needs. Skilled nurses and this new course at NUI Galway are key to this happening for children all over the country.” Speaking about the new NUI Galway programme and her scholarship, Nurse Aisling Devitt, said: “It can be difficult to work with children and families in such tough circumstances and the more education we have about palliative and complex care can only help us to be become better practitioners. It’s fantastic that NUI Galway has recognised this Health Service need as the numbers of children increases significantly. It has also been great to see nurses from all corners of Ireland attending the course to help bring the knowledge and skills back to our individual work places and encourage others to consider doing further education in this area, or at the very least highlight the important role we play in caring for these children and their families. It is also an honour to receive the Victoria Thompson Scholarship and I am delighted to be able to put it towards the second year of the programme this September.” Applications for the second intake of the NUI Galway programme are being accepted from Spring 2017 at: http://www.nuigalway.ie/nursing-midwifery. For more information about the Victoria Thompson Scholarship visit: https://thevictoriathompsonfoundation.com/ -Ends-

Wednesday, 1 March 2017

Alice Perry (1885-1969) was the first woman in Ireland or the UK to earn a degree in Engineering A ceremony to mark the official naming of the Alice Perry Engineering Building will take place at NUI Galway on Monday, 6 March 2017. Alice Perry, a graduate of the then Queen’s College Galway, was the first woman in Ireland or the UK to earn a degree in engineering in 1906. As part of the naming ceremony Caroline Spillane, Director General of Engineers Ireland will give an address on the theme of diversity in engineering. The naming of the building is the culmination of a series of activities focusing on equality and diversity in Engineering at NUI Galway’s award-winning Engineering building.  The events include a public exhibition featuring exciting research projects underway at NUI Galway and a Roundtable Symposium: Full STE(A)M Ahead - Engineering for all: supporting engineering talent and diversity for a better society to be chaired by TV and radio broadcaster Jonathan McCrea. Another important element of the event is the launch of the Máire Brazil Scholarship. This scholarship will encourage and support talented female students to develop careers in Engineering.  It has been established by distinguished engineering alumna of NUI Galway Áine Brazil through Galway University Foundation. The events form part of the Engineers Week programme of events (4-10 March) celebrating engineering in Ireland and Women’s History Month.    Professor Anne Scott, Vice President for Equality and Diversity at NUI Galway said in advance of the ceremony: “We are delighted to collaborate with Engineers Ireland on this important event during Engineers Week. This week in NUI Galway is also being celebrated as International Women’s Week. We are enormously proud of Alice Perry and what her life’s work symbolises. Decisions on career paths are shaped by the world around us.  Having a visible tribute to the achievements of trailblazers like Alice Perry on campus can serve to both recognise an individual legacy and also to inspire the next generation when they make their own career decisions.” Professor Peter McHugh, Dean of Engineering & Informatics at NUI Galway commented: “This is a fantastic development for Engineering at NUI Galway and a clear demonstration of our commitment to equality of opportunity, education and career development. It is most appropriate that we should name the Engineering Building for one of our most notable and pioneering alumni, with Alice Perry being the first female engineering graduate in the UK and Ireland. I believe that this an extremely positive and progressive decision by the University, and it should serve as an inspiration to all students as to the wonderfully rich and diverse career opportunities open to both men and women in the engineering domain.” Alice Perry will feature in the Path-Breaking Women of NUI Galway exhibition, which will take place on campus in March 2017. For further details see: www.nuigalway.ie/pathbreakingwomen. ENDS

Friday, 31 March 2017

National University of Ireland Galway (NUI Galway) will participate in an open house exhibition of rare book materials and a panel discussion on ‘Representations of Jews in Irish Literature’ at the Butler Library in Columbia University’s Heyman Center, New York on Tuesday, 4 April. The exhibition, curated by Dr Emily Bloom of Columbia University and Dr Marie-Claire Peters of Ulster University, is one of the outcomes of a three-year research project led by Professor Pól Ó Dochartaigh, Registrar and Deputy President of NUI Galway. The project, which has researched representations of Jews in Irish literature over the last 1,000 years in both Irish and English, was funded £408,000 by the UK’s Arts and Humanities Research Council and is a collaboration between Ulster’s Arts and Humanities Research Institute and NUI Galway’s Moore Institute. The renowned Shakespearean scholar Dr James Shapiro from Columbia University will compère the event. Professor Pól Ó Dochartaigh will speak about the origins of the project and also about Irish-Jewish autobiography. The Irish author, Ruth Gilligan, will read from her latest novel, Nine Folds Make a Paper Swan, a work of historical fiction that describes the complex Irish-Jewish community. Professor Pól Ó Dochartaigh at NUI Galway, an expert on German Jewish studies who took the initiative to develop this collaborative project five years ago, said: “I am delighted that this project is being brought to the Heyman Center. The exhibition is testament to the fact that Irish literature reveals a cultural diversity that goes far beyond narrow stereotypes. As two diasporic communities whose paths have often crossed, the Irish and the Jews have complex shared histories. This exhibition and discussion aims to connect these interwoven narratives of migration, displacement, and cultural contact. This project sheds a light on an important aspect of how Irish identity has evolved, and the Columbia version of the exhibition will add a further dimension by shedding light on American aspects of Irish-Jewish interaction. It cannot be said often enough that Irish identity is and always has been far more diverse than some narratives would suggest, and I look forward to engaging with colleagues from across the Atlantic on the subject.” Versions of the exhibition have successfully toured Ireland in 2016 and 2017, across six towns and cities in Dublin, Armagh, Belfast, Galway, Coleraine and Waterford. To register for the conference visit: http://heymancenter.org/events/the-irish-and-the-jews/ -Ends-

Thursday, 30 March 2017

Four A grades for NUI Galway Research in U-Multirank 2017 edition, an EU Commission-led initiative, highlighting the University’s research impact NUI Galway’s research performance has been given the ranking of four A grades for its research impact. The ranking was published today in U-Multirank 2017, an EU Commission-led initiative, which is described as the world’s largest and most detailed university rankings measure of excellence in over 1,300 higher education and research institutions worldwide. The indicators, published across Europe today highlighted NUI Galway’s impact in research with A grades in four performance indicators in this area. This follows advances for NUI Galway in both the QS and Times Higher Education rankings, which have seen the University join the Top 250 global institutions for the first time. Professor Lokesh Joshi, Vice-President for Research at NUI Galway, welcomed today’s announcement: “It is rewarding to see that the excellent research carried out here at NUI Galway is ranked so highly by this EU Commission initiative. The impact of our research on society and the economy demonstrates the international relevance of our work. “As our international reputation continues to grow, we are furthering collaborations with other universities and with industry, for even greater impact. Global collaborations are an integral part of our research strategy and these rankings testify to the strong relationships we have internationally.” NUI Galway announced just last week that CÚRAM, the Science Foundation Ireland Centre for Research in Medical Devices, based at the University is to collaborate with the Mayo Clinic in the United States on research into blood clots that cause ischemic stroke. In recent years, NUI Galway has also announced high-level institutional agreements with the likes of Tsinghua University in Beijing and University of Massachusetts, while its many successful EU projects are multi-University collaborations. Meanwhile, collaborative projects such as that led by Dr Ellen Roche with Harvard University on a soft robotic sleeve to help a heart to beat, show the innovative outcomes to collaboration. Professor Joshi continued: “It’s at the cross-section of collaboration that we often have our greatest breakthroughs in research, and the team here at NUI Galway are very open to working with colleagues and industry partners around the world. We also partner with the individuals and organisations on whom our research will have the greatest effect, which brings about mutually-enriching ways to maximise the impact of our research. We are, for example, engaging with patients to design clinical trials, involving youth researchers on issues that affect them, and bringing people with disabilities onto research projects about policy.” To view the University’s research rankings visit: http://www.umultirank.org/#!/explore?trackType=explore&sightMode=undefined&section=exploreUniversityDetail&detailUniversity=165&name=national-university-of-ireland-galway  -Ends-

Wednesday, 29 March 2017

Giada Lagana, a final year PhD candidate in the School of Political Science and Sociology at NUI Galway, was recently awarded the Elocution prize at the PhD contest ‘My Thesis in 3 Minutes … in French!’ in Dublin. The event was organised by the Embassy of France in Ireland and set during the month of la Francophonie, which celebrates and promotes French language and cultural diversity. The contest tasks PhD candidates of all nationalities and all disciplines to present their research project in three minutes in French. This year, 25 competitors coming from seven universities and Institutes of Technology were judged according to several criteria including speech quality, outreaching and speech structure. NUI Galway were represented by two PhD candidates, Justine Aussant from Zoology who presented her work on microalgae, and Giada Lagana who presented “The European Union and the Northern Ireland Peace Process” winning her one of the three prizes attributed during the contest. The jury were composed of four experts working in Ireland, all of them having defended a doctoral thesis including: Dr Virginie Gautier, principal investigator at University College Dublin; Dr Rachid Seghrouchni from the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco in Ireland; and Dr Michel Dugon and Dr Muriel Grenon, two NUI Galway lecturers from the School of Natural Sciences experienced with public engagement in science. Stéphane Aymard from the French Embassy in Ireland said: “All presentations were of outstanding quality and participants, of whom 70% were not native speakers, were all successful in speaking clearly and concisely in French while delivering fascinating information on their research. It was great to have doctorate participants from most part of Ireland including NUI Galway, where many staff and students have a strong interest in French values and culture.” Dr Muriel Grenon, Vice-Dean for Promotion of Science Technology Engineering and Maths at NUI Galway said: “It is a very important and useful skill for researchers to be able to communicate clearly and simply the importance of their work to the public – it is an additional advantage to be able to communicate in multiple languages. Congratulations to Justine and Giada, their participation and Giada’s victory are a credit to the multiple talents of NUI Galway postgraduate students.” More information can be found at http://www.ambafrance-ie.org/My-Thesis-in-3-minutes-in-French-4407. -Ends-

Tuesday, 28 March 2017

NUI Galway is organising an international conference entitled ‘The Future is Now! eConveyancing and Title Registration’ from 7-8 April. The conference, which will take place in the Galway Bay Hotel, Salthill, will be chaired by Supreme Court Justice Miss Mary Laffoy and Court of Appeal Judge Michael Peart. Technology is rapidly transforming the transfer of property, land and housing in Ireland and across the world. Electronic Conveyancing, or eConveyancing, is heralded as the future for conveyancing and title registration. This international conference brings together leading world authorities on eConveyancing and title registration drawn from academia, legal practice, the Law Society and the Property Registration Authority. Keynote speaker at the conference will be Professor John Wylie, leading land law expert and author of ‘Irish Land Law’ and ‘Irish Conveyancing Law’. He will outline the development of the Irish Conveyancing System and the radical changes that will be required to traditional conveyancing processes in the move to eConveyancing. Other speakers will examine the changes taking place in Ireland to facilitate these technological developments in property, land and housing, registration and transfer, including the new Blockchain system. Speakers at the conference will include: Professor Nicholas Hopkins, Law Commission of England and Wales Liz Pope, CEO, Property Registration Authority of Ireland Dr Gabriel Brennan and Eamonn Keenan, eConveyancing Project, Law Society of Ireland Professor Martin Dixon, University of Cambridge Professor Sjef Van Erp, Maastricht University Professor Peter Sparkes, University of Southampton Dr Una Woods, University of Limerick Associate Professor Rod Thomas, Auckland University of Technology Mark Jordan, University of Southampton Patricia Rickard Clarke, Solicitor and former Commissioner of the Law Reform Commission Dr Simon Cooper, Oxford Brookes University  Dr Padraic Kenna of NUI Galway’s School of Law, said: “This stellar line up of speakers includes leading national and international experts in this field. Land and Conveyancing Law is changing rapidly in this country, and with government policy supporting the move to eConveyancing, it is vital that both academics and practitioners keep abreast of developments in this area. It is particularly important and relevant in light of the proposed move to pre-contract title investigation in Ireland. The conference will allow delegates to familiarise themselves with the up to date position and current thinking about eConveyancing and Title Registration from the standpoint of the key players in Ireland.” Full details and registration online are available at: http://conference.ie/Conferences/index.asp?Conference=495. The conference, which is sponsored by Ronan Daly Jermyn, will provide seven hours of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points for those who register and attend. For further information please contact Dr Padraic Kenna at padraic.kenna@nuigalway.ie or Sandra Murphy at s.murphy52@nuigalway.ie in NUI Galway. -Ends-

Monday, 27 March 2017

Launch of the Alliance for Wound Research and Innovation to take place during the event NUI Galway, in partnership with The New York College of Podiatric Medicine, The Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists of Ireland and The Organisation of Chiropodists/Podiatrists of Ireland will host the third Transatlantic Wound Science and Podiatric Medicine. This two-day international conference will take place from the 31 March in the Galway Bay Hotel, Salthill, and is set to be the largest wound science and podiatric medicine conference in Ireland. The conference will be dense with presentations and workshops by experts in the fields of diabetes, wound management, vascular disease and podiatric medicine. The theme of this year’s conference is ‘Sharing the Vision – innovation, integration, new horizons’ and is expected to attract a large number of national and international delegates to Galway City. Speakers will include: Cheryl O’ Neill, Chair of the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists of Ireland Professor William Jeffcoate, Consultant Diabetologist, Nottingham Foot Ulcer Trials Unit, UK Dr Paramjit Chopra, Chairman and Medical Director, Midwest Institute for Minimally Invasive Therapies and Associate Professor, Rush University, US Professor Michael J. Trepal, Professor of Podiatric Surgery, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean, New York College of Podiatric Medicine, US Professor Caroline McIntosh, Established Professor and Head of Podiatric Medicine, NUI Galway Dr Georgina Gethin, Head of School of Nursing and Midwifery, NUI Galway Professor Caroline McIntosh, Head of Podiatric Medicine at NUI Galway, said: “The University has benefitted from its affiliation with the New York College of Podiatric Medicine through student exchanges, collaborative research initiatives, video case conferences and shared seminars, the sharing of knowledge and expertise, an international perspective and collaborative research opportunities. On Friday evening we will launch the Alliance for Wound Research and Innovation, a multidisciplinary, multiagency collaboration to provide a focus for research and innovation in the field of wound care. The Galway region has one of the highest numbers of medical device technology companies in the world and in addition NUI Galway is host to CÚRAM – the Centre for Research in Medical Devices. Galway also delivers the only BSc Podiatric Medicine programme in the Republic of Ireland, the School of Nursing and Midwifery has an MSc/PhD in Wound Healing and Tissue Repair. Our colleagues have conducted world-leading research in stem cell therapies in wound healing and along with researchers/clinicians in microbiology, bioengineering, nursing, medicine and others we have a wealth of expertise.” Dr Georgina Gethin, Head of School of Nursing and Midwifery, NUI Galway, said: “This new initiative will be pivotal in the development of collaborative research to improve the lives of the 1000’s of people with wounds or at risk of a wound and help alleviate the impact on the individual, society and healthcare systems.” -ENDS-           

Monday, 27 March 2017

NUI Galway will hold a workshop on ‘The Dark Psychological Impacts of Social Media in the Workplace’ at the J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics on Monday, 10 April. A large body of research has considered the positive aspects of social media in the workplace. However, emerging research and practice are beginning to focus on complex and often alarming ways in which use of social media may harmfully affect workers.  For example, addiction, anxiety and depression, privacy violation, stress, information overload, and work-family conflict are some of the issues that have been studied so far. This workshop focuses on these psychological effects of social media in the workplace.  Dr Eoin Whelan, Lecturer at the J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics said: “We are delighted to be hosting this workshop the dark psychological impacts of social media in the workplace. Social media plays an increasingly significant role in our experience of work. But what we need to remember is that unintended consequences arise when we begin to use new communication technologies. For example, email was initially used by scientists to share important information across geographically boundaries. But now we email people sitting a few metres away with information that is often not very important. We are only beginning to understand the unintended consequences of social media use in the workplace. The line-up of international speakers will discuss state-of-the-art knowledge on how social media is affecting the psychology and physiology of workers. We particularly welcome industry practitioners to the event.” Speakers at the workshop will include: Dr Eoin Whelan, NUI Galway; Professor Hanna Krasnova, University of Potsdam; Professor Tom Jackson, Loughborough University; and Professor Monideepa Tarafdar, Lancaster University. Industry practitioners are especially welcome. To register for the workshop, click here https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/the-dark-psychological-impacts-of-social-media-in-the-workplace-tickets-31961605021 For further information, contact Dr Eoin Whelan at eoin.whelan@nuigalway.ie. -Ends-

Monday, 27 March 2017

NUI Galway coordinated PANDEM report outlines the threat posed by pandemics to European citizens and makes recommendations on priorities for future research to enhance the capacity of EU Member States to respond to the next pandemic The European Union-funded pandemic project, Pandemic Risk and Emergency Management (PANDEM), has completed its research phase and produced a final report, identifying current needs and recommending innovative solutions to the European Commission. The 18-month project, coordinated by NUI Galway, was funded through the EU Horizon 2020 Secure Societies programme of research and innovation, to help improve pandemic preparedness across European Union member states and beyond. Throughout history, pandemics have had a major impact on the health and security of human populations. An outbreak of plague killed one third of Europe’s population in the Middle Ages, and Spanish flu killed 40-50 million people in the early 20th century. In 2003, a new disease called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) emerged in China and spread from Hong Kong through international transport hubs to multiple countries within days causing major disruption with an estimated economic cost of US$80 billion. The most recent H1N1 influenza pandemic in 2009 spread around the world in weeks, affecting all countries with significant health, economic, political, social, cultural and environmental consequences. More recently, outbreaks of the Zika virus, Ebola and MERS-CoV have posed major threats to human health, and to global trade and trust. The threat analysis conducted by the project concluded that the risk of emergence of a pandemic is greater now than ever before. Influenza viruses continue to circulate between birds, pigs and humans, greater numbers of laboratories engaging in bioengineering work on dangerous pathogens increases the risk of accidental release if biosafety measures are not strictly implemented, and bioterrorism poses a threat with the increased availability of technology and knowledge to build a bioweapon. Antibiotic resistance is also a major threat to human health which could bring the management of infectious diseases back to the pre-antibiotic era. The objectives of the PANDEM project were to review best practice and identify tools and systems needed to strengthen pandemic preparedness and response at national, EU and global levels. From the beginning of the project in September 2015, there has been a particular focus on identifying innovative solutions to build capacity of EU member states to collaborate on cross border risk assessment, response and recovery. These solutions aim to build the foundations for a multi-disciplinary, inter-sectoral network of experts, and contribute to the reduction of health, socio-economic and security consequences of future pandemics through improved preparedness at local, national, EU and global level. Professor Máire Connolly from the Discipline of Bacteriology in the School of Medicine at NUI Galway, and coordinator of the PANDEM project said: “The timing and origin of the next pandemic is uncertain, but improved preparedness can minimise the impact on human lives and health, and the disruption to economies and societies that results. By applying innovations from the security, defence and crisis management sectors to improve the tools and systems used by the health sector, we can help to ensure that Europe and the wider world are better prepared to rapidly detect and mitigate the impact of the next pandemic.” The project coordinated by NUI Galway included the World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Office for Europe, the London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Swedish Defense Research Agency, Public Health Agency of Sweden, Université catholique de Louvain and IGS Strategic Communications. The PANDEM team at NUI Galway, a collaboration between the School of Medicine, the College of Engineering and Informatics and the Insight Centre for Data Analytics, demonstrated the cutting edge expertise in the University and the value of cross-disciplinary work to bring science and innovation to the next level in this important field of pandemic research. The PANDEM Final Conference was held in Brussels earlier this month, back-to-back with a meeting of DG HOME’s Community of Users for Safe, Secure and Resilient societies, which brought the recommendations of the PANDEM project and proposed next steps to more than 1,000 members of the Community of Users in crisis management, security and related fields in Europe. For more information on PANDEM visit: http://www.pandem.eu.com/ -Ends-

Thursday, 23 March 2017

Over 70 students were recognised by NUI Galway today (Thursday, 23 March) at a special ceremony when they were conferred with a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from NUI Galway President, Dr Jim Browne. Two students were also conferred with a Doctor of Medicine at today’s ceremony. All Colleges of the University were be represented at the ceremony, with graduands from the College of Arts, Social Sciences and Celtic Studies, the College of Business, Public Policy and Law; the College of Engineering and Informatics; the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences; and the College of Science. NUI Galway President Dr Jim Browne, said: “I would like to congratulate each graduate on their achievement in earning their doctorate degrees. We in NUI Galway are determined that this University will play its full part in producing the graduates and the leaders who will create the future. We have significantly increased our number of PhD graduates in recent years as we strive to meet the needs of the knowledge and innovation economy.” The next conferring to take place at NUI Galway will be the conferring of Honorary Degrees on Friday, 9 June and the summer conferring on Tuesday, 13 June. -Ends- Searmanas Bronnta PhD in OÉ Gaillimh  Ag searmanas speisialta in OÉ Gaillimh inniu (Déardaoin, 23 Márta), bhronn Uachtarán OÉ Gaillimh, an Dr Jim Browne, Dochtúireacht san Fhealsúnacht (PhD) ar bhreis is 70 mac léinn. Bronnadh Dochtúireacht Leighis ar bheirt mhac léinn ag searmanas an lae inniu chomh maith. Bhí céimithe ó gach Coláiste san Ollscoil i measc na gcéimithe sin ar bronnadh PhD orthu - Coláiste na nDán, na nEolaíochtaí Sóisialta agus an Léinn Cheiltigh; Coláiste an Ghnó, an Bheartais Phoiblí & an Dlí; Coláiste na hInnealtóireachta agus na hIonformaitice; Coláiste an Leighis, an Altranais agus na nEolaíochtaí Sláinte; agus Coláiste na hEolaíochta. Bhí an méid seo a leanas le rá ag an Dr Jim Browne, Uachtarán OÉ Gaillimh: “Ba mhaith liom comhghairdeas a dhéanamh le gach céimí as a gcáilíocht dochtúireachta a bhaint amach. Cuirimidne in OÉ Gaillimh romhainn go ndéanfadh an Ollscoil seo a cion féin le céimithe agus ceannairí a chur ar fáil a mhúnlóidh an todhchaí. Tá méadú suntasach tagtha ar líon na gcéimithe PhD le blianta beaga anuas chun freastal ar riachtanais an gheilleagair eolasbhunaithe agus nuálaíochta.” Beidh an chéad searmanas bronnta céimeanna eile ar bun in OÉ Gaillimh i rith an tsamhraidh – Dé Máirt, an 13 Meitheamh agus is ar an Aoine, an 9 Meitheamh, a bhronnfar na Céimeanna Oinigh. -Críoch-

Thursday, 23 March 2017

Laurence May appointed Adjunct Professor in Accounting and Finance at J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics NUI Galway has announced an innovative collaboration with KPMG on a new Masters programme, the MSc in International Accounting and Analytics, and the appointment of Laurence May, Audit Director at KPMG, as Adjunct Professor in Accounting and Finance at the J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics at NUI Galway. The MSc in International Accounting and Analytics is the first of its kind in Irish and UK universities to offer practical, hands-on modules in SAP and audit analytics for accountants and is targeted at both prospective and early to mid-career accountants. Key features of the programme include: an internationally recognised SAP Certification; the KPMG-led Summer School on Audit and Accounting Analytics and Cognitive Technologies using KPMG software and tools; the development of professional skills for the workplace; and membership of the ACCA Accelerate Programme which offers specialist networking advice, CV workshops, and access to the global ACCA community. Dr Geraldine Robbins, Programme Director, NUI Galway said: “Provision of useful information to facilitate organisational decision-making in a timely fashion is core to the success of private and public sector organisations. This new MSc in International Accounting and Analytics develops skills in these two technical areas of accounting and analytics that are essential to firms realising their strategic objectives. The collaboration with KPMG on this programme and the appointment of Laurence May as Adjunct Professor further cements the long withstanding relationship NUI Galway shares with KPMG.” The year-long ‘Pathway A’ on the programme is designed for high-calibre business related and commerce graduates who have not specialised in accounting and who now wish to consider pursuing a professional career in accounting and analytics after graduation. It is expected that these graduates will secure substantial exemptions from the examinations of the ACCA.  ‘Pathway A’ commences in September 2017. The seven-month ‘Pathway B’ has been designed to reflect the increased importance of analytics for many different accounting careers, and is designed to provide early and mid-career accountants with the skills and knowledge needed to engage with big data in a variety of roles in practice and industry. ‘Pathway B’ commences in January 2018. For more information about the MSc programme email Nicola Arrigan at accounting@nuigalway.ie or visit www.nuigalway.ie/accounting-analytics.html/.  -End-

Wednesday, 22 March 2017

What happens if an Irish company becomes implicated in human rights violations when doing business overseas? International and Irish experts will convene at NUI Galway on Friday, 24 March to examine questions of responsibility and legal liability for Irish companies that may become complicit in violations of human rights when operating outside of Ireland. Convened by the Irish Centre for Human Rights, the one-day conference, entitled ‘Exploring litigation as a business and human rights remedy’, will examine the opportunities, challenges and barriers to pursuing cases in Irish courts against companies implicated in human rights abuses. “Access to remedy for victims of human rights violation involving business is critical”, according to Dr Shane Darcy of NUI Galway, who notes that “the Irish government has committed itself to reviewing how best to ensure such access as part of its national action plan implementing the United Nations Guiding Principles on business and human rights.” The conference will bring together United Nations experts, legal practitioners, academics and advocates to explore civil litigation for serious human rights harms in the Irish context. The experience of other jurisdictions will also be discussed, including the United States and the United Kingdom, where recent litigation has lead to notable settlements for victims of corporate human rights harms. Speakers at the conference will also address the feasibility of similar litigation in Ireland, with particular attention being given to the legal and practical barriers which may prevent remedies for business-related human rights violations. -Ends-

Tuesday, 21 March 2017

International collaboration will support ground-breaking research on the blood clots that cause stroke and drive significant improvements in outcomes for patients in the future CÚRAM, the Science Foundation Ireland Centre for Research in Medical Devices, based at National University of Ireland Galway (NUI Galway) today announced an agreement with Mayo Clinic in the United States to collaborate on research into blood clots that cause ischemic stroke.  As part of this agreement, researchers will work at CÚRAM and Mayo Clinic, to analyze and characterise clots from stroke patients in both Europe and the United States. The goal of the research is to advance and improve therapies for stroke patients in the future.   An estimated 15 million strokes occur worldwide each year. Ischemic strokes occur as a result of an obstruction within a blood vessel supplying blood to the brain. Ischemic stroke can be caused by clots that come from the heart, or from the carotid artery, or from other parts of the body. The characteristics of these clots can vary widely, which has implications for what therapy is given to patients.   This unique collaboration brings together clinicians, scientists and engineers from academia, stroke centers, and industry to drive innovation through targeted research. With funding support from both Neuravi, an Irish biomedical company experienced in endovascular device development, and from Science Foundation Ireland, the collaboration reflects the commitment of a diverse group of experts to advancing the understanding and treatment of stroke. An NUI Galway post-doctoral fellow will perform research on secondment at Mayo Clinic to facilitate collaboration on standardising protocols and setting up an international database. Mayo Clinic’s Applied Neuroradiology Lab is initiating a nationwide effort in the US to retrospectively and prospectively collect samples of clots removed from patients who have suffered a stroke in order to analyze them to inform treatment in the future. Through CÚRAM, NUI Galway will be establishing a dedicated clot pathology lab to conduct parallel clot research in Europe.     Professor Abhay Pandit, Scientific Director of CÚRAM at NUI Galway, commented: “With this partnership and postdoctoral fellow program with Mayo Clinic, we’re excited by the opportunity to advance research in this area. Researchers at CÚRAM have been working on the analysis and characterisation of clots through collaborative arrangements with Neuravi, and we’re delighted that they and Science Foundation Ireland are funding this postdoctoral fellow program. This convergence of interests and expertise has enabled us to structure a unique collaboration with Mayo Clinic. We hope this will lead to ground-breaking research and drive significant improvements in outcomes for stroke patients in the future.” David Kallmes, Director of Mayo Clinic Applied Neuroradiology Lab, said: “We’ve come a long way in treating stroke, but we’re just beginning to tap the surface when it comes to understanding the occlusive clots that cause acute ischemic stroke. It is not an insignificant challenge, and so this kind of multinational public-private research collaboration puts us in a unique position to make real progress. Working together with motivated stroke experts in the US, we’ve started the Stroke Thromboembolism Registry of Imaging and Pathology (STRIP) to analyze actual clots retrieved via thrombectomy (the surgical removal of a clot from a blood vessel), and to use that learning to inform treatment. This program with CÚRAM will help us make this into a world-class research effort.” For more information about CÚRAM visit: http://www.curamdevices.ie/ and for Mayo Clinic visit: http://www.mayoclinic.org/ -Ends-

Tuesday, 21 March 2017

NUI Galway’s Centre for Irish Studies and Comhrá Ceoil are delighted to announce details of the second talk in this year’s Martin Reilly Lecture Series, which will be given by Gerry Clarke, at 6.30pm on Tuesday, 28 March 2017, at Galway City Library.   The lecture,‘Irish traditional and hillbilly music in the era of the 78 rpm: Finding ‘Old Familiar Tunes’, will introduce the shared sources of Irish traditional musicians and the emerging genre of hillbilly (or country as it became known) recorded on 78 rpms during the first half of the twentieth century. Much of the repertoire of songs and tunes which Gerry will focus on are known to listeners from current practice of Irish traditional music,  but he will also focus on the less known early versions of traditional music recordings made in the 1920s and 1930s. An engineer by profession, Gerry Clarke has been collecting 78 rpm recordings for almost fifty years. He co-founded Oldtime Records with piper Emmett Gill in 2005, and since then Oldtime Records have produced six volumes of Irish traditional music from the 1920s and 1930s.  This series of free talks is dedicated to Martin Reilly, the celebrated Galway uilleann piper, and gives an opportunity to researcher-practitioners in Irish traditional music and dance to present their work in a public forum.  The success of the series thus far confirms the interest in research of this kind in Galway, where traditional music and dance are part of the cultural fabric of the city. For further information on the Martin Reilly Lecture Series email martinreillylectureseries@gmail.com or visit Facebook at Martin-Reilly-Lecture-Series. -Ends-

Monday, 20 March 2017

NUI Galway will host a very special public lecture by a leading international expert examining the evolution of humans during the past fifty thousand years, during a time when much northern Europe periodically became a harsh, frozen wilderness and was intermittently covered by vast and desolate sheets of ice. Professor Johannes Krause of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Jena, Germany, will deliver the William King Annual Lecture on the ‘Genomic History of the Ice Age Europeans’ on Thursday, 23 March. Professor Krause was a senior member of the international team that made scientific history in 2010 when it published the first draft sequence of the DNA of Neanderthal people, the closest evolutionary relatives to humans living today. Later that same year, his team discovered a previously completely unknown group of human ancestors – the Denisovans – based on DNA preserved in a tiny fossilised finger bone recovered from a Siberian cave. More recently, Professor Krause uncovered the DNA of the bacterium responsible for the Black Death, based on samples extracted from the 14th-century plague cemetery in London. Event co-organiser Professor Heinz Peter Nasheuer, Biochemistry, NUI Galway, said: “It is very exciting to have an international scientist of the calibre of Professor Krause speak at NUI Galway. His research, which involves the careful extraction and painstaking analysis of ancient genetic material from fossil bones and teeth, has provided amazing, and unique insights into the evolution of modern humans in Europe.” The William King Annual Lecture series was established in 2015 with the aim of honouring the scientific legacy of William King, the first Professor of Geology and Mineralogy in Queen’s College Galway (as NUI Galway was then known). King made his own scientific history in 1863 when he first proposed the formal scientific name Homo neanderthalensis for Neanderthal people. Dr John Murray, Earth and Ocean Sciences, NUI Galway, who is also involved in organising the forthcoming public lecture, said: “William King’s scientifically bold and farsighted suggestion to define a new group of ancient human ancestors based on fossil evidence was a vitally important step in the birth of palaeoanthropology, or the study of human evolution. He remains the first scientist to ever name a new and extinct species of human – by any measure remarkable scientific achievement.” Professor Krause’s free talk will take place at 6pm in MY243 Lecture Theatre, Áras Moyola and all are welcome to attend. -Ends-

Monday, 20 March 2017

The NUI Galway based ‘Health Research Board – Trials Methodology Research Network’ launches START COMPETITION for primary school students On 20 May every year, the world celebrates International Clinical Trials Day. This event marks the anniversary of the first ever documented clinical trial, which was conducted with sailors in the Royal Navy in 1747. To celebrate this important occasion, the Health Research Board – Trials Methodology Research Network (HRB-TMRN) based in NUI Galway has launched the Schools Teaching Awareness of Randomised Trials (START) competition. The competition, now in its second year, invites 4th, 5th and 6th class students and their teachers to design, carry out and evaluate their very own clinical trial. Participation in this competition meets several key aspects of the school curriculum including Maths, Science, English, Irish, Information and Communication Technology and Social, Personal and Health Education. Students are asked to choose a simple, easy to answer question and use the proper steps of a trial to answer it scientifically, using the resources provided on the HRB-TMRN website. Questions might include things like “Can using coloured paper for written spelling tests increase students’ scores?” or “Does 10 minutes of dancing every morning before classes improve student’s attention?” Findings from each trial can be reported in any format such as podcast, video, website, report format, collage or poster. The purpose of the competition is to help students become aware of the clinical trial process, rather than answering a ground breaking question. Commenting on the project, Dr Sandra Galvin, HRB-TMRN Coordinator based at NUI Galway said: “This is an exciting initiative and the first of its kind to bring awareness of clinical trials to the younger community. Schoolchildren and their teachers are so creative and we are really looking forward to seeing what innovative ways teachers and pupils go about designing and reporting their trial.” All schools submitting an entry will be listed among the ‘Trial Aware Primary Schools 2017’ on the HRB-TMRN website, and shortlisted entries will be invited to Galway on Friday, 19 May, where the winner will be announced and presented with the START Trophy 2017. Each project will be assessed by: How well does the project adhere to the structure of a clinical trial? Does the project provide new insights into a healthcare issue in the school or the local or wider community? How well presented are the findings of the trial, so that any member of the community could understand the findings? Can other schools learn something new from this project? To register your trial complete the Trial Registration Form, which can be found on the website www.hrb-tmrn.ie and email it to hrb-tmrn@nuigalway.ie or alternatively Post to: Room 235, 1st Floor, Áras Moyola, School of Nursing and Midwifery, NUI Galway. For further information or to contact one of the Trial Ambassadors visit: www.hrb-tmrn.ie   Follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/hrb.tmrn and Twitter on twitter.com/hrbtmrn or @hrbtmrn. -Ends-

Monday, 20 March 2017

CAO First Preferences up 10% for the University NUI Galway today (Monday, 20 March) announced the full programme of events for its next CAO Open Day on Saturday, 1 April from 9am to 3pm.  NUI Galway has seen a 10% increase in First Preference CAO applications in 2017, despite the total number of applications nationally remaining static year on year. Announcing the Open Day programme, Registrar and Deputy President, Professor Pól Ó Dochartaigh said: “As international rankings continue to show advances by NUI Galway, the marked increase in CAO applications highlights the growing interest in studying at one of the world’s Top 250 institutions across all subject areas. At the upcoming Open Day, students and parents can find out for themselves why more and more students are choosing NUI Galway for their degree studies.” Open Days are an excellent opportunity for schools, students, parents and families to explore NUI Galway’s facilities and to learn first-hand from lecturers about the learning experience, skills development and career prospects from each of the degree programmes. There is a packed programme of events lined up for the day, including: Over 80 stands providing information on courses, CAO points, employability, career progression routes, accommodation and fees. Sample subject talks designed to give students a real insight into studying at NUI Galway. Hands-on science workshops. Interactive sessions in Engineering, IT systems and robotics. Tours of the campus, including the state-of the-art sports complex and student accommodation, including tours as Gaeilge. Talk highlights for students include Sports at NUI Galway, Career Opportunities and Inspiring Women in Engineering. For parents, a range of special talks focusing on topics such as SUSI Grants, Scholarship Applications and Student Life are scheduled. To get the most out of your day visitors are encouraged to view the timetable of talks at www.nuigalway.ie/opendays.  -Ends-

Tuesday, 14 March 2017

NUI Galway’s School of Law Annual Distinguished Lecture 2017 will be delivered by Judge Síofra O’Leary of the European Court of Human Rights. The lecture, ‘A Tale of Two Cities: the Protection of Fundamental Rights in Strasbourg and Luxembourg’, will be chaired by Ms Justice Iseult O’Malley of the Irish Supreme Court and take place on Friday, 31 March at 8pm in the Aula Maxima, NUI Galway. The lecture is held annually to mark the end of the academic year and to bid farewell to final year Law students and provide an opportunity for them to be introduced to members of the NUI Galway Law School alumni community as they embark on the next stage of their careers. Announcing this year’s event, Professor Donncha O’Connell, Head of NUI Galway’s School of Law, said: “Judge Síofra O’Leary is an immensely distinguished jurist of great international standing whose lecture will, I am certain, be of tremendous interest to our students and alumni. It is also a great honour for the School of Law to have Ms Justice Iseult O’Malley of the Irish Supreme Court – a person with strong family links to Galway – as chairperson for this event.” In July 2015 Síofra O'Leary was sworn in as a Judge at the European Court of Human Rights. Prior to joining the European Court of Human Rights, Judge O’Leary worked for 18 years at the Court of Justice of the European Union. She was a Visiting Professor at the College of Europe in Bruges, Assistant Director for the Centre of European Legal Studies at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Emmanuel College. She was previously a Visiting Fellow at the Faculty of Law, University College Dublin, a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Cádiz, Spain and a Research Associate at the Institute for Public Policy Research in London. In the past, the annual lecture has been delivered by: Professor Christopher McCrudden of Oxford University, Baroness Brenda Hale of the UK Supreme Court with Ms. Justice Catherine McGuinness of the Irish Supreme Court, Judge John T. Noonan of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Professor Neil Walker of Edinburgh University and Mr. Justice Nial Fennelly of the Irish Supreme Court, Sir Declan Morgan, the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland and Professor Nicholas Canny. -Ends-

Monday, 13 March 2017

A new book on Disability Law and Policy has been edited by NUI Galway academics Dr Charles O’Mahony, Lecturer in Law and Professor Gerard Quinn, Director of the Centre for Disability Law and Policy. Published by Clarus Press, Disability Law and Policy: An Analysis of the UN Convention undertakes a multidisciplinary examination of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The rights-based perspective on disability is a relatively new lens through which disability law and policy is considered. This is despite the fact that persons with disabilities are often described as the world’s largest minority. There are approximately 1 billion persons with disabilities in the world (15 percent of the world’s population). This book is an edited volume of essays that undertakes a multidisciplinary examination of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Dr Charles O’Mahony said: “The UN Convention requires law and policy reform throughout the world and this book identified what state parties need to do to comply with international human rights law. This is particularly relevant for Ireland being was one of the first states to sign the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability.  However it is now the only EU member state not to have ratified.” Disability Law and Policy: An Analysis of the UN Convention has evolved from an event entitled 'Global PhD and Researchers Colloquium on Disability Law’ and Policy organised by the Centre for Disability Law and Policy, NUI Galway. The Colloquium was organised in conjunction with the Burton Blatt Institute, University of Syracuse and the University of Haifa, Israel. -Ends-

Tuesday, 14 March 2017

NUI Galway to host event on the Trump presidency Tuesday, 14 March, 2017: The Moore and Whitaker Institutes and the School of Law at NUI Galway will host an event on Wednesday, 22 March, entitled “President Donald Trump: The First Sixty Days and Beyond”.  The event will take place in the Emily Anderson Concert Hall (Upper Aula Maxima) at 5.30pm in the University’s Quadrangle. The panel discussion will feature five speakers who will provide various perspectives - political, human rights, historical, economics and more - on Donald Trump's election and his time in the White House. This will be followed by an interactive audience question and answer session. A reception with light refreshments will precede the event and begin at 5pm. Mary Regan, a native of Moycullen, Co. Galway and well-known political journalist and columnist for the Sunday Business Post who also appears frequently in the broadcast media, will moderate the event. Speaking on the evening will be: Professor Alan Ahearne, Director of the Whitaker Institute, NUI Galway, and former special adviser to the Minister for Finance; Professor Daniel Carey, Director of the Moore Institute, NUI Galway; Dr Kathleen Cavanaugh, Lecturer, Irish Centre for Human Rights, NUI Galway; Larry Donnelly, Lecturer, School of Law, NUI Galway, and political commentator; Karlin Lillington, Journalist and Columnist, The Irish Times. Commenting ahead of the event, Larry Donnelly, NUI Galway said: “In a year full of major news events, the 2016 US presidential election attracted a phenomenal amount of interest in Ireland. The early days of President Trump’s administration have been unpredictable and, in many ways, unprecedented.  On 22 March, people here in Galway, as well as the staff and students of NUI Galway, will have a unique opportunity to delve behind the tweets and explore the policy implications of different facets of the Trump presidency, in an uncertain era of change and upheaval in the US and throughout the western world.” The event is free and open to the public, however those who wish to attend must pre-register via Eventbrite at http://bit.ly/trumpgalway.  ENDS

Monday, 13 March 2017

New Masters/Postgraduate Degree course will ensure the provision of national specialised nurses who have the skills to care for children and adolescents with complex, life-limiting and terminal conditions NUI Galway in collaboration with UCD, are the first in Ireland to respond to the needs of Health Services by providing training for specialist nursing care for children and adolescents with complex, life-limiting and terminal conditions. The dedicated Masters/Postgraduate Degree in Health Sciences at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, specialising in children’s palliative and complex care, aims to equip nurses with the necessary skills for the increasing numbers of children and adolescents who have complex, life-limiting or terminal conditions and require care in a variety of settings (hospital or community), according to child and family preference. Applications for the second intake of this NUI Galway programme are being accepted this Spring 2017. The School of Nursing and Midwifery at NUI Galway has just been recognised for its work and nominated in the Top 100 Globally (15th in Europe) for the subject nursing in the 2017 QS World University Subject Rankings. Palliative and complex care for children differs from care for adults in that many children requiring this type of care have life-limiting conditions, as opposed to advanced terminal conditions. Children may survive many years with these complex conditions. The needs of these children differ from the needs of adults and many live with severe disability and require constant care. The paediatric palliative care nurse for children with complex care requirements plays a key role as a member of the team. These nurses require a comprehensive understanding of the experience of palliative and complex care from neonates to adolescents, and their families. In order to meet the needs of a variety of children requiring this care, the new programme will provide nurses with the broad skills necessary to meet the needs of children across a wide variety of settings. Claire Quinn, Lecturer at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, NUI Galway, said: “As researchers working in this emerging new specialty we recently estimated that there were at least 3,840 children in Ireland living with complex life-limiting conditions and this number is increasing yearly due to medical advances. Children who have complex care requirements or reach the end-of-life deserve the very highest standard of care delivered in a place of their choosing and provided by expert paediatric palliative care nurses. Unfortunately, it is acknowledged that in Ireland today there is an absence of nursing staff that can demonstrate the very special skills to work in this demanding field of nursing practice.” With the publication of the Department of Health’s national policy ‘Palliative Care for Children with Life-limiting Conditions’, the recent Palliative Care Competence Framework, various international and national reports and guidelines on palliative care provision such as the World Health Organisation’s ‘The Global Burden of Disease’, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines, the Irish Advisory Committee on Palliative Care and the Irish Hospice Foundation, all support the rationale to provide a programme which is evidence-based and encompasses the growing demands of children and adolescents who require palliative and complex care. Ms Orla Keegan, Head of Education, Research and Bereavement Services at the Irish Hospice Foundation, says: “Access to education is vital to ensure that nurses helping children with the most complex of needs have the competence and skill required to do so. For the past 10 years the Irish Hospice Foundation has financially supported children’s palliative care training at basic and intermediate level. We have continually advocated the need for an advanced postgraduate education programme to complete the learning opportunities for palliative care nurses and are delighted with this new MSc programme from NUI Galway and UCD. Health services will welcome this initiative which clears the way for advanced nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists to provide local expertise in the care of children with palliative care needs.” The new programme was also praised by the Minister for Health, Simon Harris at the launch of the national policy evaluation report, ‘Evaluation of the Children’s Palliative Care Programme’. Minster Harris commented: “I want to acknowledge the commencement of the first postgraduate course in children with palliative and complex care needs in NUI Galway, and to acknowledge the importance of that programme in ensuring that we continue to develop health care professionals with the specialism that is required in this area. It’s very encouraging to see this up and running.” For applications and further information on the NUI Galway Masters/Postgraduate Degree in Health Sciences visit: http://www.nuigalway.ie/nursing-midwifery   -Ends-

Friday, 10 March 2017

A major international, multidisciplinary conference entitled, 'Reception, Reputation and Circulation in the Early Modern World, 1500-1800' (RECIRC) will be held at the Moore Institute at NUI Galway from 22-25 March.  The RECIRC project is researching the impact made by women writers and their works in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. However, the conference reaches far wider to embrace cultural production by men and women, from 1500 through to the end of the eighteenth century. Talks will cover diverse topics such as Italian soldiers’ letters during the Dutch revolt, song and musical transmission, the international book trade, translations of French and Spanish poetry and fiction, saints’ reputations, bible-inspired embroidery, and digital approaches to literature and society. Speaking about the conference, Professor Marie-Louise Coolahan said: “This is a great opportunity to hear about cutting-edge research in a range of fields from Literature, History, Languages, Art History to Digital Humanities, delivered by leading international researchers. The ERC funding has allowed us to bring an unusual mix of top scholars to Galway. We wanted to move beyond the RECIRC project’s remit in order to open up different ways of thinking about the transmission of ideas and reputations during the early modern period. This conference will present new evidence about the circulation of all kinds of materials across Europe and the New World.” The conference will pose questions ranging from how texts circulated in the early modern world to how digital scholarship can help us understand networks of transmission and influence. It will bring together scholars working on the reception of texts, the reputations of authors and individuals, and the circulation of people and things across the world. Up to 57 speakers will attend the conference, hailing from a range of prestigious universities in Australia, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, the UK, USA and Ireland. The conference, generated by the RECIRC project, is funded by the European Research Council (ERC) and led by Principal Investigator, Professor Marie-Louise Coolahan, and a team of researchers at the School of Humanities at NUI Galway. The conference is open to the public. However, pre-registration is essential at: http://recirc.nuigalway.ie/conference2017/ or email recirc.conference@gmail.com. The RECIRC project will run at the Moore Institute in the Hardiman Research Building at NUI Galway until 2019. -Ends-

Friday, 10 March 2017

NUI Galway lecture ‘Manhattan’s Irish Waterfront Neighbourhoods: From the Famine to the Movie Classic ‘On the Waterfront’ looks at the famine Irish who settled in the neighbourhoods along the East and Hudson rivers creating the Irish waterfront NUI Galway will host a public lecture by Professor Kurt Schlichting from Fairfield University in Connecticut on the subject, ‘Manhattan’s Irish Waterfront Neighborhoods: From the Famine to the Movie Classic ‘On the Waterfront’. Professor Daniel Carey, Director of the Moore Institute at NUI Galway, commented: “Professor Schlichting’s lecture tells an important story, part of a shared Irish history of migration and labour in America.” The US National Archives created a database of 605,000 Famine Irish who arrived on ships in the port of New York between 1846 and 1851. Drawn from hand-written ships’ manifests, the records include the port the ships departed from in Ireland and England. Over 75% left on ships from Liverpool. The sea lane between New York and Liverpool was well established by 1846 where regularly scheduled packet-ships left every week of the year. The famous Black Ball packet line carried 39,618 Irish, some born in England to Irish parents, to New York. Galway was also a port of departure and the ships that left carried 8,518 passengers to New York. Just one hundred and eighty six passengers left in 1846 on the ships the Clarence and the Kate. A total of 57 voyages followed on 47 different ships, most made one voyage while the Clarence made five trips, one each year between 1846 and 1851, carrying a total of 859 passengers. Many settled in the neighborhoods along the East and Hudson rivers creating the Irish waterfront. They found hard work on the docks as longshoremen as New York became the shipping centre of the world. In nearby immigrant neighborhoods, the families of the longshoremen lived in tenements and fought to survive. The Irish waterfront neighborhoods remained distinctive Irish enclaves into the 20th century. In 1954, the classic American film, On the Waterfront, starring Marlon Brando, vividly portrayed the violence along the Manhattan waterfront and the stranglehold of corrupt union officials, and the mob. The waterfront priest played by Karl Malden under the name of Father Barry was based on an actual Jesuit priest, Father Peter Corridan, who taught at the Labor Institute at Xavier parish in Manhattan on West 16th Street near the Hudson River docks. Corridan and other young Jesuits, the labour priests, came of age during the 1930’s and 1940’s when the Catholic Workers movement, led by Dorothy Day, championed the rights of workers to form unions and collectively bargain for higher wages and better working conditions. Inspired by Day and the Papal labour encyclicals, the labour priests saw their ministry as dedicated to social justice for the longshoremen. Corridan battled not just the unions and mobsters but also the Archdiocese of New York that saw the Church’s mission as saving souls, leaving social justice to the labor unions and the politicians. The lecture is free and open to the public. It will take place on Tuesday, 14 March at 4pm in Seminar Room G010, Moore Institute, Hardiman Research Building at NUI Galway. -Ends- 

Friday, 10 March 2017

Exhibition Showcases 12 Remarkable Women of the University 1912-22 NUI Galway this week launched the exhibition ‘Path Breaking Women of NUI Galway: 1912-1922 and Beyond’. This visual history project, led by Professor Niamh Reilly, School of Political Science and Sociology, is supported by the Irish Research Council New Foundations Scheme 2015 as part of the Decade of Centenaries. The Exhibition foregrounds 12 women, each a former faculty member or student of NUI Galway, who have made remarkable contributions, across the arts, sciences and political life, in the years around 1916, or subsequently in the first decades of Irish independence. The keynote address at the official launch was by Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, formerly TD for Galway West and first female cabinet minister in the state, European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science from 2010 to 2014 and, most recently, Chairperson of a national review of gender equality in higher education institutions. Speaking at the event, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, said: “The exhibition focuses on the campaigns for social reform that animated Ireland in the early twentieth century – and how they led to women’s rights and a modern Ireland that would have been unimaginable when these women were starting out on their student days. The position of women has radically changed. But hasn’t changed enough. This exhibition reminds us all – and I hope particularly younger women – of the power of passion and persistence. Of the importance of education, and the equal importance of doing something with that education.” Women profiled in the Exhibition include: Alice Perry (1885-1969), the first woman to earn an engineering degree in Ireland or the UK Mary Donovan O’Sullivan (1887-1966), first Professor of History in University College Galway, appointed in 1914, aged 27 Ada English (1875-1944) prominent in Cumann na mBan in Galway, lecture in Mental Diseases at UCG, and reforming doctor in Ballinasloe asylum Emily Anderson (1891-1962), acclaimed linguist and scholar of the personal letters of Mozart and Beethoven Síle Ní Chinnéide (1900-1980), Irish language revivalist and one of UCG's first lecturers in History through Irish Margaret Heavey (1908-1980), multilinguist, classics scholar and influential shaper of her discipline and the university Maureen O’Carroll (1913-1984), past student, first female Labour TD and mother Brendan and Eilish O'Carroll Celia Lynch (1908-1989), graduate, first woman Fianna Fail chief whip and longest serving woman TD at the time of her retirement Máirín de Valera (1912-1984), scientist and founder of Botany at UCG Nora Niland (1913-1988), graduate, instrumental in promoting the association of Yeats with Sligo and building the Niland Collection at the Model arts centre in Sligo Caitlín Maude (1941-1982), graduate, acclaimed sean-nós singer and first actress to perform the leading role in the Irish Language play about unmarried mothers, An Triail (1964) Lorna Reynolds (1911-2003), an influential literary critic, life-long champion of progressive causes and leading biographer of the novelist Kate O'Brien. Professor Niamh Reilly, Principal Investigator on the project, commented:  “The Path Breaking Women exhibition celebrates the exceptional but little-known achievements of 12 women associated with NUI Galway over the last 100 years.  It is a beginning, an invitation to find out more and raise awareness of these and other path-breaking women who have contributed so much to our university and wider society.”      The Path Breaking Women project is also supported by the School of Political Science and Sociology, the Centre for Global Women’s Studies and the Moore Institute for Research in the Humanities and Social Studies, NUI Galway in association with the Gender ARC research network and University Women’s Network at NUI Galway. Contributing researchers are Mary Clancy and Dr Muireann O’Cinneide. For further details see: www.nuigalway.ie/pathbreakingwomen ENDS

Wednesday, 8 March 2017

The new Irish law to criminalise the purchase of sex is unworkable according to experts on sex work and human trafficking from NUI Galway and Trinity College Dublin. A new book published by the two academics, Dr Eilís Ward, NUI Galway and Dr Gillian Wylie, TCD, analyse Ireland’s newly adopted policy.   They draw a parallel with Sweden which introduced a similar law in 1999, and was the focus of a major campaign in Ireland over the past decade, ‘Turn off the Red Light’.  In both the case of Ireland and Sweden, they contend that the legislation is based on the belief that prostitution is a form of violence against women and is caused by male demand. “It is clear that Irish parliamentarians already knew what they wanted: a sex purchase ban. No serious efforts were made to consider an alternative model such as that currently in New Zealand. Here, the act of buying or selling of sex itself is not subject to the law but all activities surrounding it are, such as criminal activities or violence. It holds out the promise of an approach that, at least does not create more problems especially for the most vulnerable women in the sex trade,” said Dr Ward. “The complex realities of sex workers' lives and views were not being recognised in the Irish debate, nor were the many international studies that show the negative impact of sex purchase bans on those who sell sex,” said Dr Wylie of the Irish School of Ecumenics. The academics claim that it is a very complex area of law and human activity and that the sex purchase ban is a crude instrument that does not work very well. Prostitution continues in Sweden as does sex trafficking. They suggest that to end exploitation of sex workers an approach which ensures the rights of all workers and provides safe and legal migration routes will be far more effective in the long run than banning the buying of sex. The book ‘Feminism, Prostitution and the State; Politics of Neo-Abolitionism’ is being launched in Trinity College  on Thursday, 9 March by Alan Shatter, former Minister for Justice who queried several aspects of the report produced in favour of a sex purchase ban by the Oireachtas Committee on Justice Defence and Equality arising from the original consultation. In addition, a second book on the international politics of trafficking, written by Dr Wylie, will also be launched by the former Minister at the event. “By looking at the comparison of all these countries we can see that there are drivers for abolitionism coming from feminists, religious groups and fears about sex trafficking but we also see the consequences of these policies in allying feminism with policing approaches to social problems and government strategies designed to keep migrant women out”, said Dr Wylie. “Sex purchase bans have been shown to impact more harshly on migrant women in sex industries, particularly undocumented migrants who lack strong networks of social support.” This connection between anti-trafficking activism and increased border control is a central theme in this second book being launched. In ‘The International Politics of Human Trafficking’ Dr Wylie traces the different feminist voices that have made human trafficking a big political issue in the 21st century, but she also argues that worryingly governments are now using anti-trafficking language to justify blocking refugees and migrants from Europe. “Governments everywhere are using the rhetoric of combatting human trafficking to deprive people of their rights to move and seek refuge,” says Dr Wyllie. Ends 

Wednesday, 8 March 2017

20 Subject Areas Receive International Recognition NUI Galway today welcomed the publication of the QS World University Subject Rankings which ranked NUI Galway as world leading for its teaching and research in 20 subjects.  This is a marked increase since last year, when the University was recognised in 12 subjects and follows recent advances in both the QS and Times Higher Education (THE) University rankings which have seen NUI Galway join the ranks of the Top 250 global educational institutions.  With 20 subject areas now featuring in the top tier globally, three are ranked in the top 200 (Medicine, Earth & Marine Sciences and Geography), English Language and Literature is ranked in the top 150 globally and Nursing is ranked in the top 100 in the world. Speaking about the achievement, Dr Jim Browne, President of NUI Galway, said:  “While no rankings system is perfect, this recognition by QS highlights the quality of teaching and research at NUI Galway across a diverse range of subject areas.  This confirmation of our status among the world’s elite institutions is positive for our students as they enter international employment markets with qualifications that rank among the best globally.” The next undergraduate Open Day for NUI Galway will be held on Saturday 1 April, providing an opportunity for students, along with their parents and families, to explore NUI Galway’s facilities and to learn first-hand from lecturers and students about the more than 60 courses on offer. Dr Browne continued: “In recent months, our improved rankings have also contributed to record numbers at open days and information evenings, and we look forward to showcasing the institution to the next generation of students at our next Open Day on April 1st.” Lecturers and current students will be on hand to talk to students and parents at the main exhibition area in the Bailey Allen Hall, with over 80 subject-specific exhibition stands. The ‘Parents Programme’ will provide parents and students with information on important issues such as careers, accommodation and support services for students. More information is available at www.nuigalway.ie/opendays. ENDS

Tuesday, 7 March 2017

‘Italian Art and its Icons: The Past in the Present’ NUI Galway will host a one-day symposium on the legacy of the Italian Renaissance in contemporary culture on Thursday, 23 March. The symposium is being organised by NUI Galway’s Italian department in collaboration with 126 Artist-Run Gallery, TULCA Festival of Visual Art, MUS.E (Museums of Florence), the Italian Institute of Culture, Dublin, and the University’s Moore Institute. ‘Italian Art and its Icons’ will begin with talks from Finola O’Kane Crimmins, UCD, and NUI Galway’s Professor Paolo Bartoloni and Professor Daniel Carey in the McKenna Lecture Theatre, Arts Millennium Building at 4pm. This will be followed at 7pm with talks by Valentina Zucchi, MUS.E and Michaele Cutaya, Writer and Editor, in 126 Artist-Run Gallery, St. Bridget’s Place, Galway City. Italian art and Florentine Renaissance particularly, have had an enduring influence over the years, and continue to attract the attention of contemporary artists such as Jeff Koons, Jan Fabre, Gaetano Pesce and ai weiwei. But what remains of the Renaissance in contemporary practices, and how does contemporary art engage and interact with iconic Renaissance spaces like the city of Florence? What form does Italian art and Renaissance take in Ireland, and where is this influence felt in the Irish landscape? These questions will be addressed by academics, curators, and cultural practitioners from Italy and Ireland. Local Italian restaurants and business including Mona Lisa, Il Vicolo, Basilico, Ciarlantini, cheese importer Grapecircus, and Thomas Woodberry Wines will contribute their food and experience of Italian cuisine as part of the symposium. Professor Paolo Bartoloni, Head of Italian at NUI Galway, said: “This event is an exciting example of creative engagement, bringing together the University, government organisations, and artistic curators, to inspire new and imaginative ways to rethink and reflect on European cultural heritage, as well as initiate cross-cultural dialogue.” The event is free to attend but places are limited. For catering purposes, attendees should register at https://italianartgalway.eventbrite.com. For further information email paolo.bartoloni@nuigalway.ie, andrea.ciribuco@nuigalway.ie or L.ELIVS1@nuigalway.ie. -Ends-

Tuesday, 7 March 2017

A PhD student of Biomedical Engineering at NUI Galway was recently selected as Commander of Crew 172, an international mission for the Mars Desert Research Station, which supports Earth-based research required for human space exploration. The Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), owned and operated by the Mars Society, is a full-scale analog facility in Utah in the United States that supports Earth-based research in pursuit of the technology, operations, and science required for human exploration on Mars. The extreme mission is not unlike the fictional story behind the 2016 Oscar nominated movie The Martian, starring Matt Damon. The Hollywood star plays astronaut Mark Watney who is left behind when an unexpected storm hits Mars, leaving him to engineer ways to feed himself and survive the harsh environment of Mars. Ilaria Cinelli, a PhD student in the College of Engineering and Informatics at NUI Galway was selected as Emerging Space Leader of the Mars Mission thanks to her extracurricular activities in this field. Ms Cinelli led an international crew of six people under the constraints of a simulated Mars mission over four weeks. The unique facility in Utah is surrounded by terrain that is a geologic Mars analog, which offered Commander Cinelli and her crew opportunities for rigorous field studies as they would be conducted during an actual space mission. This study will lead to new insights into the nature and evolution of Mars, the Earth, and life on Mars. Commander Cinelli’s leadership role allowed her to measure the impact of human behaviour among her crew, brought about by living in such a confined environment and the loss of personal contact with family and friends. Ms Cinelli collected data-based research on the crew’s changing behaviour patterns throughout the mission. Due to monotony, loneliness, lack of social contacts, major responsibilities and stress, Ms Cinelli’s research observed a marked improvement in the crew’s performance in the development of successful strategies; increased confidence in performance; the ability to independently deal with complex problems; higher levels of inner emotional energy, a resistance to stress, increased internal control and social growth. Commenting on the Mars mission, Commander Cinelli said: “The purpose of this mission was to investigate the impact of isolation on human behaviour, performance and leadership. The Mars simulation experiment is aimed at increasing the physiological and technical autonomy of the crew in preparation for an actual long-term mission over a number of years. During these missions, the marsonauts are training to make full use of the available resources and independence of decision making from remote support. The MDRS is in the middle of the Utah desert and three hours away from the nearest town. Extreme conditions were created due to the limited amount of resources available such as food, water, electricity and WiFi. The mission was the first for most of the crew who had never experienced living in such an extreme environment before. They made great progress throughout the mission by stepping outside of their comfort zone, overcoming stress, increasing control and overall performance.” MDRS officially began operations in 2001 as a fully volunteer enterprise, which is now in its 16th field season. To date, over 1,000 people have participated as crew members at the habitat, and many are now involved in other analog studies at different locations around the world. For more information about The Mars Desert Research Station visit: http://mdrs.marssociety.org/ -Ends-

Monday, 6 March 2017

The Discipline of Management in the Cairnes School of Business and Economics at NUI Galway will host an open information evening for its three highly regarded Masters programmes on Thursday, 9 March from 6pm. The information evening, which will take place in in CA118 in the Cairnes Building, will provide an opportunity for prospective students to meet the Programme Directors, faculty members and successful graduates now working in key roles in Google, Accenture and Qualtrics.  The MSc in Human Resource Management (HRM) is a one year full-time programme accredited by the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD). The MSc HRM is designed to develop a thorough knowledge and applied competence in the fundamentals of human resource management and employment relations. Students learn the nature of work and explore human resource policy and practice in national and multinational organisations.  The programme includes an international study visit to Toulouse Business School in France.  The one year full-time award winning MSc in International Management (IM) provides students with in-depth knowledge and expertise in the principles and application of international business and management. The degree provides a solid foundation for a career in international management with multinational corporations, internationally-focused and newly internationalising domestic firms. The MSc IM includes an international study visit to Hong Kong.  The MSc in Strategy, Innovation and People Management (SIPM) focuses on three critical determinants of enterprise success and their interfaces. The MSc SIPM is an innovative programme designed and developed to meet graduate and employer needs in the globalised smart economy. It is one of only a small number of programmes accredited by the CIPD and is unique in focusing on other critical areas of management in addition to HRM. Dr Alma McCarthy, Head of the Management Discipline at NUI Galway, said: “The MSc programmes in HRM, IM and SIPM have been running for a number of years and we are very proud of the achievements of our graduates. Many of our graduates hold senior roles in leading international companies including Accenture, Google, Boston Scientific, Medtronic, Intel and Amazon. Graduates also play key roles in national organisations including IBEC, Enterprise Ireland, the Civil Service and The Irish Times.”   Full details about each programme are available at http://www.nuigalway.ie/business-public-policy-law/cairnes/courses/taught/. For more information contact Gerry Campbell at 091 493771 or gerry.campbell@nuigalway.ie. -Ends-

Thursday, 2 March 2017

NUI Galway has received the archive of Flynn and Lehany Coal Mining Company Limited as a gift from the Flynn family. Its archive, one of a very small number on mining in Ireland, is a significant source of information about the mining industry, State energy policy, the operation of the company and the social and economic history of the mines at Arigna. The Flynn and Lehany Company operated the coal mine of Glackaundareagh, Altygowlan, in the central part of the Kilronan Mountain in Co. Roscommon from its foundation in 1949, and subsequently at Gubbarudda. The company worked on contracts with hospitals and other public buildings through the 1950s, and it was a supplier to the coal-burning ESB power station at Arigna after that station was built in 1958. The power station closed in 1989 and the site is now a quarry operated by Hillstreet Quarries Ltd. The company operated at a time of great social change in rural Ireland, including rural electrification and the modernisation of Irish industry through the 1960s and 1970s. As the record of a commercial mining company in Ireland in the later twentieth century this collection is unique, and offers unparalleled insights into production processes, as well as financial management and the impact of the industry on the locality. There are only two other collections, both housed at the National Library of Ireland, relating to coal mining in Ireland and each of those relates to the nineteenth century. This archive is also of particular value in its inclusion of the mine owner’s experience. The archive itself consists of a very full record of the industry, covering the establishment of the company, as well as material relating to production, personnel and distribution. There are reports and correspondence with the various regulatory bodies associated with mineral rights, as well as technical manuals for the machinery used in the plant. There is also material relating to the Hewitson and Lawder estates in the Arigna area. It includes details of lands purchased by the Flynn family from the estates under the auspices of the Irish Land Commission, some as early as the 1890s. Other highlights are records of tonnage, giving amounts mined per employee, and a letter from the company and workforce to John Hume making a donation to the Bloody Sunday Appeal Fund. Father Tomás Flynn and Denis Flynn have acted on behalf of the Flynn family in generously donating the archive to NUI Galway. They are first cousins whose fathers, Thomas and Michael Flynn, were involved in establishing the company. Denis Flynn is Managing Director of Hillstreet Quarries Ltd and Fr Tomás Flynn is Parish Priest in Drumcong, Co. Leitrim, and author of a recently published book titled Thomas J. Devine and The Election of the Snows: The North Roscommon By-Election of 1917. Dr Jim Browne, President of NUI Galway, said: “NUI Galway values its archival collections as a major resource for the scholars of today and tomorrow. The donation of the Flynn and Lehany coal mining archive represents a very significant addition to our collections, and the University is much indebted to the Flynn family.” Father Tomás Flynn commented: “Our family is delighted that NUI Galway will be the home of the Flynn and Lehany Archive and that this collection will be used for educational purposes.” John Cox, University Librarian at NUI Galway, said: “The Flynn and Lehany archive adds to the regional coverage of our collections and is of great value given the enduring interest in the Arigna mines. It sits well with the John McGahern archive in particular.” -Ends-

Thursday, 2 March 2017

Moore Institute at NUI Galway will hold a roundtable discussion ‘Where to from here?’ based on the outcome of the Northern Ireland Assembly Election The outcome of the Northern Ireland Assembly election, taking place today (2 March), will be the subject of discussion and debate in a special event ‘Where to from here?’ being held in the Moore Institute at NUI Galway on Monday, 6 March at 12pm. The election, prompted by the scandal surrounding the Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme and the First Minister Arlene Foster, will reshape Northern Ireland politics. The resignation of Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness brought down the Assembly. McGuinness himself has not contested the election and has been replaced by Michelle O’Neill as Sinn Féin leader. NUI Galway academics with expertise in Northern Ireland politics, the peace process, and personal experience, will consider what happens next in this unique roundtable discussion. The panel includes Dr Rebecca Barr, Lecturer of English, School of Humanities; Dr Brendan Flynn, Lecturer, School of Political Science and Sociology; Dr Laurence Marley, Lecturer in History, School of Humanities; Dr Kate Quinn, Head of the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures; Dr Niall Ó Dochartaigh, Senior Lecturer, School of Political Science and Sociology; and Dr Kerry Sinanan, Visiting Research Fellow at the Moore Institute. Director of the Moore Institute, Professor Daniel Carey, said: “The departure of figures like Martin McGuinness and Peter Robinson has changed the landscape of politics in the North. It remains to be seen how Arlene Foster will contend with the heating scandal. With Brexit looming, the issue of a hard or soft border, and trade tariffs, there is much that lies in wait for the new Assembly.” The event is free and open to the public and will take place in the Moore Institute, Seminar Room G010 in the Hardiman Research Building at NUI Galway. -Ends-

Thursday, 2 March 2017

‘LaunchLab’ is aimed at aspiring student entrepreneurs Blackstone LaunchPad at NUI Galway formally opened LaunchLab this week. LaunchLab is a multidisciplinary experiential learning space that supports a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship through interaction, innovation and incubation.  LaunchLab hosts a series of laboratories aimed at enabling aspiring student entrepreneurs to advance their skills in various domains. The first programmes running in LaunchLab are a ‘Fintech Lab’ and ‘Social Simulation’ with the programme planning to expand to an ideation lab later in 2017. The Fintech Lab and Social Simulation will run training programs to enable students to develop a core set of skills in advanced analytics and simulation techniques across Fintech and social simulations. The labs are unique in that they are delivered in a peer-to-peer environment by students from Physics, Mathematics, Economics and Finance. Students are trained using the technologies and systems and then deliver content to peer groups on a weekly basis. Scientific lead and lecturer in Economics at NUI Galway, Dr Raghav Srinivas said: “In the technology led big-data driven growth of financial and business sectors, the global competition demands for hybrid and multi-skilled workforce. In this reality, academic disciplines can’t afford to operate in silos and it is imperative to find creative ways to collaborate and provide students with a broader set of interdisciplinary skill capabilities. The training programs envisaged in the FinTech and Social simulation labs are a modest attempt in this direction to develop interdisciplinary skill capacity in analytics, simulation and computing for students in NUI Galway.” The Fintech Lab: Blackstone LaunchPad and PERACTON® have partnered to offer this unique programme for NUI Galway. The Fintech lab works at the intersection of entrepreneurship and Fintech. The programme uses PERACTON® financial analytics platform (MAARS) to train students in risk assessment, algorithmic trading and portfolio management using diverse instruments of stocks, bonds and ETFs. PERACTON’s back-testing suite powered by Python will be used to train students to develop their own novel trading strategies. The goal of the course is to prepare the students for the future economic realities where machines will monitor and control financial markets in an uncontested manner. Additionally, a highly experimental sentiment data generated by SSIX EU H2020 project (https://ssix-project.eu/) will be available in Peracton's MAARS algorithmic platform towards the end of the course, so the students can take into account the social network's sentiments with regards to stocks and add them to their algorithmic strategies. The Social Simulation Lab: The Social Simulation training program trains students in Social System simulation using large scale models run on Python. Students will be trained in simulating social models of choice, competition, conflict and cooperation using multi-level, multi-agent systems employing range of techniques, including game-theoretic techniques. The aim of this program is to enable students with interdisciplinary analytical skills to explore the complexities of social systems. Laurentiu Vasiliu, Peracton's founder and CEO says: “Overwhelmingly, computer driven algorithms are now the main actors in financial markets. The financial industry is starting to come to terms that algo-trading and investment is now the norm. Therefore, students nowadays have to be prepared for such reality and with our MAARS platform we are helping them to adapt and thrive in such a globally competitive market.”  Professor Lokesh Joshi, Vice President for Research and the Blackstone LaunchPad Administrative Leader at NUI Galway outlined how all of these core elements are fundamental to the success of Blackstone LaunchPad at NUI Galway: “Our campus community is growing with over 3,000 students using Blackstone LaunchPad in just over a year. Interdisciplinarity, innovation and engagement are at the heart of Blackstone LaunchPad’s philosophy and it is fantastic to see this programme flourish on campus.” -Ends-

Wednesday, 1 March 2017

200 hundred couples and 1,000 individual parents are sought to take part in online study to understand the effects on families caring for children with non-physical disabilities NUI Galway has launched an international online ‘Couples Coping’ study for parents of children with non-physical disabilities. The research will be carried out throughout Ireland, the UK and the US until April 2017, and the researchers are particularly keen for couples in Ireland to participate in the survey. Dr Kristen Maglieri and Professor Brian Hughes from the School of Psychology at NUI Galway are recruiting couples to complete the online research study, exploring how parents in a relationship (married or unmarried) cope with the daily stresses of raising a child with a disability. The disabilities of interest include Intellectual Disability, Autism Spectrum Disorder, or genetic disorders such as Fragile X, Down Syndrome or Angelman Syndrome.  Dr Kristen Maglieri from NUI Galway, said: “We are looking for 200 couples and 1,000 individual parents to take part in our study in Ireland. Most of the previous research on these stresses on families has focused on how individual parents cope, and the vast majority of the respondents have been mums. To us, it just seemed like there was a big piece of the puzzle missing. We need to understand how dads cope and also how mums and dads cope together in a family system.” As one might expect, parents of children with disabilities experience more daily stress on average than parents of typically developing children. Long-term exposure to daily stress can impact a person’s physical and emotional health. As our physical and emotional health gets worse, it can impact marital satisfaction, life satisfaction, and outcomes for children.   Dr Maglieri added, “It is clear that families of children with disabilities confront significant challenges, but it’s also clear that these families do not all experience the same level of stress. We are trying to find out what makes the difference. By understanding how resilient families cope well with stress, we can hopefully learn how to help all other families to do so.” Professor Brian Hughes from the School of Psychology at NUI Galway, commented: “Parenting a child with a disability can be rewarding, but also extremely stressful. We know that parent stress can often impact negatively on the entire family system, and so reducing parent stress will help produce better outcomes for everybody in the family. To date, much of what we know about the impact on parents is anecdotal. We want this research to shine a light on the specific life experiences of parents.” The online questionnaire is available at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/parentcoping and takes 30 minutes to complete. Parents can also request a paper copy of the survey. Each parent independently completes the questionnaire. One parent can participate, even if their partner does not wish to do so. This study is for parents who have children or adult children living at home with non-physical disabilities. -Ends-


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