I OFTEN REFLECT ON THE SIGNIFICANCE
OF THAT HISTORIC DECISION IN THE
1840S TO ESTABLISH QUEEN’S COLLEGE
GALWAY.
THAT DECISION WAS TRANSFORMATIVE
FOR OUR COUNTRY – AND ESPECIALLY
OUR REGION.
OUR ROYAL VISITORS HAVE SEEN HOW –
170 YEARS LATER – OUR ACADEMICS, OUR
STUDENTS AND OUR RESEARCHERS – ARE
MAKING A REAL DIFFERENCE...
from President Browne’s speech during the visit of Their Royal Highnesses
19 May, 2015
REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT 2014/2015
National University of Ireland Galway
Phone: +353 (0)91 524 411
Email: info@nuigalway.ie
www.nuigalway.ie
The Hardiman Research Building has hosted many
public exhibitions and talks throughout the year.
Contents
04
06
10
12
14
20
24
28
32
A Message from the President
NUI Galway News
International News
Feature Article – Vision 2020
Inspirational Research
Community and Outreach
Student Success
Accolades and Achievements
NUI Galway at a Glance
04
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
THE ACADEMIC YEAR
2014/15 HAS BEEN A
VERY SIGNIFICANT
ONE, MARKED BY
MANY ACHIEVEMENTS
WHICH HIGHLIGHT
THE AMBITION AND
COMMITMENT OF
COLLEAGUES, STUDENTS
AND SUPPORTERS.
Vision 2020: facing the
future with ambition
Among the milestones of the past year was
the development of Vision 2020, the Strategic
Plan which will guide the University’s
growth and development over the next five
years.
Launched in March 2015, this ambitious
plan lays out a bold vision for our University.
The main goals are to ensure NUI Galway
moves into the top 200 universities
worldwide while securing €100 million in
competitive EU research funds.
For students, Vision 2020 promises workbased learning experiences across 80% of
undergraduate programmes. Students will
also benefit from new accommodation and
enhanced facilities for field and water sports.
Internationally, NUI Galway will maintain
and grow the global spread of its student
population, the five-year plan intends to
have 25% of the student body coming from
outside Ireland.
Locally, the University plans to develop a
major Industry and Innovation Hub and will
lead Galway’s bid for European Capital of
Culture 2020.
I’m confident that Vision 2020 is deliverable,
built as it is on a platform of success and
a long tradition of facing the future with
ambition.
Gender Equality
One of the main actions identified in
Vision 2020 is a transformation of our
organisational culture to achieve gender
equality and empower all staff to reach their
full potential.
Towards that goal we established a Task
Force on Gender Equality which has made a
number of far-reaching recommendations to
date. We have also signed up to the Athena
SWAN Charter in February 2015 and are
working towards the achievement of the
Athena SWAN Bronze award.
While unsuccessful in securing the Award
this year, the rigorous self-appraisal process
has prompted an institution-wide assessment
of gender equality in our policies, procedures
and culture.
Both initiatives have identified a range of
targeted actions which we are committed to
implement, so that we become an exemplar
of equality in higher education.
President of Ireland’s
Ethics Initiative
As part of his inaugural address, President
of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins committed
his term would be shaped as a presidency of
ideas and transformation.
His Ethics Initiative in 2014 was an
invitation to Irish people to engage in
a national conversation about ethics,
discussing the values by which we might live
together as a society. As part of the Irish
universities’ response, NUI Galway hosted
a number of very successful events under
the aegis of the President of Ireland’s Ethics
Initiative.
05
Rewarding Excellence
Recognising that our staff are our greatest resource, I’m very pleased to be able to recognise
the talent and commitment of colleagues across all areas of University activity.
Research
Teaching
Research is at the heart of what we do and
the following research leaders were presented
with President’s Awards for Research
Excellence during the year:
In recognition of the outstanding teachers
among our academic community the
following were winners of the 2014/15
President’s Awards for Teaching Excellence:
Early Stage Researcher:
• Dr Karen Doyle, School of Medicine
• Dr Michel Dugon, School of Natural Sciences
• Dr Frances McCormack, School of Humanities
• Dr Niall Ó Dochartaigh, School of Political Science and Sociology
• Dr Jerome Sheahan, School of
Mathematics, Statistics and Applied Mathematics
• Dr Eilionóir Flynn, Acting Director, Centre for Disability Law, Institute for Lifecourse and Society
• Dr Elaine Dunleavy, Centre for
Chromosome Biology and School of Natural Sciences
• Professor Declan Devane, School of Nursing and Midwifery
Established Researcher:
These included four public lectures by
international experts on themes as diverse as
power-sharing, social equality and poverty;
and theories of liberty; a series of academic
lectures on political theory and ethics; and
a one-day conference entitled, The Human
Right to Health. A total of over 800 guests
attended these events – drawing audiences
from among students, academics, alumni and
the general public.
As we look back on the year, I reflect on a
year full of achievement. I am confident that
working together with colleagues, students,
alumni and our partners in the wider
community, we can continue to strengthen our
position and to realise the ambitious goals we
have set ourselves for the future.
Yours sincerely,
James J. Browne, PhD, DSc, MRIA, C.Eng
President
NUI Galway
• Professor Steven Ellis, Professor of History, School of Humanities
• Dr Molly Byrne, HRB Research Leader and School of Psychology
• Professor Afshin Samali, Apoptosis Research Centre and School of Natural Sciences
Research Supervisor:
• Dr Aaron Potito, Head of School of Geography and Archaeology
• Dr Patrick McGarry, Lecturer in Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering and Informatics
• Dr Laoise McNamara, Lecturer in Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering and Informatics.
In support of innovation at NUI Galway, the
2015 Ryan Award for Innovation went to
the team behind the Galway Energy-Efficient
Car’ (the Geec), consisting of Engineering
lecturers, Dr Nathan Quinlan, Dr Rory
Monaghan and Dr Maeve Duffy.
These colleagues worked with a team of NUI
Galway engineering students to design and
build a fuel-efficient car which can achieve
the equivalent of 8,000 miles per gallon!
Read more on Page 25.
Now in its second year, the Ryan Award for
Innovation, supported by the Tony Ryan
Trust, provides €25,000 of funding towards
translating innovative ideas in the area of
Environment, Marine and Energy into
outputs with societal and economic impact.
Support Services
During the year we established the
President’s Awards for Support Service
Excellence to reward the outstanding
contribution of staff in the support services.
Almost 40 support staff and teams were
nominated for these awards with winners
chosen by a panel of internal and external
reviewers. The Inaugural Awardees for
Support Service Excellence were:
• Ann Marie Keelan, HR Office
• Lorraine McIlrath, CELT
• Administrative Team, School of
Mathematics, Statistics & Applied Mathematics (Noelle Gannon, Mary Kelly, Collette McLoughlin)
• Karen Dooley, Buildings Office
• Declan Coogan, School of Psychology
06
NUI GALWAY NEWS
IT HAS BEEN AN EVENTFUL YEAR AT
NUI GALWAY WITH A ROYAL VISIT
TO CAMPUS AND MANY EXCITING
DEVELOPMENTS NATIONALLY AND
INTERNATIONALLY.
Their Royal Highnesses visit NUI Galway.
On 19 May 2015, Their Royal Highnesses The
Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall
visited NUI Galway for the start of their visit to
Galway, Clare and Sligo.
President Browne added: “I often reflect on
the significance of that historic decision in the
1840s to establish three Queen’s Colleges in
Galway, Cork and Belfast.
The visitors were greeted by a display of Irish
music and dance curated by Tourism Ireland
in the Quadrangle, followed by an exhibition
showcasing NUI Galway’s heritage and
research. They also met with with students
from Ireland and across the Commonwealth.
That decision at a time of real austerity was
transformative for our country - and especially
our region.
NUI Galway’s prestigious history, which spans
170 years to its foundation in 1845 as Queen’s
College Galway, gave huge resonance to the
occasion.
In the Aula Maxima, in front of an invited
audience, Prince Charles spoke of his feelings
about the visit. “I must say it is a very great
pleasure to be with you on this occasion, for
both my wife and I. I am hugely grateful to
the President, Dr Jim Browne, for his very
generous and warm words. Today as we join
all of you at this hallowed university, to which
my Great Great Great Grandmother originally
gave a Charter all those years ago in 1849, it is
even more special.”
Our royal visitors have seen how 170 years
later - our academics, our students and our
researchers are making a real difference.”
There followed a special ceremony, during
which Their Royal Highnesses planted a sessile
oak beside the Quadrangle. The sessile oak is
the national tree of Ireland and Wales and is
also known as the Cornish Oak.
Around the world, media outlets broadcast
pictures and details of the event.
07
NUI GALWAY NEWS
“We join all
of you at this
hallowed
university, to
which my Great
Great Great
Grandmother
originally gave
a Charter all
those years ago”
The Prince of Wales
Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall.
08
NUI GALWAY NEWS
NUI Galway
was part of the
worldwide
Yeats 2015 series
of cultural
events marking
the 150th
birthday of
W.B. Yeats
Thoor Ballylee, the former home of W.B. Yeats in County Galway.
09
NUI GALWAY NEWS
Celebrating Yeats 2015
Medical device research
Enduring legacy
A major exhibition at NUI Galway was part
of the worldwide Yeats 2015 series of cultural
events marking the 150th birthday of W.B. Yeats.
The University’s Moore Institute and Hardiman
Library presented ‘Yeats & the West’, an
exhibition exploring W.B. Yeats’ life, work, legacy
and deep connections to the west of Ireland.
A new world-class medical device research centre
has been established at NUI Galway as part of a
€245 million Government investment in science
and technology.
The legacy of world-renowned human rights
lawyer and scholar, the late Professor Kevin
Boyle, endures at NUI Galway. On 28 November
2014, his personal archive was launched by
Attorney General, Máire Whelan, S.C.. The
archive contains a wealth of material and unique
insights into the field of human rights, legal
research and scholarship.
Rare artworks, books, original documents and
exclusive film clips feature in the interactive
exhibition which continues until the end of the
year.
Items on display reflect W.B. Yeats’ attention to
life, love, and landscape in Galway, Sligo, and
beyond. ‘Yeats & the West’ details the many
artistic collaborations between artists inspired by
the western world, that centred on Coole Park.
The exhibition follows the foundation of the
Abbey Theatre in Galway, and W.B. Yeats’ work
with J.M. Synge, George Moore and Edward
Martyn, using exclusive materials from NUI
Galway’s Lady Gregory Collection, the Abbey
Digital Archive, and the Lyric Theatre Belfast
archive.
It explores his interest in local poet, Antaine
Raiftearaí, and highlights the gifted artists of
W.B. Yeats’ own family, whose pioneering work
is showcased in exquisite handprinted books
and in embroidery from Loughrea’s St. Brendan’s
Cathedral.
Original watercolour sketches and oils by W.B.
Yeats’ brother, the celebrated artist Jack B. Yeats,
also feature.
CÚRAM, the Centre for Research in Medical
Devices, will radically improve health
outcomes for patients by developing innovative
implantable medical devices. The aim is to
treat major unmet medical needs, benefiting in
particular patients with chronic heart disease,
diabetes and musculoskeletal diseases.
Cutting-edge science will develop devices using
the very latest research from biomaterials, stem
cells and drug delivery systems. Devices will be
developed with clinical collaborators, industry
partners and hospital groups to enable rapid
translation to the clinic.
With funding delivered through the Science
Foundation Ireland Research Centres
Programme, CÚRAM brings together
researchers from NUI Galway, UCD, DCU, UL,
UCC and RCSI. The centre includes almost
40 industry partners and supports product
development and the creation of new spin-out
companies. Crucially, CÚRAM will also sustain
and permanently strengthen Ireland’s standing
as a major global hub for medical device sector
research and development.
The announcement came on 21 October,
2014, from Richard Bruton, T.D. Minister for
Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, and Damien
English, T.D. Minister for Skills, Research and
Innovation. NUI Galway will also play a key
role in two other research centres announced
at the time, the Centre for Research in Applied
Geosciences (iCrag) and the Lero Software
Research Centre.
Kindly donated by the Boyle family following
Kevin’s untimely passing in 2010, the archive
has been catalogued by the University’s James
Hardiman Library, and represents a major
resource for the study and teaching of
human rights.
Professor Boyle, who came originally from
Newry, began his career at Queen’s University
Belfast where he was deeply engaged in the civil
rights movement. In the late 1970s he joined
NUI Galway where he co-founded the Irish
Centre for Human Rights with Denny Driscoll in
1980. He also served as a special advisor to Mary
Robinson from September 2001, when she was
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
An international symposium, hosted by
NUI Galway’s School of Law and the Irish Centre
for Human Rights, also took place to celebrate
Professor Boyle’s career. The keynote address was
provided by Professor Sir Nigel Rodley, Chair of
the United Nations Human Rights Committee.
10
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Dr Jim Browne
and Ms Chen
Xu, Chairperson
of Tsinghua
University
Council, signed
an exchange
agreement in
front of the
Presidents of
Ireland and
China
11
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NUI Galway strengthened its ties
with leading universities around
the world in recent months
and proved successful in global
rankings.
University collaborations
International visitors
Rankings and research
The University has academic exchange and
collaboration with 30 institutions throughout China
and Hong Kong. In December 2014, a high-level
institutional agreement with Tsinghua University,
Beijing was signed by Dr Jim Browne and Ms Chen
Xu, Chairperson of Tsinghua University Council.
One of Asia’s leading universities, Tsinghua
University has had longstanding co-operation in
teaching and research with NUI Galway.
The University had a series of high-profile visitors
over the last 12 months. Their Royal Highnesses,
The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall,
visited NUI Galway in May 2015 (more on page 6).
NUI Galway has gone against the national
trend and is consistently increasing its position
over recent years in the most respected and
competitive world rankings. In autumn 2014,
NUI Galway was the only Irish university
to increase its position in the Times Higher
Education (314) and QS Ranking (284),
which are the two main international measures
of reputation. NUI Galway also ranked in the
Top 100 most international universities in
2015 in Times Higher Education’s indicator for
international outlook.
The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) was witnessed by President of Ireland,
Michael D. Higgins, and President of China, Xi
Jinping, in The Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
Both Presidents are alumni of their respective
universities.
In April 2015, NUI Galway signed a co-operation
agreement with Addis Ababa Science and
Technology University (AASTU). With the
support of the Ethiopian government, NUI Galway
will serve as a developmental partner to AASTU,
helping it to become an internationally recognised
hub of science, technology and higher education.
AASTU was founded by the Ethiopian government
in 2011 with a mission to become a leading force in
higher education in Ethiopia, a country with one of
the fastest growing economies in the world.
September 2014 saw an agreement to formalise
collaborative ties with the Mayo Clinic Centre
for Regenerative Medicine in the US. The MOU
signing follows many years of close cooperation,
and paves the way for joint collaborations in clinical
trials using regenerative therapies, biomaterials
and biomedical engineering. The agreement also
facilitates ongoing student and staff exchange
between Galway and the US.
This was followed in October 2014 by the signing
of significant partnership agreements with the
University of Massachusetts, led by the Chancellors
of UMass Medical School, based in Worcester and
UMass, Lowell.
In July 2015, NUI Galway conferred an Honorary
Degree on President of the Federal Republic of
Germany, His Excellency Joachim Gauck (photo
on page 28). President Gauck visited NUI Galway
during his State Visit to Ireland and participated in
a Roundtable Symposium on Human Rights and
Development at the Irish Centre for Human Rights.
The event was also attended by President of Ireland,
Michael D. Higgins.
NUI Galway has strong ties with the US. Nearly
1,000 US citizens enrol as full-time students at
NUI Galway each year. The University has one of
the largest Junior Year Abroad ( JYA) programmes
in Ireland, receiving students from well over 100 US
university partners.
The University welcomed the Mayor of Boston,
Martin J. (“Marty”) Walsh, in September 2014.
The event included NUI Galway research leaders,
and representatives from IDA Ireland, Enterprise
Ireland and companies with strong Boston-Galway
connections.
September 2014 also saw the visit to campus of
Seattle Mayor, Ed Murray, who gave a seminar to
the School of Law on his work as legislator and in
particular his advocacy work in relation to LGBT
rights, marriage equality and employment.
Other ambassadors welcomed to campus during the
year were those representing the US, Germany, UK,
Italy, Argentina, India and France.
The European Commission’s U-Multi-rank
system in 2015 scored NUI Galway the highest
ranking of four A-grades.
NUI Galway has also outperformed other Irish
universities by securing the highest amount of
funding during the first nine months of the EU’s
Horizon 2020 funding programme.
Such success in research was echoed by the
Blackstone Charitable Foundation which
announced in July 2015 the first international
expansion of its campus entrepreneurship
programme, Blackstone LaunchPad, to Ireland.
The announcement event was attended by
An Taoiseach Enda Kenny T.D. and the US
Ambassador to Ireland Kevin O’Malley.
The Blackstone Charitable Foundation’s threeyear, €2 million grant established a partnership
between NUI Galway, Trinity College Dublin,
and University College Cork to introduce
entrepreneurship as a viable career option and
provide students with a network of venture
coaches and an entrepreneurial support system. 12
FEATURE ARTICLE
Ambitious aims
for 2015–2020
13
FEATURE ARTICLE
OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, NUI GALWAY
HAS AMBITIOUS PLANS TO CATAPULT
THROUGH INTERNATIONAL RANKINGS
INTO THE TOP 200 UNIVERSITIES
WORLDWIDE. IN TANDEM, IT INTENDS TO
SECURE €100 MILLION IN COMPETITIVE EU
RESEARCH FUNDS.
Vision 2020
International intent
Local development
Ambitious targets are part of Vision 2020, the
University’s new Strategic Plan 2015–2020,
which was unveiled on 26 March 2015.
Internationally, NUI Galway will maintain
and grow the global spread of its student
population; the five-year plan intends to have
25% of the student body coming from outside
Ireland. With its growing profile, NUI Galway
will pursue an ambitious internationalisation
agenda. It will commit to, and focus energy on,
being a top 200 ranked university by 2020.
Among the targets outlined, the University
has committed to the construction of new
sports facilities, to include an elite water sports
facility; 3G synthetic training and competition
facility for all sporting codes; additional sports
pitch; as well as an upgrade of existing natural
grass surfaces.
The past decade has been a period of
transformation and rapid growth for
NUI Galway, especially in terms of the
campus. With the development of new
buildings, facilities and research laboratories,
€400 million has been invested in capital
development programmes.
Vision 2020 will now build on the strengths
of the University community by investing
in and supporting NUI Galway as it
becomes recognised locally, nationally and
internationally as a university of choice,
relevance and renown in the eyes if the world.
Staff and students
For students, Vision 2020 promises workbased learning experiences across 80% of
undergraduate programmes. Successes in
student retention, at the very high rate of
84%, will also be maintained. Students will
also benefit from new accommodation and
enhanced facilities for field and water sports.
The University is also recognised in its
leadership in the use of online and blended
learning technologies; and in its recruitment
of students from non-traditional backgrounds.
Vision 2020 will see these accomplishments
enhanced, including revised admissions
requirements for students applying from
Northern Ireland and Great Britain.
NUI Galway intends to serve and engage with
its diverse communities in mutually-enriching
ways, through enhanced relationships on
campus, in the region and around the world.
Among its commitment to communities
it serves, is its focus on equality for staff.
NUI Galway will continue its key agenda of
achieving gender equality and empowering
staff to reach their full potential.
With this aim of becoming one of the world’s
top-tier universities, NUI Galway will build on
relationships of substance that span the globe.
This ambition will be driven by the University’s
focus on internationally-recognised
achievements in specific areas of teaching,
research, and community engagement.
EU research funds
Building on the University’s success to date
with European Research Council (ERC)
grants, Vision 2020 commits to securing €100
million research funding from EU programmes.
The University has prioritised five cross–
disciplinary research themes, building on its
international success: Applied Social Sciences
and Public Policy; Biomedical Science and
Engineering; Environment, Marine and
Energy; Humanities in Context, including
Digital Humanities; and Informatics, Data
Analytics, Physical and Computational
Sciences.
A major success in recent years has been the
expansion of PhD research at NUI Galway to
have one of the highest rates of enrolment in
Ireland on structured PhD programmes. The
University will target in excess of 200 doctoral
graduates per annum by 2020 and 80% of
PhD students participating in structured PhD
programmes, up from 40%.
In addition, the University plans to make
almost 1,000 new student residences available
– bolstering its commitment to attracting
international students. A new purpose-built
home for Drama, Theatre and Performance will
also be completed.
Locally, the University also plans to develop a
major Industry and Innovation Hub, and lead
Galway’s bid for European Capital of Culture
2020.
To view a full copy of the Strategic Plan visit
www.nuigalway.ie/vision2020/
14
INSPIRATIONAL RESEARCH
Dr Nata
Duvvury is
investigating
the social
and economic
costs of
violence
against women
and girls in
developing
countries
15
INSPIRATIONAL RESEARCH
NUI GALWAY’S RESEARCHERS TAKE
ON SOME OF THE MOST PRESSING
CHALLENGES OF OUR TIMES AND
BRING REAL IMPACT TO LIVES
AROUND THE WORLD.
Combatting violence against women and girls
In February 2015, a new research project
was announced to investigate the social and
economic costs of violence against women and
girls in developing countries. Led by Dr Nata
Duvvury at NUI Galway, the project is funded
by the UK’s Department for International
Development to the value of £1.5 million.
Violence against women and girls is a global
issue according to Dr Nata Duvvury, an
established global expert in the field, and
Co-Director of NUI Galway’s Centre
for Global Women’s Studies: “We need
an immediate, pragmatic, informed and
coherent response across nations. We
understand today, more than ever before,
the debilitating impact it has on individuals,
families and communities. What we now
need to understand are the myriad impacts of
violence on the economy and society, we can
then identify which interventions need to be
prioritised for the benefit of individuals and
society as a whole.”
NUI Galway will lead an international team
comprising Ipsos MORI in the UK and the
International Centre for Research on Women
(ICRW) in the US on the three-year project.
The ambitious project will take a multidisciplinary approach, involving experts in
economics and the social sciences, including
political science, sociology, gender studies,
public health and psychology.
The research aims to pinpoint identifiable links
between violence against women and girls and
the economic impact this has on nations at
differing stages of development. The focus will
be on three countries - Ghana, Pakistan and
South Sudan and over 4,500 women will be
surveyed. Researchers will carry out in-depth
interviews with survivors of violence.
By producing new empirical research and
evidence on the economic and social costs,
the research project will strengthen the
argument for resources to implement laws,
provide health and social support services,
and to mobilise communities to shift the social
norms that underpin violence against women
and girls.
There is growing interest in estimating the
socio-economic impact of violence against
women in many parts of the world. In a
previous study led by Dr Duvvury, on costing
domestic violence against women in Vietnam,
the estimated loss of productivity, out-ofpocket expenditures, and foregone income for
households came to about 3.19% of GDP.
The project is part of the UK Department for
International Development’s investment of
£25 million over five years, in a pioneering
violence against women and girls Research
and Innovation programme called ‘What
Works to Prevent Violence’.
16
INSPIRATIONAL RESEARCH
Stem cell trials
War on pathogens
Hope for orphans
Following on from the official opening of the
Centre for Cell Manufacturing Ireland (CCMI)
in 2014, the custom-built facility at NUI Galway
designed to manufacture stem cells, a number of
human clinical trials have progressed. The first
clinical trial using CCMI-manufactured stem
cells, funded by the Health Research Board and
Science Foundation Ireland, is underway. The
trial is investigating the safety of using stem cells
isolated from bone marrow for the treatment of
critical limb ischemia, a common complication
associated with diabetes which can often result
in limb amputation.
A new war is being waged by scientists at Aquila
Bioscience on disease-causing bacteria, viruses
and biotoxins. The NUI Galway
spin-out company signed a deal with the
European Defence Agency to develop
decontamination products that are portable,
non-toxic and environmentally friendly.
An estimated eight million children worldwide
live in institutions and so-called orphanages.
Often these children are very poor, disabled or
from minorities. However, at least 80% have
living parents, most of who could look after them
with some support.
The project is led by Professor Timothy O’Brien,
Director of the Regenerative Medicine Institute
(REMEDI) at NUI Galway. Professor O’Brien
is also leading a new €6 million research project
(NEPHSTROM) to combat diabetic kidney
disease. The project has been funded by the
European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme to
evaluate the clinical safety and efficacy of a nextgeneration cell therapy discovered by
NUI Galway spin-out, Orbsen Therapeutics.
In another example of ground-breaking stem cell
research, a large-scale clinical trial using adult
stem cells to treat knee osteoarthritis is expected
to be underway across Europe by the end of
2015. Almost €6 million has been granted to the
project, also by the EU’s Horizon 2020 research
funding programme. The project will include
18 partners from Ireland, France, the UK,
Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, and will be
led by REMEDI.
Aquila’s expertise lies in understanding cell
biology and the role of complex sugars - or
glycans - which pathogens use to interact with
and invade host cells. The company will deliver
a novel strategy to decontaminate physical and
biological surfaces by capturing pathogens using
sugar-protein coated materials. The method will
be used to combat a range of pathogens, and
will be safe for military defence equipment and
personnel.
Pathogenic bacteria, viruses and many biotoxins
display specialised sugars and sugar-binding
proteins on their surface. The spin-out will use
its expertise in glycobiology to develop novel
strategies to inhibit pathogens binding to host
surfaces by neutralising their sugars.
NUI Galway’s Lokesh Joshi is Science
Foundation Ireland Stokes Professor of
Glycosciences and a co-founder of Aquila.
He has ambitions to take this approach to the
fight against Ebola. “Aquila and the glycoscience
group in NUI Galway are looking at different
strategies to prevent Ebola binding and to
decontaminate surfaces infected with Ebola.
These strategies can also be used for other virus
and bacterial pathogens that may cause serious
threat to the society.”
Eighty years of scientific research has shown that
children are best raised in families. Growing up
in institutional care has a negative impact on
children’s physical, intellectual and emotional
development.
A new research partnership between J.K.
Rowling’s international children’s organisation,
Lumos, and the UNESCO Child and Family
Research Centre at NUI Galway hopes to
transform the lives of these children.
Announced in July 2015, the research
partnership aims to increase global
understanding of why so many children are
separated from families and placed in orphanages
in different regions of the world. It will also
evaluate methods of deinstitutionalisation, and
investigate the best ways to support families
to stay together. Lumos has a track record in
countries such as Moldova, Bulgaria and the
Czech Republic - demonstrating that most
children can be reunited with families given the
right support.
With a generous grant from The Atlantic
Philanthropies, the partnership will see the
UNESCO Chair in Children, Youth and
Civic Engagement, Professor Pat Dolan at
NUI Galway, work with UNESCO Chair in
Rural Community, Leadership, and Youth
Development, Professor Mark Brennan, at
Pennsylvania State University, on the project.
17
INSPIRATIONAL RESEARCH
J.K. Rowling’s
organisation
Lumos, and
the UNESCO
Child and
Family Research
Centre, hope to
transform the
lives of eight
million children
1818
INSPIRATIONAL
RESEARCH
INSPIRATIONAL
RESEARCH
Risky fish
Robots for old age
Genetics of fruit flies
Popular North Sea fish such as haddock, plaice
and lemon sole could become less common on
our menus because they will be constrained to
preferred habitats as seas warm, according to a
study published in April 2015 in Nature Climate
Change and authored by a team including
Professor Mark Johnson of the Ryan Institute at
NUI Galway.
A new European research project aimed at
managing active and healthy ageing through the
use of caring service robots began at
NUI Galway in February 2015. The MARIO
project brings together a consortium of partners
from academic institutions and industry across
Europe, led by the School of Nursing and
Midwifery at NUI Galway.
In June 2015, NUI Galway’s Dr Elaine Dunleavy
was announced as the recipient of the Science
Foundation Ireland President of Ireland Young
Researcher Award (PIYRA). The researcher
was welcomed at a reception with the President
of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, at Áras an
Uachtaráin to mark the announcement.
The team took survey data dating back as far
as 1980 and used the change in distribution
between decades to derive predictive models.
In the last 40 years the North Sea has warmed
four times faster than the global average, and
further warming is predicted over the coming
century. The North Sea is associated with fish
landings valued at over $1 billion, leading to
great interest in how changing environmental
conditions will impact on commercial species.
Funded by the EU Horizon 2020 research and
innovation programme, it assembles a team of
international experts from academia, industry
and dementia groups to work collaboratively in
tackling the burdens imposed by dementia and
developing innovative solutions using caring
robots.
Fish distributions are limited by a number
of factors, including water temperature, and
some species can only thrive in certain habitats
and depths. The research developed models
that combine long-term fisheries datasets
and climate model projections to predict the
abundance and distribution of the consumers’
favourite fish over the next 50 years. As the
North Sea warms, species appear to choose
habitats of a suitable depth over the benefits
of moving to cooler waters. Due to higher
temperatures in the future, many of the species
studied may reduce in relative abundance.
The €4 million project will last for three years
during which three pilot studies of robots
interacting with people with dementia will be
undertaken in Ireland, the UK and Italy.
Professor Kathy Murphy of the School of
Nursing and Midwifery at NUI Galway,
explains: “MARIO is an exciting and innovative
project that will make a huge difference to
the lives of people with dementia. We will be
working directly with people with dementia
to ensure that the issues they see as important
are addressed. Multi-faceted interventions
will be developed, which will be delivered by
humanoid robots.”
The award will support Dr Dunleavy’s research
in the field of genetics and will focus on gaining
an increased understanding of how stem cells
divide. Dr Dunleavy’s approach will utilise
genetic manipulations in fruit fly stem cells,
combined with state-of-the-art high-resolution
imaging, to investigate genes and molecules
that impact stem cell identity. Data generated
from this research will substantially improve our
knowledge of mechanisms of genome stability
in stem cells with implications for fertility,
reproduction, ageing, cancer and regenerative
medicine.
PIYRA is Science Foundation Ireland’s most
esteemed award for researchers who have
shown exceptional promise as possible future
leaders in international research and are known
for excellence in their field.
Dr Dunleavy previously received funding
for her work from the SFI-Health Research
Board-Wellcome Trust Biomedical Research
Partnership in 2013.
Professor Brian McStay, a colleague in the
Centre for Chromosome Biology, School of
Natural Sciences at NUI Galway, also became
a recipient of funding from the Wellcome
Trust partnership to study uncharacterised
regions of the genome that could advance
our understanding of a wide range of human
diseases.
19
INSPIRATIONAL RESEARCH
Dr Elaine
Dunleavy is
researching
fruit flies to
advance our
understanding
of fertility,
reproduction,
ageing, cancer
and regenerative
medicine
20
COMMUNITY AND OUTREACH
The interactive
exhibition
invites visitors
to learn and
discover more
about everyday
science and the
environment
21
COMMUNITY AND OUTREACH
NUI GALWAY IS ENGAGED WITH ITS
COMMUNITY, CONTRIBUTING TO
CULTURE AND SOCIETY NATIONALLY
AND INTERNATIONALLY. RESEARCH
COMMUNICATION AND OUTREACH
PLAYS A PARTICULARLY STRONG ROLE.
SeaScience at Galway Museum
Galway City Museum, together with the Ryan
Institute at NUI Galway, launched SeaScience
on 4 November 2014. The interactive
exhibition invites visitors to learn and
discover more about everyday science and the
environment, and research at NUI Galway.
SeaScience was designed and developed to
get visitors excited with regard to learning
about the ocean and the amazing landscape
of the west of Ireland. Visitors also learn
about the diverse research that scientists and
engineers at NUI Galway’s Ryan Institute are
conducting.
Visitors can take a journey in the minisuper-submarine or explore the dark room
of glowing plankton. Exhibits explain what
electricity is and where it comes from, or what
sound is and how scientists use it to map the
sea floor. There is also information on what
happens when rubbish ends up in the ocean.
As a semi-permanent feature of the museum,
SeaScience will be in place for a number of
years, and is free and open to the public.
During the year many activities
linked the community with the
cutting-edge research taking
place at NUI Galway
Science Festival
The 17th Galway Science and Technology
Festival, part of National Science Week, took
place from 10-23 November 2014. NUI Galway
featured educational tours of the Zoology
and Marine Biology Museum, James Mitchell
Geology Museum, Computer Museum and
newly opened SeaScience exhibit at Galway
Museum. The final day Festival Exhibition took
place in the Bailey Allen Hall at NUI Galway,
with thousands attending.
Rail Girls
‘Rail Girls’, a worldwide movement that aims
to bridge the gender divide in technology
and teach women how to code, came back to
Galway for a third time in June 2015. The free
weekend workshop, funded by NUI Galway’s
Insight Centre for Data Analytics’ Outreach
Programme, encouraged females of all ages
into the world of building web applications and
software services.
Public talks
Many members of the public attended
numerous public talks hosted on campus by
researchers. An array of topics included ebola,
comets, American music, human rights, politics,
Irish furniture and Fionn mac Cumhaill.
Pint of Science
The ‘Pint of Science’ international Festival
took place in Galway in May 2015. During
the Festival a line-up of scientists engaged the
public with the latest in science research in
an accessible format. More than 20 scientists
from NUI Galway and affiliated institutes and
centres, met the general public to talk about the
research advances in their fields.
22
COMMUNITY AND OUTREACH
EXPLORE initiative
Year of Light
The first scheme of its kind in Irish higher
education, the EXPLORE initiative at
NUI Galway has delivered over 80 projects,
nationally and globally, with more than 500
participants. Over 12,000 school children have
directly engaged with EXPLORE, while digital
teaching and study aids created by EXPLORE
projects have had well in excess of 60,000 views.
EXPLORE fosters an innovative, ideas culture
where students and staff are encouraged to
come up with ideas and run with them. It is
about building a network of campus innovators.
EXPLORE gives students a real opportunity to
transform ideas into practice.
The UN designated 2015 the UNESCO
International Year of Light and President of
Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, was announced as
the LIGHT2015 Ireland Patron. NUI Galway
is coordinating Ireland’s involvement with a
series of events across the country. Schools
were invited to learn more about the science
of light and the contribution of light to our
communities.
For example, Laoise Breathnach, Principal of
Scoil Iognáid, came up with an idea to start
a project with NUI Galway student teachers
to provide a series of enrichment workshops
that would serve the needs of gifted pupils
as Gaeilge. Laoise teamed up with Sinéad
Ní Ghuidhir from NUI Galway’s School of
Education and challenged student teachers
on the Dioplóma Gairmiúil san Oideachas in
NUI Galway to design and deliver a series of
resources, lessons and workshops for a group
of gifted pupils. Almost 12 months on, and as
a result of the great work of Daltaí Tréitheacha,
exceptional pupils can now avail of relevant
courses and workshops as Gaeilge.
This was the first time NUI Galway student
teachers provided a series of enrichment
workshops in a Gaelscoil in Galway city, serving
the needs of gifted pupils in the language they
use daily, Gaeilge. The student teachers provided
a series of workshops over a number of weeks
in Forensic Science, Code Breaking, Language
Acquisition, Cultural Studies, Music and Dance,
and the response from all involved was very
enthusiastic. LIGHT2015 is a global initiative adopted by the
United Nations to raise awareness of how optical
technologies promote sustainable development
and provide solutions to worldwide
challenges in energy, education, agriculture,
communications and health.
Leading the initiative in Ireland is Professor
Martin Leahy from NUI Galway’s School
of Physics. “Light particles, or photons, are
harnessed for use in the world around us.
Photonics is the science and technology of
generating, controlling, and detecting photons.
We are no longer in the electronic age. The 21st
century is all about harnessing light through
photonics. We have truly entered the Photonics
Era.”
LIGHT2015 represents a unique opportunity
to marry science, engineering, medicine and the
arts - particularly cinema and the fine arts. As
part of the International Year of Light, children
will have the chance to have their art projected
onto walls in city centre locations and also to
develop apps.
Youth Academy
NUI Galway conferred special certificates on
the seventh cohort of ‘graduates’ from its Youth
Academy on 31 March 2015. A total of 225
primary school children from across the western
region received their certificates.
Established in 2012, the Youth Academy aims
to inspire entry to university by introducing
primary school students and their families
to university life. Since its foundation, over
1,000 students have graduated from a variety
of courses on Saturday mornings ranging from
Italian to Film Studies, Engineering to English
Literature and Drama, Cell-EXPLORERS and
Kitchen Chemistry to Smart Act-Aisteoirí óga
anseo!, and The World of Cops and Robbers.
The Youth Academy runs for a six-week period
and works with high-ability fourth, fifth and
sixth-class primary school children to support
their learning and academic development, in
partnership with their primary schools.
23
COMMUNITY AND OUTREACH
NUI Galway’s
Youth Academy
introduces
primary school
students and
their families to
university life
24
STUDENT SUCCESS
Engineering
student, Mary
Rose McLoone,
drove the fuelefficient car
which can
achieve 8,000
miles per gallon
25
STUDENT SUCCESS
OUR STUDENTS ARE EMPOWERED TO
DISCOVER THEIR TRUE POTENTIAL
AND TO DIRECT THEIR OWN FUTURES.
Energy engineering
NUI Awards
Sports Scholarships
A team of NUI Galway engineering students
designed and built a fuel-efficient car which can
achieve the equivalent of 8,000 miles per gallon.
The Galway energy-efficient car (the Geec), is
a three-wheeled battery-electric car which took
over two years to develop. The overall aim of the
car’s design was to break the barrier of €1 for
a Galway-Dublin drive, but the finished Geec
would use just 13 cent.
Graduates and students of NUI Galway
featured prominently at the annual NUI Awards
ceremony which took place in November
2014 in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham taking
home an impressive 40 awards. Included in this
number were two recipients from St. Angela’s
College in Sligo, which is a partner college of
NUI Galway.
NUI Galway supports athletes from a range of
sports in their academic and athletic endeavour
to achieve their personal best in both areas.
In May 2015, the team raced the car in the
European round of the Shell Eco-marathon in
Rotterdam. Student engineers and scientists
from 26 countries, aged 16-25 competed against
each other to find the world’s most fuel-efficient
and energy-efficient cars. Team NUI Galway
was the first Irish entry ever to participate in
the event, and the team decided to go all-out
on their final run and planned a new driving
strategy.
“Using the brake negatively affects the efficiency
of the car,” explained engineering student Mary
Rose McLoone, from Glenties, Co. Donegal,
who drove the Geec on the final run, “so it was
important I was able to manoeuvre between
other cars while also driving efficiently and
safely. I had to stay aware of my lap time, my
motor speed and other cars around me.”
The team finished in the top half of the leader
board in its class.
Two NUI Travelling Studentships in the
Sciences were awarded to NUI Galway
Engineering graduates Edward Fagan and
Sinéad O’Halloran. Sinéad also picked up the
Pierce Malone Scholarship.
Other scholarships and awards include the
EJ Phelan Scholarship in International Law
which was awarded to NUI Galway’s Amina
Adanan. The Denis Phelan Scholarship in
Humanities and Social Sciences was awarded
to Francis Kelly, with Felim O’Toole picking
up the NUI Club London Scholarship. The
French Government Medal and NUI Prize
for Proficiency in French was awarded to
Caolán O’Donnell. PhD student Alena Yuryna
Connolly was presented with the Fulbright/
NUI Visiting Researcher Award.
The Dr Henry Hutchinson Stewart Literary
scholarships and prizes were awarded to: Nicola
de Faoite and Róisín Egan, Gaeilge; Leisha
Marlow, German; and Jennifer Bent, Spanish.
The Scoláireacht agus Duais Chiste Theach an
Ardmhéara/Mansion House Fund Scholarship
and prizes went to Arts graduate Hannah Ní
Dhoimhín, for a Scoláireacht Gaeilge.
A total of 27 Dr Henry Hutchinson Stewart
Medical Scholarships and Prizes were awarded
to NUI Galway’s College of Medicine, Nursing
and Health Sciences.
In November 2014, the University presented 28
outstanding athletes with NUI Galway Student
Sports Scholarships. The new recipients brings
to 94 the number of athletes in 18 different
sports that are supported by the NUI Galway
scheme.
The ceremony also saw Performance Points
Sports Scholarships awarded to seven
outstanding athletes. The scheme provides 40
additional points to those earned in the Leaving
Certificate for elite athletes, for academic
courses over 350 entry points.
NUI Galway has had an outstanding record in
supporting young athletes in developing their
sporting and academic careers within recent
years. A number of scholarship athletes have
won senior All-Ireland GAA titles, competed
at World Championship level in their chosen
sport and dozens of NUI Galway students
have represented their country or gone on to
professional careers in a number of sports.
These scholarship students include: Ryan
Dervan, Intermediate All-Ireland Boxing
Champion 2014; Lisa Casserly and Jenny
Byrne, Republic of Ireland Women’s Soccer
Squad; Darren Wallace, Irish National Archery
Squad 2015 World Cup and European Grand
Prix Qualifier.
NUI Galway Gaelic Games students are also
represented across the counties’ senior panels,
including Cathal Mannion and John Hansbury.
26
STUDENT SUCCESS
Arts student
Louisa Brophy
Browne won an
Undergraduate
Award, the
world’s only
pan-discipline
academic awards
programme
Louisa Brophy Browne is presented with her medal by Legal Counsel and Under-SecretaryGeneral for Legal Affairs at the United Nations and Irish barrister, Patricia O’Brien.
27
STUDENT SUCCESS
Undergraduate Awards
Technology carnival
Throughout the year, NUI Galway
students garnered numerous awards
and recognition for their talents.
In November 2014, final-year Arts student
Louisa Brophy Browne, was presented with
the George Berkeley Gold Medal by the
international awarding body the Undergraduate
Awards at a special ceremony in Dublin.
NUI Galway Computer Science and
Information Technology students held a unique
networking and workshop event in September
2014, bringing major technological companies
and employers to campus. Synapse, a one-day
free ‘tech carnival’, was designed so that students
and people interested in technology could meet
with key Information and Communications
Technologies (ICT) stakeholders in a fun and
informative exchange of ideas.
Those recognised included:
The world’s only pan-discipline academic
awards programme, the Undergraduate Awards
recognises and rewards innovative young
thinkers across 25 disciplines. Judged by a panel
of academics and industry experts from each
field, 120 winners were selected from almost
5,000 submissions from 200 colleges and
universities across the world.
The Undergraduate Awards (UA) celebrate
and support the world’s brightest and most
innovative undergraduate students by
recognising their best coursework and projects.
Louisa was given the award for her winning
paper Discuss and Evaluate the Main Points of the
Debate on the Ethics of Archaeological Work in
War Zones and Occupied Territories Using Case
Studies in the Classical Studies and Archaeology
Category. A further ten NUI Galway students
were highly commended.
Each year, the winners and highly commended
entrants are invited to Dublin to attend the UA
Global Summit – a ‘Davos for students’. The
2014 UA Global Summit was a unique threeday event in November during which the top
students from around the world took part in
discussions, workshops and events.
Major employers demonstrated their latest
technologies and explained ongoing training
and employment opportunities. The emphasis
was on having fun, and for people new to ICT
to learn how to engage and become successful
in the booming software industry. Speakers and
panel discussions offered key insights into the
current trends that are being experienced for
tech graduates in Ireland.
Keynote speakers included Mark Gantly of
Hewlett Packard, Stephen Howell of Microsoft
and Eugene Garvin of Avaya.
David Renton, event organiser and NUI Galway
student, said: “Students of Computer Science
and Information Technology have seen the
success of tech events internationally and we
want to showcase the West of Ireland as an
exciting place for tech people to come together
in a dynamic and fun environment.
NUI Galway has such a unique balance of
energy, youth and talent which lends itself to
hosting an event such as this, while Galway
itself is one of the best cities in Ireland for ICT
companies to attract new talent, as it is one of
the most desirable places to live and work for
all ages.”
Edel Browne, a first-year biotechnology student,
won the third annual Threesis Competition. Her
three-minute presentation was on ‘Free Feet’, a
simple and innovative use of laser technology for
people with Parkinson’s disease.
Mahmoud Abukhadir, a final-year Law student
at NUI Galway, was awarded the prestigious
Thomas Addis Emmet Fellowship 2015, which
is supported by the Free Legal Advice Centres in
conjunction with the University of Washington,
Seattle.
Dr Girum Azmach from Ethiopia, Dr Mercy
Kitavi from Kenya, and Dr Gezahegn Tessema
from Ethiopia, became the first to graduate
from the International Institute of Tropical
Agriculture-NUI Galway PhD Scholars
programme.
Faith Amanya, an Irish Aid scholar in the Global
Women’s Studies Masters programme, was
invited to meet with UN Secretary General Ban
Ki-Moon during his visit to the UN Training
School Ireland in the Curragh.
28
ACCOLADES AND ACHIEVEMENTS
His Excellency Joachim Gauck, President of the Federal Republic
of Germany. Doctor of Laws, 15 July 2015.
29
ACCOLADES AND ACHIEVEMENTS
A total of nine renowned individuals became
NUI Galway Honorary Graduates during the
academic year 2014/2015. Their names join those of
previous honorees including the late Nelson Mandela,
Hilary Clinton, Margaret Atwood and Enya.
Professor Svante Pääbo, Swedish biologist and Director at the
Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig,
Germany. Doctor of Science, 12 June 2015.
Phillip Smyth, Director of the Shannon College of Hotel
Management. Doctor of Laws, 12 June 2015.
Billy Lawless, Chicago-based businessman and Vice-President
of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
Doctor of Laws, 12 June 2015.
Áine Brazil, Vice-Chairman of Thornton Tomasetti, New York,
USA. Doctor of Engineering, 12 June 2015.
Charlie Byrne, Founder and owner of Charlie Byrne’s
Bookshop. Master of Arts, 21 October 2014.
Patricia Burke Brogan, poet, playwright and painter. Master of
Arts, 21 October 2014.
Dr Mick Loftus, former GAA President. Doctor of Laws,
20 February 2015.
Carl Hession, Music teacher and composer. Master of Music,
20 October 2014.
30
ACCOLADES AND ACHIEVEMENTS
On 7 March 2015, NUI Galway
presented the 2015 Alumni
Awards at the 15th annual Alumni
Awards Gala Banquet. The Alumni
Awards recognise individual
excellence and achievements
among the University’s more than
90,000 graduates worldwide.
This year Alumni Awards were presented to six
outstanding individuals:
Award for Arts, Literature and Celtic Studies
sponsored by AIB
Dr Tom Mitchell, Former Provost,
Trinity College Dublin.
Award for Business and Commerce
sponsored by Bank of Ireland
Catriona O’Farrell, Former CEO, Fintrax Group.
Award for Law, Public Policy and Government
sponsored by Bank of Ireland
Ms Justice Carmel Stewart, Judge of the High Court.
RTÉ broadcaster Siún Nic Gearailt was host at the Gala.
Award for Engineering, Science and Technology
sponsored by Aramark
Pearse Mee, IT Entrepreneur, founder of AMT-SYBEX.
Award for Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences
sponsored by Medtronic
Dr Morgan O’Connell, retired Medical Officer for the
Royal Navy, Consultant Psychiatrist and specialist in
PTSD.
Award for Contribution to Sport
sponsored by Galway University Foundation
Olive Loughnane, Olympic athlete and World
Champion, Irish race walker.
NUI Galway Alumni Award recipients (back row, l-r): Catriona O’Farrell, Pearse Mee,
Dr Morgan O’Connell, Dr Tom Mitchell and Ms Justice Carmel Stewart.
Front row: Dr Jim Browne, NUI Galway President, Olive Loughnane, and
Dr Seán O’Rourke, Alumni Association Chairperson.
31
ACCOLADES AND ACHIEVEMENTS
Dr Eoghan Clifford.
World Championship Gold
NUI Galway academic, Dr Eoghan Clifford won the World Title in the Men’s C1-2-3 Scratch
Race at the UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships in Apeldoorn, Netherlands in
March 2015.
Dr Clifford is a lecturer in Civil Engineering and a member of the Ryan Institute for
Environmental, Marine and Energy Research at NUI Galway.
The Galway-based rider, who is the reigning road and time trial world champion and who was
competing in his very first scratch race, also claimed bronze in the C3 3km individual pursuit.
Dr Clifford burst onto the international Para-cycling scene in the summer of 2014, when
he won both the Road and Time Trial World Titles at the Para-cycling Road World
Championships in the USA.
During the year there were many
NUI Galway staff recognised for their
outstanding contributions in their areas
of expertise, while new staff joined the
university ranks.
• Professor Henry Curran, Combustion Chemistry Centre, was admitted as a new
member of the Royal Irish Academy.
• Professor Emeritus Ruth Curtis, School
of Psychology, was appointed Fellow of the
European Health Psychology Society.
• Oliver Daniels, previously with Avaya,
joined the Insight Centre for Data
Analytics as CEO.
• Dr Aideen Ryan, REMEDI, received an
award from the Irish Research Council in
recognition of her selection and participation in the Lindau Nobel Laureate
Meetings.
Tim Robinson.
Interpreting Landscape
Pioneering cartographer and writer, Tim Robinson, whose archive is based at NUI Galway
was honoured by a series of events at the University and the Royal Irish Academy to mark the
publication of Connemara and Elsewhere, edited by Professor Jane Conroy.
In September 2014, NUI Galway hosted an associated exhibition and international
symposium entitled, Interpreting Landscape: Tim Robinson and the West of Ireland. A
screening of ‘Unfolding the landscape’, a filmed interview with Vincent Woods and Tim
Robinson, commissioned by NUI Galway also featured during the symposium.
•
Six NUI Galway academics were among the recipients of the inaugural Royal Irish
Academy Charlemont Grant Awards: Dr Margaret Brehony, Centre for Irish
Studies; Dr Sarah-Anne Buckley, History; Dr Eoin Daly, School of Law; Dr Jessica
Hayes, REMEDI; Dr Martin O’Halloran,
NCBES; and Dr Anuradha Pallipurath, School of Chemistry.
•
Dr Ciara Smyth, Director of the Doctoral
Programme in the School of Law, was
appointed to the government’s Working
Group on Asylum.
• Professor of Biomedical Engineering Peter
McHugh, was elected Science Secretary of
the Royal Irish Academy.
•
Dr Margaret Rae and her team in the
University’s Ryan Institute won the
inaugural Ryan Award for Innovation in
2014, for their ground-breaking work on a
new cancer treatment.
32
NUI GALWAY AT A GLANCE
Students
International Students
In 2014/15 there were 2,758 international
students from 110 different countries.
NUI Galway is the second largest employer
in Galway City with 2,506 staff.
Undergraduate12,323
Postgraduate Taught
2,419
Postgraduate Research 1,218
Exchange/Visiting Students 1,326
Other Students
256
Undergraduate 761
Postgraduate Taught
297
Postgraduate Research 360
Erasmus, Visiting and
International Summer School 1,340
Academic Staff
1,041
Research Staff
539
Administrative/Support Staff
926
Total17,542
Total Total2,506
In 2014/15 there were 17,542 students
at NUI Galway.
About NUI Galway
Staff
2,758
Technology Transfer and Commercialisation
•Established in 1845.
•Over 90,000 alumni in over 100 countries
around the world.
•5,798 graduates in 2014/15.
•214 PhD graduates in 2014/15.
Some other important highlights:
•Spin-out Embo Medical raised €3 million in
seed capital.
•Spin-out Orbsen Therapeutics was shortlisted
for the Knowledge Transfer Ireland Spin-Out
Company Impact Award.
•Business Innovation Centre client company
Protek Medical was successfully acquired by
Molex Inc.
•Business Innovation Centre client company
Narvitas Medical Devices Ltd. announced a
partnership with the Paediatric Device Center,
Minneapolis, MN.
NUI Galway continued its success in delivering
commercial outcomes for research activities,
in particular for a number of companies, both
University start-ups and Business Innovation
Centre clients.
•2 new NUI Galway start-up companies
were formed.
•8 technologies were licensed to new or
existing companies.
•35 new invention disclosures were filed.
•39 new collaborative R&D projects with
industry partners commenced in 2014.
2014/15 Income
The University has an annual income of €215
million and a capital spend of circa €40 million.
Údarás na hOllscoile/Governing Authority
Other
€15m
State
Grant
€42m
The Hon Mrs Justice Catherine McGuinness
Chair
University Management Team
Annual
Income
€215m
Research
Income
€52m
Student
Fees
€106m
Dr James J. Browne
Professor Pól Ó Dochartaigh Ms Mary Dooley Mr Gearóid Ó Conluain Dr Kieran Loftus
Professor Chris Curtin
President
Registrar and Deputy-President
Bursar
University Secretary
Executive Director of Operations
Vice-President for Innovation and Performance
Údarás na hOllscoile/ Governing Authority
Fees and Expenses
External Governing
Authority Members
Fees payable
Expenses payable
(figures for the year ended 30 September 2014)
Internal Governing
Authority Members
nil
nil
€14,849.15
nil