The event is an exciting opportunity for students from both Waterford and Carlow to share their research, and network within the postgraduate community.
The 2022 Postgraduate Research Conference will take place Friday 6 May at the Auditorium, Cork Road Campus, South East Technological University (SETU) Waterford.
This year’s theme ‘A Brave New World, Collaboration and Innovation in Postgraduate Research’, has been chosen to celebrate the range of incredible research opportunities within the new SETU.
Organised by Waterford's Research Postgraduate Forum and Graduate Studies Office, the conference is aimed at early-stage research postgraduates from both SETU Waterford and Carlow campuses, and is an exciting opportunity for students to share their research, network within the postgraduate community, and gain valuable experience.
Innovative, societally relevant and impactful research
Speaking of the research conference, the first for SETU, Dr Geraldine Canny, Head of Research at SETU Waterford noted: “This is an important event which comes after two years of the pandemic, re-invigorating the postgraduate research community, which comprises students in various disciplines across both Waterford and Carlow campuses. Ours is a diverse and multinational community. 2022 has seen the further development of the Graduate Studies office, with increased support and training for postgraduate research students. The conduct of innovative, societally relevant and impactful research is a key objective at SETU. Some of the goals underpinning this event, notably the promotion of interdisciplinary and collaborative research, align nicely with that objective.”
Keynote Speaker Prof John Breslin
John Breslin, Professor in Electronic Engineering, College of Science and Engineering, National University of Ireland, Galway will be the keynote speaker on the day. Prof Breslin will present on the topic of ‘Teaching Researchers and Innovators How to Create Start-ups’. Prof Breslin is an award-winning and highly-cited senior lecturer and has been involved in a number of multi-discipline enterprises. “Teaching researchers and innovators in Ireland's third-level institutions how to create start-ups is key to making sure that great commercialisable inventions don't just sit on the shelf, and that those with the drive to create enterprises driven by these technology innovations can acquire the skills to do so. I look forward to talking to the research postgraduates about how they can learn to develop these skills for themselves,” explained Prof Breslin.
Strong and positive indicator
The programme for the day will also feature posters, presentations and performances from a range of disciplines and research areas.
Dr Brian Jackson, Head of Postgraduate Studies at SETU Carlow, congratulated the organising committee of research students and commented that this was “a strong and positive indicator of the level of drive and commitment that SETU students demonstrated in pursuing their research and in sharing it with a wider community.”
Registration is currently open for all research postgraduates and staff across both Institutes, and for those who cannot attend in-person, hybrid attendance options are available.
https://www.wit.ie/events/research/postgraduate-research-conference-2022
SETU Waterford, Cork Road, Waterford City, 
