Researchers at WIT showcase work to Minister John Halligan and Irish Research Council

WIT held a showcase for the Irish Research Council board and Minister John Halligan TD highlighting the work of WIT’s postgraduate and postdoctoral communities

Minister John Halligan TD, Minister of State for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development and the board of the Irish Research Council were given the opportunity to see the breadth of research being undertaken at Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) on Friday, 29 September 2017.

The Irish Research Council held a board meeting at WIT that morning, following which Minister of State for Training, Skills and Innovation, John Halligan TD officially announced the Irish Research Council 2017 Government of Ireland awards valued at €22 million. It was the first time that the Irish Research Council board held a meeting in WIT. In 2015, Dr Felicity Kelliher, Senior Lecturer in Management and Co-Chair of the RIKON research group, was appointed as a member of the Irish Research Council Board and is the only member of the board from an institute of technology.

In the afternoon, the Institute’s Research, Innovation and Graduate Studies Office hosted a research showcase, highlighting the work of WIT’s postgraduate and postdoctoral communities.

The following WIT research centres were represented at the meet and greet: TSSG (Telecommunincations, Software and Systems Group), CEDRE (Centre for Enterprise Development and Regional Economy), EHCR (Ethnographic and Human Centred Research group), RIKON (Research in: Innovation Knowledge & Organisational Networks), PMBRC (Pharmaceutical and Molecular Biotechnology Research Centre), CTRG (Convergent Technologies Research Group), SEAM (South Eastern Applied Materials Research Centre), AIB Centre for Finance and Business Research, NRCI (Nutrition Research Centre Ireland) and MPRG (Macular Pigment Research Group).

€4.4m research funding

Dr Peter McLoughlin, VP of Research, Innovation and Graduate Studies, highlighted that “Between 2001 and 2016 WIT researchers have received €4.4m in Irish Research Council funding. WIT has had over 50 awardees across 11 different Research Council schemes, from postgraduate scholarships, to senior research fellowships. With the multidisciplinary support of the Council, awards to the Institute have spanned all schools from Business to Science to Humanities to Education. The Council have been pivotal to facilitating research excellence in WIT.”

Excellent and diverse talent pool

There was a variety of research funded by the Irish Research Council showcased. These included:

• Andrew Quigley's research examining methods to analyse the compounds in bovine milk to improve cow health.
• Donie Fell's project with Unite the Union exploring the Trade Union movement in Waterford Crystal between 1947 and 2009.
• Rebekah Brennan's work which investigates the injecting use of performance and image enhancing drugs.
• Dr Leana Reinl's research between the University of Guelph in Canada and WIT in the area of learning communities for rural tourism development.

Commenting on the range of research on show, Minister John Halligan said: "One of the key objectives of Innovation 2020, our strategy for research, development, science and technology, is to support and build the talent pool in Ireland's public research system. The work of the Irish Research Council in supporting an excellent and diverse talent pool in WIT is evident here today. Fostering our research talent is crucial to the success of our economy and our society. It is heartening to see such remarkable research being undertaken, and I have the highest expectations for all our researchers in the South-East."

Research talent pipeline for the South East

Peter Brown, Interim Director, Irish Research Council, said that the Council is delighted to be hosted by Waterford Institute of Technology for its 34th meeting.

“Funding excellent research across all disciplines to meet Ireland’s future social, economic and cultural needs is at the core of the Council’s mission, and WIT plays a central role in facilitating the research talent pipeline for the South East region. The breadth and diversity of research in the Institute funded by the Council is extremely impressive, and bodes well for the future. Ireland faces a range of challenges and indeed opportunities, at local, regional and national level. Research will be key to meeting these challenges and grasping the opportunities. The Council looks forward to working with WIT to further develop its contribution and impact in the Irish research and innovation landscape.”

Those in attendance were presented with a booklet profiling 19 awardees from 2011 to 2016, demonstrating the diversity of research supported by the Council in WIT alone.

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