January 2015 NUI Galway Welcomes Minister Damien English

Briefings on the University’s extensive research activities and industry collaborations

Minister for Skills, Research and Innovation, Damien English T.D. visited NUI Galway on 8 January for a briefing on the University’s extensive research activities and industry collaborations. Minister English was welcomed to campus by University President, Dr Jim Browne and Vice-President for Research, Professor Lokesh Joshi.

Detailed discussions were held with research leaders in the University and some of the key industrial partners. Discussions centred on research in biomedical science and engineering, medical devices, clinical research, life course and society, big data, neuroscience and graduate studies around key enabling technologies and smart specialisation.

After his visit Minister English stated: “The huge potential for day to day social and economic benefits from NUI Galway’s research were of particular interest to me, and were clear to see. It was a pleasure to meet with senior industrial collaborators and to see first-hand that NUI Galway researchers and industries have a very healthy and productive relationship that benefits Galway City, the West and our country overall. From my visit it is clear that NUI Galway are to the fore in drawing down National and EU monies for vital research projects and matching this with private investment.  I look forward to NUI Galway excelling under the new Horizon 2020 funding stream.”

Industry partners who attended included representatives from HP, Alkermes, Altocloud, Aerogen Ltd, Avaya and Fuijitsu. 
 
Speaking after the Minister’s visit, NUI Galway’s Professor Lokesh Joshi said: “The Minister is keen to promote the culture of innovation, enterprise, education and excellent research across Irish educational institutions. I believe he was pleased to see that NUI Galway is living his vision of integrating these principles. The Minister was impressed with the breadth of excellent research activities and in particular the connection between research and its impact on society through industry, clinical and government policies.” 

The Minister met two recently announced European Research Council (ERC) starter grant awardees. Dr Eilionóir Flynn of the Centre for Disability Law is undertaking a project which aims to make visible the experiences of people with disabilities who have been denied legal capacity. Martin O’Donnell, Professor of Translational Medicine, has a project underway which seeks to clarify how much sodium (salt) intake is optimal for health. 

Senior representatives from Insight, the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Research Centre for Data Analytics, were on hand to brief the Minister. The newest SFI Research Centre at NUI Galway, CÚRAM, was represented by Professor Abhay Pandit who spoke about the next generation of medical devices.

A number of other research leaders briefed the Minister on the latest developments in their areas. This was Minister English’s second visit to campus since he became Minister for State last summer.
 
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