Beidh Lá Oscailte OÉ Gaillimh ar siúl ó 9am – 3pm Déardaoin, an 29 Samhain. Táthar ag súil go dtabharfaidh na mílte mac léinn dara leibhéal as ar fud na hÉireann – i dteannta a dtuismitheoirí agus múinteoirí – cuairt ar OÉ Gaillimh don Lá Oscailte. Beidh eolas le fáil faoi 17 gcúrsa céime nua a bheidh san áireamh ar an bhfoirm CAO don chéad uair in 2008. Tá athrú ag teacht ar na céimeanna traidisiúnta sna Dána agus tá seacht gcéim nua ceithre bliana á dtairiscint faoin gClár CONNECT – clár atá á reáchtáil ag Coláiste na nDán, na nEolaíochtaí Sláinte agus an Léinn Cheiltigh. Tá na cláir CONNECT deartha le cinntiú go n-éiríonn le céimithe poist a fháil trí scileanna ar leith a fhorbairt agus naisc a chruthú leis an saol lasmuigh den champas. I rith an tríú bliain, is féidir a rá gur tumoideachas a bheidh i gceist. D'fhéadfaí na nithe seo a leanas a áireamh sa tréimhse seo: obair tionscadail-bhunaithe, socrúcháin oibre sa phobal, conas portfóilió a ullmhú, cleachtadh cruthaitheach, tréimhse staidéir thar lear, foghlaim seirbhíse nó socrúcháin oibre laistigh d'Eagraíochtaí Neamhrialtasacha. Seo a leanas na seacht gcéim nua atá á dtairiscint trí chlár CONNECT: B.A. le Staidéar Leanaí (GY110); B.A. le Scríbhneoireacht Chruthaitheach (GY111); B.A. le Staidéar Scannán (GY112); B.A. le Staidéar ar Chearta Daonna (GY113); B.A. leis an Léann Éireannach (GY114); B.A. le Staidéar Amharclannaíochta agus Taibhithe (GY115); agus B.A. le Léann na mBan (GY116). I measc na gclár eile a bheidh á dtairiscint ag Coláiste na nDán, na nEolaíochtaí Sláinte agus an Léinn Cheiltigh tá B.A. sa Mhatamaitic agus san Oideachas (GY109) agus beidh dhá chúrsa céime á dtairiscint go hiomlán trí mheán na Gaeilge – B.A. (Gaeilge agus Léann an Aistriúcháin) (GY107) agus B.A. (Riarachán Gnó) (GY108). Tá cúrsa nua trí bliana – Céim B.A. sa Tráchtáil le Cuntasaíocht (GY207) – á thairiscint ag Coláiste na Tráchtála, agus tá Baitsiléir Nua Eolaíochta i mBainistíocht Tionscadal agus Foirgníochta (GY410) á thairiscint ag Coláiste na hInnealtóireachta. Más spéis leat cúrsaí eolaíochta tá ceithre chéim nua á dtairiscint: Fisic le Fisic Fheidhmeach (GY315); Fisic le Fisic Mhíochaine (GY316); Fisic le Réaltfhisic (GY317); agus Ceimic Bhithchógaisíochta (GY318). Cúrsa eile nach mór a lua freisin is ea go mbeidh an chéad chlár fochéime cosliachta sa tír á thairiscint ag Coláiste an Leighis, an Altranais agus na nEolaíochtaí Sláinte – Baitsiléir Eolaíochta sa Chosliacht (GY504). Bhí an méid seo a leanas le rá ag an Dr Iognáid Ó Muircheartaigh, Uachtarán OÉ Gaillimh, "Tá beagán le cois 10 seachtaine fágtha ag mic léinn leis an bhfoirm CAO a chomhlánú agus tugann an Lá Oscailte a bhíonn againne anseo san Ollscoil deis do mhic léinn níos mó a fhoghlaim faoin raon cúrsaí atá ar fáil anseo in OÉ Gaillimh. Deis atá ann freisin níos mó a fhoghlaim faoin gcineál saoil a bhíonn ag mic léinn anseo san Ollscoil, go háirithe faoin bhfeabhas atá tagtha ar áiseanna spóirt agus cultúir, ár nIonad Spóirt agus Linn Snámha nua, mar aon leis an Ionad Cultúrtha". Beidh léachtóirí agus mic léinn ar fáil i rith an lae le ceisteanna a fhreagairt faoi na himeachtaí a bhíonn ar siúl ag mic léinn in OÉ Gaillimh. Beidh réamhléachtaí ar siúl i rith an lae ó na coláistí seo a leanas - Dána, Dlí, Innealtóireacht, TF, Tráchtáil, Eolaíocht agus Leigheas, Altranas agus Eolaíochtaí Sláinte. Beidh seastáin freisin le heolas faoi sheirbhísí do mhic léinn, cúrsaí iontrála, cóiríocht, obair dheonach agus forbairt gairme. Is féidir tuilleadh eolais a fháil ó Mary Coyle ag 091 492814 nó mary.coyle@nuigalway.ie nó féach ar láithreán gréasáin na hOllscoile ag http://www.nuigalway.ie/openday/. - críoch -

Tabharfaidh an Dr Iognáid Ó Muircheartaigh, Uachtarán Ollscoil na hÉireann, Gaillimh agus toscaireacht ionadaithe acadúla ó choláistí ollscoile agus ionaid taighde éagsúla aghaidh ar an tSín inniu. Caithfidh an toscaireacht 5 lá sa tSín agus is é atá mar aidhm leis an gcuairt seo naisc a chruthú agus a neartú trí chuairt a thabhairt ar 17 n-institiúid sa tSín agus meamraim thuisceana agus comhaontuithe comhpháirtíochta a shíniú idir OÉ Gaillimh agus na hinstitiúidí sin. * Ní hamháin gur príomhghné de straitéis idirnáisiúnta OÉ Gaillimh é naisc oideachais níos láidre a fhorbairt leis an tSín, ach is príomhghné de Straitéis Áise Rialtas na hÉireann é freisin (1999-2009). I measc cuid de na buntáistí a bhaineann leis na naisc seo tá earcaíocht, comhoibriú agus socrúcháin oibre do chéimithe sa réimse taighde agus forbartha. Seo a leanas a bhí le rá ag Anna Cunningham, Uasal, An Stiúrthóir um Ghnóthaí Idirnáisiúnta in OÉ Gaillimh, "Tosaíocht straitéiseach atá ag OÉ Gaillimh mic léinn idirnáisiúnta Mháistreachta agus Ph.D. den scoth a mhealladh chuig OÉ Gaillimh. Tá an t-ádh orainn go bhfuil naisc cruthaithe againn cheana féin le cuid de na hollscoileanna is iomráití sa tSín. Is é atá mar aidhm leis an gcuairt seo na naisc seo a bhunú go foirmiúil agus tuilleadh deiseanna cómhalartacha a chruthú do mhic léinn iarchéime, tuilleadh deiseanna comhthaighde san áireamh." I rith na cuairte tabharfaidh an tOllamh William Schabas ó Ionad na hÉireann um Chearta an Duine páipéar ag an Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). Tá sé beartaithe ag OÉ Gaillimh comhaontú foirmiúil a shíniú le CASS. I measc na n-institiúidí eile a shíneoidh comhaontuithe foirmiúla le OÉ Gaillimh beidh Hong Kong University of Science & Technology agus Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao. Beidh nasc foirmiúil ann idir an Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao agus Institiúid Mhuireolaíochta Mháirtín Uí Riain, OÉ Gaillimh. Lena chois sin, is é an tAmbasadóir Declan Kelleher a sheolfaidh an Alumni Chapter i mBéising in Ambasáid na hÉireann. Seo a leanas a bhí le rá ag an Uachtarán Ó Muircheartaigh agus é ar tí imeacht chun na Síne, "Is deis iontach é an cuairt stairiúil seo ar an tSín do OÉ Gaillimh cur leis an ngaolmhaireacht láidir atá idir ár n-ollscoil féin agus an tSín cheana féin. Le breis agus 70 alumni sa tSín, is í OÉ Gaillimh an ollscoil Éireannach leis an líon is mó céimithe bunaithe sa tSín. Deis a bheidh sa cuairt seo cur leis na naisc reatha agus naisc nua a fhorbairt leis an tSín – ionas gur féidir na naisc seo a neartú agus cur leo. Ciallóidh sé seo go mbeidh comhoibriú níos fearr ann sa mhalairt oideachais, sa taighde agus forbairt, mar aon le tuiscint níos fearr ar ghnéithe cultúrtha." Tabharfaidh an Dr Louis de Paor, Stiúrthóir Ionad an Léinn Éireannaigh agus an tOllamh Kevin Barry, Déan Choláiste na nDán, na nEolaíochtaí Sóisialta agus an Léinn Cheiltigh cuairt ar Nanjing University agus Fudan University agus é mar aidhm acu mic léinn Mháistreachta agus Ph.D. a mhealladh chun seal a chaitheamh i mbun staidéir in Ionad an Léinn Éireannaigh. Tá mac léinn amháin ó Nanjing University i mbun staidéir in Ionad an Léinn Éireannaigh faoi láthair. Tá an mac léinn seo ag fáil urraíochta ó Chomhairle Scoláireachta na Síne, agus tá sí i mbun taighde dhochtúireachta ar shaothar Roddy Doyle. Dúirt an tOllamh Barry, "D'fhonn na malairtí idir na hollscoileanna seo a bhunú tá ranganna Sínise á gcur ar fáil in OÉ Gaillimh anois. Tá 30 mac léinn cláraithe faoi láthair agus beirt léachtóirí ó Bhéising atá i mbun na ranganna seo. Sa bhliain acadúil amach romhainn in OÉ Gaillimh, tá sé beartaithe deis a thabhairt do mhic léinn atá i mbun cúrsaí sna Dána agus sa Tráchtáil staidéar a dhéanamh ar an tSínis." Le linn don Uachtarán a bheith ag labhairt ag seoladh Alumni Chapter, mheabhraigh sé do alumni agus d'aíonna araon, go bhféadfaí cur leis na naisc idir OÉ Gaillimh agus Béising mar go mbeidh triúr mac léinn agus alumni amháin ó OÉ Gaillimh ag glacadh páirte sna Cluichí Oilimpeacha a bheidh ar siúl an bhliain seo chugainn i mBéising. I measc na gcineálacha spóirt atá i gceist tá ráibeáil (Paul Hession, 110 & 200m), iomramh (Alan Martin, Cormac Folan) agus siúl 20km (Olive Loughnane). CRÍOCH

A seminar on 'Schooling in a Changing Ireland' will be given from 1-2pm on Tuesday, 20 November at NUI Galway by Fr. Harry Bohan, founder of The Céifin Centre for Values-led Change. The free public event is part of the University's Community Knowledge Initiative (CKI) Keynote Seminar Series which seeks to address pertinent issues facing the wider national and international community. Founded by Fr. Harry Bohan in 1998, the Céifin Centre is based in Shannon, Co. Clare. The Centre focuses on a search for values in modern day Ireland. Céifin's main aim is to generate the capacity for debate on social change issues by facilitating a number of activities and programmes including conferences, lectures, workshops and research projects. The seminar will address some of the challenges facing schools in Ireland today, at primary and secondary level. According to Fr. Harry, "In our time, the greatest revolution taking place in Ireland is not with state or church but with family life. We have moved in a short period of time from the extended family to the nuclear family, to various definitions of family life. According to CSO figures 20% of families in the Dublin area could now be regarded as traditional families. Adolescents now spend less that 5% of their time with parents and less than 2% with other adults. This means a generation of young Irish people are growing up alone". He continued: "Traditionally, values were taught by parents at home and by teachers in the classroom. Now we have a society where parents often cannot afford to be at home, where the dynamic of home life revolves around TV and video games. The implications for schools and schooling are enormous. The question must now be asked: who is rearing the next generations? Finding answers to this question could be one of the great challenges facing our society". Previous speakers in CKI's seminar series have included former Taoiseach Dr. Garret FitzGerald, Michael D. Higgins, T.D., Mary Davis, Chair of the Taskforce on Active Citizenship, and Alan Kerins of the Alan Kerins African Projects. The seminar will be held in the Siobhán McKenna Theatre in the Arts Millennium Building at NUI Galway. For further information, telephone the CKI office on 091 493823. ENDS

The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin T.D., has announced Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) research investment awards amounting to €87 million across a number of groundbreaking industry-academic projects. Among the projects is the Network of Excellence for Functional Biomaterials (NFB), which was awarded just over €4.3 million from SFI with an additional €1.7 million to be provided by industrial partners. NFB is led by Professor Abhay Pandit of the National Centre for Biomedical Engineering Science (NCBES) at NUI Galway. Biomaterials are synthetic materials which are placed within the body for therapeutic reasons. Their effectiveness can be greatly increased by combining them with therapeutic agents such as genes. NFB will develop new technologies to carry therapeutic genes and other agents to specific target sites. These will include coatings for medical devices, tissue repair scaffolds and also programmable nanospheres which carry a therapeutic agent to a specific location via the bloodstream. The new technology has applications linked to several important diseases, including cardiovascular disease, disc repair, spinal cord and nerve damage. "This is a tremendous opportunity for us to develop critical mass in the area of next generation biomaterials. With the establishment of this strategic research cluster we are now poised to make substantial impact on the world stage for biomaterials research. We see this funding as seed money to establish a world-class centre of excellence in biomaterials research in the coming years," reports Professor Abhay Pandit of NUI Galway. The network brings together leading researchers from national and international institutions. The team is competitive internationally by virtue of their broad expertise, their track record of collaboration, and the benefit of international collaborations with outstanding institutions and individuals. Industrial partnerships with a number of key companies in the medical device field have been established and will be critical to bringing materials developed in this project to market. Speaking at the announcement of the funding allocation at SFI, Professor Frank Gannon, Director General SFI, said, "These research award recipients and the teams that they have assembled are of world-class calibre. I believe that the initiatives to be undertaken by SFI over the coming seven years will provide a cornerstone for Ireland s future economic development, with Centres for Science and Engineering Technology (CSETs) and Strategic Research Clusters (SRCs) playing a key role". Professor Nicholas Canny, Vice President for Research at NUI Galway commented, "The award by SFI of the grant of €4.3m is a tribute both to the quality research record that Professor Abhay Pandit and his colleagues have established at NUI Galway for several years, and to the high-calibre collaborative network that Abhay has been able to forge because of his international scholarly reputation." ENDS

Solar variability and climate: conjecture, politics and science The 2007 Monsignor Pádraig de Brún Memorial Lecture entitled Solar Variability and Climate Change, will be delivered by Professor Joanna Haigh, Professor of Atmospheric Physics, Imperial College London on Thursday, 22 November, 2007 at 8.30 p.m. in the O'Flaherty Lecture Theatre, NUI Galway. Joanna Haigh is Professor of Atmospheric Physics and Head of the Space and Atmospheric Physics group at Imperial College London. Her talk will outline the chequered history of solar-climate studies, assess what is known about variations in the Sun and review the evidence for a solar influence on climate. It will conclude with a discussion of recent research that is trying to unravel some of the complex physical mechanisms involved. Professor Gerard Jennings of the Environment Change Institute at NUI Galway commenting ahead of Professor Haigh's lecture said, "Natural variations in the sun's energy, as measured from spacecraft over the past 30 years, are too small to account for the observed rapid rise in global mean temperatures. This is consistent with the extensive body of scientific evidence which supports the view that it is extremely likely that human activity has a substantial warming influence on climate." Professor Haigh's scientific interests include: radiative transfer in the atmosphere, climate modelling, radiative forcing of climate change and the influence of solar irradiance variability on climate. She has published widely on these topics in the scientific literature and also contributed to numerous items in the written and broadcast popular media. This public lecture is jointly organised by NUI Galway and the Royal Irish Academy. While admission is free, tickets are limited and are available through the Press and Information Office at 091-493361 or by email at info@nuigalway.ie. Alternatively, tickets can be booked through the Royal Irish Academy at www.ria.ie. ENDS