An innovative programme connecting medical education and the arts has been launched by NUI Galway. The new Medicine in the Arts Programme is the first of its kind in Irish Universities, and has been introduced into the undergraduate curriculum of the University's School of Medicine. The launch featured a flagship lecture by Dr Jane Edwards, Director of the MA in Music Therapy in the University of Limerick, entitled 'History of Music in Medicine; including its use in hospitals 1980-1940'.The initiative is available to current First Year medical students, introducing a semester-long syllabus of structured engagement with literature, performance and visual arts. The programme will highlight the therapeutic clinical benefits for patients which the Arts can provide and focus on the personal development of students as future medical practitioners. Medicine and the Arts will consist of a series of events incorporating music, mime, and dance, which are offered in the wider Arts in Action programme provided to all students at NUI Galway. There will also be a rich range of bespoke events which focus on the Arts in therapeutic clinical settings for the particular needs of the medical student. Professor Fidelma Dunne, Head of the Medical School at NUI Galway, said: "This is a valuable and important innovation which will benefit our students greatly. It will give them an appreciation of the richness which the Arts can bring to them as future doctors, to their patients and within the healthcare system generally. While this will undoubtedly be a very enjoyable experience for students, it also has a clear focus on student learning and self-development". -Ends-

The new NUI Galway Water Research Facility at Tuam, Co. Galway was officially opened today by Michael Finneran, Minister for Housing & Local Services and TD for Roscommon-South Leitrim. Core funding to establish the facility was provided by the EPA through its STRIVE Research Programme, and by NUI Galway. Located on the site of Tuam Waste Water Treatment Plant the facility is a full-scale test-bed for novel waste water and water treatment technologies. There are already a range of NUI Galway research projects on new green technologies underway at the Water Research Facility. EPA Director, Laura Burke said: "With a rising population and increasing requirements for improved water quality, there is a real need to develop and optimise waste water treatment systems, especially for villages and small towns. I expect that this facility will play a strong role in developing new indigenous solutions to protect the environment and deliver economic growth." In order to minimise the environmental impact of sewage discharges, effective systems are required to treat waste water and ensure clean and safe waters. By using influent taken from Tuam town waste water, the facility provides researchers and manufacturers with opportunities to evaluate novel technologies under realistic conditions. Effluent from the research facility is returned to the main Tuam WWTP ensuring there is no risk to the environment from the development work. Operating at a scale equivalent to a village with a population of 400, this system offers high performance at low operating costs. It is estimated that this new technology will allow the plant to operate at approximately 25% of typical running costs for a conventional activated sludge plant of similar size. Speaking at the opening of the facility, Minister Finneran said: "Work funded through the EPA STRIVE Research programme is continuing to deliver new and innovative responses to environmental problems, while also making a significant contribution to the development of Ireland's Smart Economy. The Tuam Water Research Facility is an excellent example of this, employing solutions generated by Irish researchers to deliver high performance results at low operating costs. As work progresses at the facility, it will also contribute towards implementation of the Water Framework Directive in Ireland." Commenting on the work carried out to date, Professor Terry Smith, Vice-President of Research at NUI Galway, noted: "The Tuam Water Research Facility provides a world-class facility for carrying out collaborative cutting-edge research for research institutions and industry on full-scale, smart green technologies that purify water and wastewater. The Water Research Facility has great potential to give Irish companies an innovative advantage in increasing its share of the international environmental technologies market, worth €227 billion per year in the EU alone." Jim Cullen, Director of Service, Environment & Water Services Unit at Galway County Council explained: "This plant demonstrates the value of co-operation between researchers and government bodies working in the same area. By working closely with local researchers, Galway County Council is pleased to have supported the establishment of this impressive facility, which we expect to deliver working solutions that will assist us in meeting our water treatment needs." Whilst core funding was provided by the EPA and NUI Galway, additional critical support came from Galway County Council, who provided the site and carried out civil engineering works. A range of industrial partners, including the main contractors Response Group Ltd, also contributed resources and equipment. -Ends-

Two eight foot tall, talking and dancing semi-animatronic Polar Bears will visit the Re-Energising Galway Family Day, organised by NUI Galway, on Saturday, 13 February. The campaigning bears are coming to Galway to highlight the importance of saving energy and cutting emissions, as part of the 10:10 national carbon reduction campaign tour to help cut Ireland's carbon footprint. The Re-Energising Galway Family Day will take place between 11am and 5pm in the Galway City Museum and all are welcome to attend this free event. At the event visitors will have a chance to explore the engineering behind renewable energy technologies, with different stands, each exploring sustainable energy from a different perspective, set up throughout the museum. Highlights of the event will include building model wind and wave turbines, playing Guzzler's Energy Challenge, and viewing demonstration models for renewable energy devices. Re-Energising Galway Family Day is organised by the Environmental Change Institute (ECI) and the National Centre for Biomedical Engineering Science (NCBES) at NUI Galway with support from Junior Achievement, GMIT, and Sustainable Energy Ireland. The Family Day is part of national Engineers Week, from 8-13 February, which aims to showcase the diversity of engineering and to celebrate the role of engineers in Ireland. Speaking about the event, Dr Colin Brown, Director of the ECI at NUI Galway, said: "It will be a fun, free, family-friendly day out and will provide insight to the new era of low-carbon energy in Ireland – key knowledge for the next generation of Irish engineers". Re-Energising Galway Family Day is a free event that does not require tickets or advanced booking. For further information contact Lindsay Cody, Communications Officer, NCBES, NUI Galway at 091 495701 or email lindsay.cody@nuigalway.ie. For further information on events taking place during Engineers Week visit www.engineersweek.ie -Ends-

Múscailt, NUI Galway's week-long Spring Arts Festival, opened today (Monday, 8 February) and will run until Friday, 12 February. Now celebrating its 10th year, Múscailt will transform the campus with its vast programme of music, theatre, art exhibitions, film and live performances. Múscailt, which is organised by the NUI Galway Arts and Theatre Office, will feature emerging artists and entertainers performing through the medium of Irish and English. Highlights of the Festival will include Galway University Musical Society's own version of the musical, The WIZ, and a Gaeilge night of rap and comedy in An Cheathrú Rua. Music will feature strongly during the Festival with a variety of performances from classical music from pianist James Lisney to traditional from the University's Traditional Irish Music Society. A selection of new performing art shows and visual art exhibitions will also be on offer throughout the week. Also featuring at the Festival will be Kathleen O'Rourke, writer and voice of Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty, which has been nominated for an Oscar in the Best Animated Short Film category. Speaking about the Festival, Fionnuala Gallagher, Arts Officer, NUI Galway, said: "The Arts Office is proud to have identified young artists who are breaking the mould in Ireland. Múscailt promises huge fun this year. Bubba Shakespeare and GMC will be charming the audience into thinking and feeling in Irish; Kathleen O Rourke will be making them laugh, as Gaeilge; and chameleon-like comedian John Colleary is like 20 comics rolled into one. Even Aideen Barry, visual artist, celebrates her obsessive-compulsive order in a humorous way". All events are open to the public and almost all are free, with the exception of the James Lisney piano recitals in the Aula Maxima (tel: 091 705962 / info@musicforgalway.ie) and The WIZ at the Black Box (tel: 091 569777 / www.tht.ie). For further details about the festival please visit www.muscailt.nuigalway.ie, or telephone the NUI Galway Arts and Theatre Office at 091 493766 for a brochure. -Ends-

NUI Galway's President, Dr James J. Browne, today opened the University's new Nursing and Midwifery Library (Wednesday, 3 February). The new library, which adjoins the James Hardiman Library on the main campus, has been open for business since July 2009. It provides a modern learning environment for over 700 nursing and midwifery students with group study rooms, computer suites, laptop-enabled study spaces, and wireless access to the University's networked services. The need for a new, purpose-built library was driven by changes in nursing education and the increase in student numbers, which resulted in greater pressure on space as well as a need for new types of learning resources. The new library has over 100 study places, and has been heavily used and much appreciated by students and staff since it opened. Over 700 Nursing and Midwifery students now have access to the full resources of the University Library, including a wide range of information sources and extensive opening hours, in a central location on campus. Previously, NUI Galway's Nursing Library was located on the site of the former Nurses' Home at University College Hospital and it relocated temporarily to the IDA Business Park in Dangan in 2004. Dr Browne noted: "The new Nursing and Midwifery Library represents a modern learning centre which provides access to all of the information, online and in print, needed to deliver high quality graduates". The Nursing and Midwifery Library was developed at a total cost of €2 million. Of this total, a sum of €1 million was provided by the Department of Health and Children. The balance has been provided from the University's own resources. The Nursing and Midwifery Library was designed by award-winning architects, Scott Tallon Walker, and the project was led by Mr Paul Mannion who is based at their Galway office. This 650square metre building, which was completed within a twelve month period, was built by Michael McNamara & Company. ENDS