NUI Galway will hold their annual Open Days on Friday, 30 September and Saturday, 1 October. The Open Days will provide an opportunity for prospective students to talk to NUI Galway students and staff, explore the campus and its facilities, and find out more about courses of interest. Friday's Open Day, on 30 September, will run from 9am to 3pm and is aimed at school groups, although individuals are also very welcome to attend. Running from 10am to 3pm, Saturday's Open Day on 1 October is for students thinking about university and their parents and families.   The Open Days are expected to attract some 8,000 visitors and are tailored towards Leaving Certificate and mature students who are interested in studying at NUI Galway. Parents, guardians and teachers are also invited on campus to sample life at university.   With over 60 degree programmes on offer at NUI Galway, lecturers and students will be on hand at more than 80 exhibition stands to answer questions on courses, CAO points and possible potential career paths. Many of the newer courses at the University have been designed to be responsive to the changing needs of the employment market and meet the needs of the Smart Economy.   Two talks specifically for parents, ‘Focus on your Career’ and ‘Parents’ Guide to University’ on Saturday, will give an introduction to university life and an overview of the career paths of NUI Galway graduates, as well as looking ahead to the job market of the future.   The Open Days will feature a mix of taster sessions and short lectures to provide a feel for university life. Events will include hands-on science workshops, interactive demonstrations with cameras, media equipment and podcasts and interactive sessions with IT systems and robotics.   Commenting on the importance of the NUI Galway Open Days, Caroline Loughnane, Director of Marketing and Communications, says:"Choosing a university is one of the most important decisions a student will ever make. Parents play a key role in supporting students as they take this important next step. Open Day is the perfect opportunity for parents to ensure they have access to all of the information they need to support sons and daughters through their university career. We are encouraging anyone with an interest in studying at NUI Galway to come along, talk to our lecturers and current students, find out about the courses, check out the facilities and decide for yourself whether NUI Galway feels right for you".   During the Open Days, tours of the campus will allow prospective students to visit the new Engineering Building, the largest of its kind in Ireland; state-of the-art sports complex and gym, home to 45 student sports clubs; and Áras na Mac Léinn, the base for over 100 student societies. Tours of the University library and student accommodation will also be available to visitors on the day.   For further details on NUI Galway Open Days, or to view the full programme, visit http://www.nuigalway.ie/opendays/.   -ENDS-

For Culture Night 2011, which takes place on Friday, 23 September, the James Hardiman Library at NUI Galway will be opening up its unique literary, theatre and landed estates archives. Marking the first involvement of NUI Galway Archives and Special Collections in Culture Night, the Library has announced a programme that will allow the public share these archival collections. The programme of events will begin at 7pm when Special Collections Librarian, Marie Boran and Archivist Brigid Clesham, will talk about their new project, The Irish Landed Estates Database. This is an invaluable resource for those interested in tracing their family history or looking at the history of the landed estates of Ireland. At 8pm, Fergus Fahy, Institutional Repository and Digitisation Librarian, will discuss the personal archive of writer John McGahern. Having catalogued the McGahern Archive, he will deliver a detailed and insightful overview of this wonderful collection of hand-written novels, drafts, stories and correspondence, created over a lifetime’s work by one of Ireland’s most celebrated and intriguing writers. The evening will be topped off at 9pm by screenings from the award-winning DruidSynge series. The screenings will include Riders to the Sea and The Shadow of the Glen by playwright J.M. Synge. John Cox, University Librarian, comments: “Culture Night offers a great opportunity to engage a wider audience with the Library’s archives and special collections, and the events planned will provide fascinating insights into their significance.” All events are taking place in the Patrick Fottrell Theatre, Arts Millennium Building, NUI Galway, next to the James Hardiman Library. A free shuttle bus service will be available on the night to bring guests to and from Culture Night venues. For more information and updates on the NUI Galway Archives and Special Collections programme for Culture Night, contact barry.houlihan@nuigalway.ie, follow on Twitter: @nuigarchives, Theatre Archives blog http://nuigarchives.blogspot.com/ or go to our homepage http://www.library.nuigalway.ie/. -ENDS-

Coinciding with the European Year of Volunteering 2011, the tenth annual NUI Galway Volunteering Fair will take place on Tuesday, 27 September, in the Bailey Allen Hall from 1-5pm. With over 2,000 students, staff and members of the general public expected to attend, the Fair will be officially opened by Galway City Mayor Hildegarde Naughton. Over 80 charities and community organisations will showcase the wide range of volunteer opportunities. The Fair is part of a week-long celebration of volunteering at NUI Galway, the culmination of which will coincide with the National Day of Volunteering on Friday, 1 October.  The Galway Community Circus will be performing and welcoming attendees on stilts.Lorraine Tansey is the Student Volunteer Coordinator at NUI Galway, “We are really looking forward to celebrating community life as not only is this the European Year of Volunteering 2011, but also this is our tenth year at NUI Galway promoting volunteering, active citizenship and engagement.” “Students are actively seeking volunteering prospects with homework clubs in local schools, fundraising for national charities, befriending people with a disability, or volunteering abroad. Students benefit enormously from getting involved and gain valuable experience, while bringing energy, enthusiasm and a willingness to learn.”Exhibitors at the Volunteering Fair will include: Youth Work Ireland, Gorta, Galway; One World Centre; ISPCC; Galway Samaritans; IWA and the European Voluntary Service. Lorraine Tansey added: “We are delighted to not only welcome community organisations to highlight their work and opportunities for volunteers, but also to welcome members of the public onto campus.”Through NUI Galway’s volunteer programme, ALIVE, students can access an online database of volunteer opportunities. The programme also includes a series of workshops to help students make the most of their volunteering experience. At the end of the academic year students can apply for an ALIVE Certificate which is awarded by NUI Galway President, Dr James J. Browne, at a special ceremony in recognition of their commitment to volunteering. To book a stand, or for further information, please contact the ALIVE office on 091 493823 or email alive@nuigalway.ie.   -ENDS-

The programme for Ireland’s participation in European Researchers Night, which takes place on 23 September, was officially launched today. Showcasing science on a grand scale, the Irish event, Sea2Sky, takes place in Salthill, Galway. In total, 800 venues across 320 cities in Europe will celebrate this momentous occasion. Sea2Sky is a free, family-oriented event at which hundreds of scientists will showcase their work in the fields of Marine, Atmospherics and Astronomy. The event will also feature music and entertainment for younger and older visitors. Sea2Sky is being organised by NUI Galway, in collaboration with the Marine Institute and Galway Atlantaquaria.  Exhibits throughout the day will allow the public to learn more about whales and dolphins, take a 3D tour of the universe, tour the Galway Atlantaquaria, check-out scientific demonstrations, and take part in a variety of other hands-on activities. Scientists will be on hand in the main exhibition hall in Leisureland where stands will display areas of science from energy research and marine life to the study of the solar system. Visitors will have a chance to explore the mini-sea exploration vehicle which was used by scientists in the recent discovery of hydrovents deep in the Atlantic.  Chief organiser, NUI Galway’s Dr Andrew Shearer, says “This is a very unique opportunity for the public to participate in experiments and demonstrations. The jam-packed programme offers something for people of all ages, and gives children and adults alike the chance to be a scientist for one day.” Doors to the Galway Atlantaquaria will be open throughout the day, allowing visitors to explore Ireland’s largest splash tank and huge Ray Pool. They will also be able to see the 60 foot long Fin Whale skeleton and get their hands wet in the Touch Pool where experts will help the curious and brave to handle real starfish and crabs. Representatives from the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group will also be present to discuss their work. The walk between the two venues, Leisureland and Galway Atlantaquaria, will see amateur astronomers and their telescopes stationed along Salthill’s famous Promenade affording amazing views of the night sky after dark. Local artists will add a theatrical flair during the day as Cups and Crowns Theatre perform ‘Lenny the Water Daughter’, Rab Swannock Fulton will weave tales for young and old with his dramatic storytelling skills, and puppeteer extraordinaire Tommy Baker will put on a show with ‘The Ecological Brothers’. In the evening adult can participate in a special storytelling session. Also for adults is the opportunity to share their thoughts and learn from experts in the Cafe Scientifique ‘What’s in your Water?’ led by NUI Galway’s Professor Martin Cormican and hosted by renowned broadcaster Leo Enright. After night fall on the beach there will be a dramatic fire show before returning to the main hall for a musical finale to end the event. Organisers are looking for 70 volunteers to help out on the day to participate in experiments, competitions and quizzes, watch demonstrations and simulations and to exchange ideas with the researchers. A science background is not needed to volunteer as information and training will be given in advance of the event. To sign up for volunteering visit www.sea2sky.ie The Sea2Sky event is funded under the European Union’s Marie Curie Programme and by Discover Science & Engineering. Sea2Sky is a free family event and will take place in Leisureland and Galway Atlantaquaria, Salthill, from 11am-11pm.  To view the full programme, or for more information, visit www.sea2sky.ie.   -ENDS-

NUI Galway will host the ninth annual RECOMB (Research in Computational Molecular Biology) Satellite Workshop on Comparative Genomics from 8 to 10 October. The workshop is part of the prestigious RECOMB series of meetings and usually alternates between a North American and European location, but this is the first time that the meeting will take place in Galway. The workshop will bring mathematicians and computer scientists together with biologists to share ideas and approaches for the comparison of genomes. The objective of the meeting is to achieve a greater understanding of genomics and genome evolution by comparing the genome sequences of different species. This provides a rich source of information and a valuable perspective on how genomes function. Keynote speakers for the conference will include: Professor Ed Green, UC Santa Cruz, USA; Professor Kateryna Makova, Penn State University, USA; Professor Julian Parkhill, Sanger Institute, UK; Professor Nicolaus Rajewsky, Max-Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Germany; and Dr Chris Greenman, Sanger Institute, UK. Professor Green was a leading contributor to the Neanderthal genome sequencing project, the results of which were published in Science in 2010. Analysis of the Neanderthal genome revealed that non-African humans interbred with Neanderthals and that consequently humans outside of Africa share some of their DNA with Neanderthals. Conference organiser, Professor Cathal Seoighe from the School of Mathematics, Statistics and Applied Mathematics at NUI Galway, said: “The life sciences have recently moved from the genome era to the era of many genomes. Massive advances in DNA sequencing technologies mean that the genomes of many human individuals and representatives from many different species are now available. This brings the era of personalised genomics closer and offers great opportunities to understand the basis of genome function and genetic diseases and phenotypes.” The RECOMB Conference Series bridges the areas of computational, mathematical, and biological sciences. Founded in 1997, the series provides a scientific forum for theoretical advances in computational biology and their applications in molecular biology and medicine. The conference features keynote talks by preeminent scientists in the life sciences, together with presentations of refereed research papers in computational biology. Delegates can register right up to the date of the event (8-10 October). Posters and late-breaker oral presentations may still be submitted until Tuesday, 20 September. More information is available from the website, www.recombcg.org.   -ENDS-