Officials from the Chinese Government Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) visited the Regenerative Medicine Institute (REMEDI) at NUI Galway last week.  Organised by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Ireland, the visit was a follow-up to the signing of collaborative research agreements between REMEDI and two Chinese research institutes based in Shanghai and Xi’an earlier this year. The collaboration will see the partners work together in the areas of regenerative medicine clinical trials, particularly in the areas of diabetes and orthopaedics.  As part of their visit the officials from MOST had the opportunity to see the Centre for Cell Manufacturing Ireland (CCMI) at NUI Galway, which is a specially designed facility for manufacturing GMP-grade stem cells for use in human clinical trials. At present there is no similar facility in China. REMEDI hopes to work with its collaborators and the Chinese Government to help set up similar resources in China, ultimately opening up new opportunities for partnership in the area of clinical trials using stem cells. Professor Timothy O’Brien, Director of REMEDI states, “We look forward to undertaking collaborative clinical trials using stem cells in Ireland and China. This will allow efficacy to be assessed in different ethnic populations and will also serve to harmonize transnational conduct of such trials.” “We highly appreciate that NUI Galway has been actively developing close scientific collaborations with Chinese institutions in recent years”, added Liya Dong, Deputy Director General, Department of Science & Technology Development, MOST, “and we strongly support Ireland-China bi-lateral collaborations in life science and other areas, and will do our best to provide assistance for promoting the collaborations between NUI Galway and the Chinese Institutions in Shanghai and Xi’an.” The Regenerative Medicine Institute (REMEDI) is a Science Foundation Ireland-funded Strategic Research Cluster, led by NUI Galway and with partners in University College Cork and NUI Maynooth. REMEDI is a partnership between scientists, clinicians and industry and it is the leading centre in the area of stem cell and regenerative medicine in Ireland. -ends-

First Podiatry Students in Ireland to Graduate Over 1400 students, including the first Podiatry students in the country, will graduate from across the five colleges at NUI Galway at the University's winter conferring ceremonies, which take place from today, Wednesday 21 to Friday, 23 November. George Cunningham will also be conferred with an honorary Master of Arts degree. From Roscrea, Co. Tipperary, George Cunningham is a former Principal of Coolderry Central School, Birr, Co. Offaly. He was prominently associated with the successful campaign to save and subsequently restore Damer House in his native Tipperary town of Roscrea. He founded there, in 1980, Ireland’s first heritage centre together with the Roscrea Heritage Society, of which he is still President and honorary Life Member.  He has been deeply involved with every aspect of Irish heritage tourism during the past thirty years. He receives this honorary degree in recognition of his enormous contribution to heritage, conservation and education. The winter conferring will see the first cohort of graduates from the discipline of Podiatry in the School of Health Sciences at the University, which is the only undergraduate programme available in the Republic of Ireland leading to a BSc (Hons) in Podiatry. 13 students will graduate, qualifying after four years of study as healthcare professionals specialising in the management of disease and disorders of the lower limb and foot. Speaking in advance of the ceremonies, President of NUI Galway, Dr Jim Browne, said: “The graduation of the first cohort of podiatry graduates in Ireland is a historic milestone.  We are delighted to have worked closely with colleagues in the HSE and with international experts to develop this new programme. I am also pleased that this week we will honour the achievements of George Cunningham, an enlightened educationalist and custodian of Irish heritage, by conferring him with an honorary degree.  In addition, degrees, higher diplomas, Masters and PhDs will be awarded to students graduating over the three days from the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences; College of Engineering and Informatics; College of Business, Public Policy and Law; College of Science; and the College of Arts, Social Sciences and Celtic Studies. -Ends-

The 15th Galway Science and Technology Festival, part of National Science Week and sponsored by Medtronic Galway, will host the Festival’s Final Exhibition Day at NUI Galway on Sunday, 25 November from 10am to 6pm. Professor Pat Fottrell, Chairman of Science Foundation Ireland is the Festival’s special guest and will visit exhibits accompanied by Dr Jim Browne, President of NUI Galway, Mr Gerard Kilcommins, VP of Global Vascular Operations Medtronic, Professor Tom Sherry, Dean of Science NUI Galway, Mr Michael Carmody, President of GMIT, Dr Des Foley, Head of Science & Research GMIT and Mr Tom Hyland, Chairman of Galway Science & Technology Festival. During the Final Day Exhibition at NUI Galway visitors can enjoy over 80 interactive stands representing areas including research, education, industry and the environment at the Bailey Allen Hall and Orbsen Building. Visitors can take a tour of the new Engineering Building and visit the Zoology and Marine Biology Museum, while 20 separate shows for families will take place in the IT Building, Aula Maxima and the Arts and Science Concourse buildings. There will be a number of volunteers who will direct visitors to shows and exhibits and there will also be a Park and Ride facility at Corrib Village, Newcastle with a shuttle bus to and from the University Campus. Up to 20 Primary and Secondary Schools will exhibit stands covering Life Science, Technology and Physics and Chemistry themes, with the overall winning schools receiving a prize for most creative exhibits. Visitors can expect to be greeted by students lurking around exhibit areas dressed in mad scientist and bacteria costumes. Festival Sponsors providing exciting interactive exhibits include Medtronic, Galway Enterprise Board, NUI Galway, GMIT, Cisco, Boston Scientific, Avaya, SAP, Covidien, Hewlett Packard, Creganna, The Marine Institute and Galway County Council. Medtronic’s exhibit will focus on Innovation, with engineers on hand to demonstrate how to get from Idea to Product and all the steps in between. There will be a showcase of products for the treatment of Coronary Artery Disease and Hypertension. Visitors to the stand are encouraged to ask lots of questions and may be in with a chance of winning a prize. Medtronic will also provide a fun Games Corner where children of all ages are invited to come and test their manual dexterity with lots of helpful people from Medtronic on hand to greet you on the day. Gerard Kilcommins, VP of Global Vascular Operations and General Manager Galway Site Medtronic commented, “Medtronic became the main sponsor of the Galway Science and Technology Festival over ten years ago.  Since then, we are delighted to have experienced the journey that has seen the event evolve and flourish into one of the highlights in the calendars of the educational and science communities. This year’s theme is “Everyday Experimenting” and experimentation is something that makes Science and Technology so fascinating. Engaging the younger generation throughout this festival about the wonders and possibilities of Science and Technology will help ensure we have the pool of talented scientists and engineers so necessary for Ireland’s future success as a nation. As Thomas A. Edison once said, ‘to have a great idea, have a lot of them’ and I have no doubt the action-packed Exhibition on Sunday will generate lots of ideas and open minds to the many great possibilities and opportunities out there.” The Computer & Communication Museum of Ireland, part of the University’s Digital Enterprise Research Institute, will be on display in the Bailey Allen, providing a fascinating insight into advances in communications and computing through the years. Hewlett Packard will join the Coderdojo Galway members in the Museum and demonstrate coding. Also, on the day a Prize-Giving Ceremony will take place at the Boston Scientific stand, awarding the winner of the Coding the Big Bang competition where entrants had to create a web-based computer programme that explains the role of CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. The competition coincided with the CERN ‘Accelerating Science’ Exhibition sponsored by Boston Scientific in association with Coderdojo Galway City. Visitors to the Boston Scientific stand will also learn about the technology behind Angioplasty and Balloon Formation and try their hand at the Guidewire Tracking Challenge for a chance to win an iPad Nano every hour. NUI Galway will have a number of exhibits including a H-Racer and Solar Hydrogen Station. The H-Racer is the smallest and coolest hydrogen fuel cell car in the world. Visitors can witness the power of new energy technology in the palm of their hand. The car does not need batteres and uses a real fuel cell and its own on-board hydrogen storage system. The Hydrogen station will provide the H-Racer with an unlimited supply of clean energy. To create free hydrogen fuel at the flick of a switch, just add water to the station’s tank while fuelling is animated by a special blue light display. GMIT will have a number of interactive Science and Technology exhibit stands to mark their 40th Anniversary. Exhibit themes include How Engines Work where visitors will see how different engine types work with interactive models on display as well as touch screen animations, and Energy Engineering will demonstrate how energy management is a vital part of everyday life and learn about how energy can be harnessed from the sea, the sun and the wind. Family shows include Black John The Bogus Pirate, a cartoon workshop aimed at teaching children of all ages about marine environment while having fun. K’nex Roadshow, is based on a dynamic open ended spatial building system and Mr Bug with Matt Lewis allows children get up close to friendly tropical animals like snakes and lizards. Killaloe Exploration Dome is a mobile planetarium designed to explore science, astronomy, geology and geography in a fun and interactive way. True Physics Show is an interactive hands-on science show where students participate in launching rockets and flying helicopters and Sue McGrath’s Chemistry Show will demonstrate wacky experiments like super foams, colour changes and disgusting slime. Galway Science and Technology Festival Chairman, Tom Hyland commented, “On behalf of the Board of the Galway Science and Technology Festival, I would like to thank our main sponsor Medtronic and all of our partners who have contributed to the growth and development of this Festival into a very significant vehicle for the promotion of the STEM subjects to our young people and help bring excitement and fun to Science and Technology for children and families across the city and county.”  Exhibition day bookings can be made at www.galwayscience.eventbrite.com to help people plan their day. ENDS

Over 157 NUI Galway students received certificates at the annual NUI Galway Annual Access Awards Ceremony recently. The certificates were presented by Professor Chris Curtin, NUI Galway’s Vice-President for Innovation and Performance, for successful completion of the University’s Access courses delivered during the academic year 2011/2012, both on campus and in Outreach Centres in Ballinasloe, Co. Galway, Screebe, Co. Galway and in Longford. Also receiving awards were 73 Access Students who graduated with degrees in Arts, Commerce, Law, Engineering, Nursing and Medicine. A further 14 students who received post-graduate diplomas in Education, Health, Arts and Business Studies, and post-graduate degrees in Marketing, Social Work, Community Development and Law were also acknowledged.  NUI Galway’s Access Officer, Imelda Byrne, said: “By the end of this year, a total of 463 graduates and 139 postgraduates will have come through the University’s Access Programme since its introduction in 2001. This ceremony was to mark the wonderful achievement of those inspirational students and to commend all on their perseverance, dedication and hard work.”  The function of the NUI Galway Access Programme is to address and respond appropriately to the issues of equality of access, equity of life long opportunities and responding to the issues of rural (and to a lesser extent, urban) social exclusion in the Border, Midland and Western Region and County Clare. All of the elements of the access programmes have important initiatives designed to give everyone a chance to benefit from third level education.  -ENDS-

Bachelor of Commerce graduate and Executive Vice President of The Coca-Cola Company, Irial Finan took time during a business trip to Ireland this week to visit his Alma Mater, the J.E. Cairnes School of Business & Economics at NUI Galway. Mr Finan, who is also President of the Bottling Investments Group and Supply Chain, was on hand to talk to students of the Masters in International Management, passing on his valuable expertise in the arena of international management. The Roscommon native is responsible for managing a multi-billion dollar internal bottling business, the Bottling Investments Group (BIG), which has operations on four continents, with revenues of over $8 billion and employs in excess of 60,000 people. Additionally, he is responsible for stewarding the Company's equity investments. Dr Paul Ryan, Programme Director of the MSc (International Management) was delighted to have Mr Finan address the class saying,“The aim of the programme has always been to bring real learning into the class room. The insights he was able to provide, leading a company with a portfolio featuring 15 billion dollar brands, will not only stand to our students in their studies but also in their future careers.” Mr Finan commented: “The Coca-Cola Company operates in 207 countries and is truly both a global and a local company. We constantly challenge ourselves to remain relevant to our consumers. The ability to do business internationally across different cultures is a key feature of my role. I was delighted to share my thoughts with students in the institution which provided a springboard for my career.” ENDS