ARC Hub for HealthTech established to fast-track commercial impact of patient-focused solutions Research Ireland’s ARC Hub programme positions Northern and Western Region as global leader in new healthcare technology The new ARC Hub for HealthTech, a multimillion-euro Government investment to drive regional development by accelerating the commercialisation of cutting-edge, patient-focused research, has been officially launched today at University of Galway.  Focused on developing solutions to improve chronic disease management, the aim of the ARC Hub for HealthTech is to fast-track high-potential technologies in areas such as smart implants, advanced wearable medical devices, novel sensors and AI and machine learning-driven modelling.  Hosted by the University of Galway, in partnership with Atlantic Technological University (ATU) and RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, the initiative forms part of Research Ireland’s flagship Accelerating Research to Commercialisation (ARC) programme.  Twenty-three projects are currently in the ARC Hub for HealthTech after being selected for their strong potential to improve patient outcomes.  The launch of the ARC Hub for HealthTech - under the theme of ‘Regional Roots. Global Presence’ - included a call for new projects to be assessed for funding and support on the journey to commercialisation and a showcase of some of the current projects which are being fast-tracked to commercialisation, including advanced sensory detection devices to prevent falls in elderly people and intelligent devices to help control blood pressure.  Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless, T.D., said: “The ARC Hub for HealthTech has the potential to deliver game-changing acceleration of research commercialisation that will directly benefit individuals and communities in the West and North-West and further afield. As it continues to ramp up its operations and establish partnerships, the ARC Hub’s ambitions are clear and far-reaching. I look forward to seeing the Hub progress in its endeavours, outputs and impact over the coming years.”  Dr Diarmuid O’Brien, Chief Executive of Taighde Éireann-Research Ireland, said: “The ARC Hub programme is one of the most proactive, imaginative and potentially disruptive programmes ever delivered by Research Ireland. Bringing together our leading researchers, entrepreneurs, investors and industry to create an environment where our best research ideas can be translated from the lab to the market represents an inclusive and scalable model for creating companies of the future.”   Peter Power, Head of the European Commission Representation in Ireland, said: “The ARC Hub for HealthTech is an operation of strategic importance under the European Regional Development Fund programme for the Northern and Western region. It aligns with the objective of EU Cohesion policy to support thriving innovation ecosystems for all regions. Thanks to the ARC Hub for HealthTech, research will be translated into marketable products, thereby boosting the competitiveness of both the Northern and Western region and European competitiveness.”  President of University of Galway, Professor David Burn, said: “Today we are announcing more than a research and innovation entity – the ARC Hub for HealthTech is a remarkable opportunity to create a global powerhouse for healthcare in the Northern and Western regions of Ireland. With our partners and regional collaboration, we are seizing the moment to push the commercial impact of research with new supports, at a faster pace, with the overarching aim of bringing new healthcare, treatments and therapies to patients.”  President of Atlantic Technological University, Dr Orla Flynn, said: "ATU is delighted to be involved in the ARC Hub for HealthTech, working with our partners to advance health‑tech research and innovation. Through this collaboration, we are supporting the development of new technologies, strengthening research and creating clearer pathways for bringing scientific discovery into real‑world healthcare solutions. I wish the team every success in these endeavours, and to thank the funders for their support.”  Professor Cathal Kelly, Vice Chancellor of RCSI, said: “Improving patient outcomes must always be at the heart of health technology innovation. At RCSI, we are proud to be part of this ambitious collaboration, enabling researchers and innovators to work at pace, ensuring new technologies are clinically relevant, patient-focused, commercially translatable and capable of improving outcomes both nationally and internationally.”  Conall McGettigan, Northern and Western Regional Assembly, said: “The project constitutes an innovative initiative designed to accelerate regional development by expediting early-stage, advanced research to commercialisation. In alignment with Ireland’s smart specialisation strategy and by fostering entrepreneurial ideas within the research and innovation ecosystem, the Hub will facilitate the transformation of innovative concepts into tangible economic and societal benefits for the Northern and Western Region.”  Professor Garry Duffy, Professor of Health Technology Innovation at University of Galway, Professor of Anatomy at RCSI and Director of the ARC Hub for HealthTech, said: “The ARC Hub bridges the gap between exceptional medical research and real-world impact. With regional roots and a global presence, we're empowering researchers to become entrepreneurs and ensuring that HealthTech innovations developed in Ireland reach patients and markets worldwide.”  The ARC Hub for HealthTech was established in 2025 with a landmark funding investment of €34.3 million by the Government of Ireland and the European Union through the ERDF Northern & Western Regional Programme 2021-2027. It aims to position the Northern and Western Region as a national and international leader in the commercialisation of health technologies.  The initiative is designed to support the development of entrepreneurial scientists and engineers with the skills to realise opportunities to create start-up companies from research. It will equip researchers with early clinical validation pathways, entrepreneurial skills and commercialisation supports, to transform novel ideas into patient-focused healthcare solutions with global market potential.  To mark the official launch, applications have been opened for new projects to be assessed for funding and support on the journey to commercialisation.  The ARC Hub for HealthTech has the support of a high-calibre Advisory Committee whose diverse expertise will strengthen every aspect of its work. The Committee includes private investors, entrepreneurial training specialists from the US and Europe, industry leaders from various start-ups and multinational corporations, and government and public sector representatives.  The ARC Hub for HealthTech is one of a family of three ARC Hubs announced in 2025 as part of a multi-annual investment programme. The ARC Hub for Therapeutics (led by Trinity College Dublin) and ARC Hub for ICT (led by TU Dublin) are co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union through the Southern, Eastern and Midland Regional Programme 2021-2027.  The primary objective of the ARC Hub programme is to drive regional development by accelerating the commercialisation of novel, cutting-edge research, while also supporting the development of scientists and engineers with entrepreneurial skills to realise their commercial ambitions.  Ends  

New international study co-authored by University of Galway researchers shows that how animals live and move determines how quickly they see the world Animals do not just see the world differently from one another, they experience time itself at dramatically different speeds, researchers have revealed. The major new study shows that the speed at which an animal lives and moves strongly predicts how quickly it can visually process the world around it. The team of scientists - a collaboration between the University of Galway and Trinity College Dublin - analysed visual perception across 237 species in the animal kingdom, from insects and birds to mammals and marine life. The findings, published in the international journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, provide the strongest evidence to date that ecology and evolution shape how animals perceive time. The researchers found that that species with fast-paced ecologies - such as flying animals and “pursuit predators”, which chase fast, manoeuvrable prey - have much faster visual perception than slow-moving or sedentary species.             Dr Kevin Healy, co-author and Head of the Macroecology lab at the University of Galway’s School of Natural Sciences, said: “These results support a long-standing idea known as Autrum’s hypothesis, which in simple terms states that sensory systems evolve to match an animal’s way of life. What’s new is that we demonstrate this pattern across the entire animal kingdom, not just within small groups of species.”             Lead author Dr Clinton Haarlem, from Trinity’s School of Natural Sciences, said: “From a dragonfly tracking prey in mid-air to a starfish grazing slowly across the seabed, animals live in very different perceptual worlds. Our results show that these differences are not random. Instead, they are closely linked to how animals move, hunt, and interact with their environments.” Measuring the speed of sight To measure how quickly animals can process visual information, the researchers used a standard metric called “critical flicker fusion (CFF)”, which is the fastest rate at which a flickering light can be perceived as distinct rather than continuous. Higher CFF values indicate faster visual processing. While humans typically perceive flicker up to around 60 Hz, some insects and birds can detect changes at more than 200 flashes per second, effectively experiencing a slower-moving world. The team then tested how CFF relates to ecological traits such as locomotion, foraging strategy, body size, and light environment. Among the key results were: Flying species have the fastest visual perception, with CFF values roughly twice as high as non-flying animals. Pursuit predators have significantly higher temporal resolution than species feeding on stationary or slow-moving food Light environment matters: species active in bright conditions generally have faster vision than those living in darkness or deep water In aquatic environments, smaller, more manoeuvrable species tend to see faster than larger ones Dr Kevin Healy, said: “Species which live in low light environments and have slow lifestyles were found to have extremely slow visual systems. For example, the escolar, a deep sea fish, can see less than ten frames a second while deep sea isopods, a type of crustacean, can only see a couple of frames per second. For these species the world likely passes in a blur.” Why perception speed matters Fast visual processing allows animals to react to rapid changes, which is crucial for flight, hunting, and avoiding predators – but that comes at a cost. Rapid neural processing requires more energy, meaning high-speed vision is only favoured when it provides a clear ecological advantage. The findings also raise concerns about the impacts of artificial lighting and flicker in human-modified environments.             Dr Haarlem continued: “These findings suggest species with fast visual systems may be especially vulnerable to flickering artificial lights. This could affect their hunting success, navigation, and impact predator–prey interactions, particularly in birds and aquatic predators. Understanding how animals perceive time helps us understand how they behave, evolve, and respond to environmental change. It reminds us that the world we experience is just one version of many.” By linking ecology, evolution, and perception, the study ultimately highlights how animals inhabit fundamentally different sensory realities even when they share the same habitat. The full study in Nature Ecology & Evolution is available at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-026-02994-7 Ends  

University of Galway has announced a new partnership with Davy, Ireland’s leading provider of wealth management and investment banking services, to expand uptake in careers in finance for students from underrepresented groups. The initiative, part of Davy’s centenary celebrations, aims to support undergraduates through two new scholarships, one of which is dedicated to female students. The scholarships are designed to strengthen pathways into the financial sector at a time when demand for diverse talent continues to grow. Each year, they will be awarded to first-year students who are taking part in the University of Galway Student Managed Fund - a student‑led, global, diversified equity investment fund, established to offer students hands‑on experience in portfolio management and to enhance financial education through experiential learning. Professor Karena Yan, Dean of J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics, University of Galway, said: “Davy’s support has strengthened the University of Galway’s Student Managed Fund and accelerated its impact as a high‑quality learning platform. Innovation in the financial sector begins with a diverse and dynamic learning environment. Through these new scholarships, we are helping to remove financial barriers and broaden access to opportunities in finance. This partnership reflects the School’s commitment to openness and excellence, supporting students to plan for their future and gain a competitive edge in a growing industry.” The partnership was launched by Orla Graham, Chief People Officer at Davy, and University of Galway alumna who studied Business Studies at J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics, along with Eoin Cotter, Director and Head of Western Region, Davy. Orla Graham, Chief People Officer at Davy, said: “As we celebrate 100 years of serving our clients and communities, we are proud to partner with University of Galway to support the next generation of talented students as they begin their careers in financial services. At Davy, helping people plan for the future is a core part of our service – these scholarships will help shape the future of tomorrow’s leaders.” Davy’s support will create meaningful and immediate impact for recipients, equipping students with the confidence and support needed to pursue their academic goals. The scholarships are open to first-year undergraduates who are registered on a degree programme with a finance or economics component and who demonstrate strong academic potential. The successful students will be provided with €1,000, paid annually over the four years of their studies. The new partnership will support the two scholarships and the Student Managed Fund, providing both financial support as well as mentorship and guidance of the fund. The two new scholarships are: - Davy Centenary Scholarship to support students entering Year 1 of a Finance or Economics degree who are members of the Student Managed Fund. - Davy Scholarship for Females in Finance to support female students entering Year 1 of a Finance or Economics degree who are members of the Student Managed Fund, to increase participation and progression of women in finance‑related disciplines. Davy established its office in Galway in 2006 and continues to build its presence serving clients in Galway and the West. Eoin Cotter, Director and Head of Western Region, Davy, said: “This partnership represents an important milestone in our ongoing commitment to supporting education and opportunity in the West. We are proud to deepen our relationship with University of Galway as we look ahead to the next chapter.” Applicants can apply for the scholarships here: Davy Centenary Scholarship and here: Davy Females in Finance Scholarship. Learn more about eligibility and the selection process here. Ends