Summer Research Scholarships

Summer Research Scholarship

Introduction

Applications are invited for research bursaries for students of the School of Engineering, University of Galway, wishing to pursue a summer research project in the School of Engineering, over a 5-week period between 18^th May – 28^th August 2026. Two scholarships are available, each with a bursary of €2,000.

Eligibility

These internship bursaries are available to eligible students in the School of Engineering, University of Galway. Undergraduate students in years 1-4, and postgraduate students in the final year of their 5-year integrated masters are eligible to apply

Students who are on a paid PEP or are due to be on a paid PEP will not be eligible.
Students who are already committed to undertaking a funded placement/internship are ineligible to apply.
Final year students are eligible to apply.
Underrepresented students in Engineering are especially encouraged to apply, e.g. female students, students with a disability, international students, LGBT+ students, Deis school graduates, and other categories students may wish to self-declare.

Academic Co-ordinator

The academic Co-ordinator is Dr Magda Hajdukiewicz. For any queries, students can email engineering@universityofgalway.ie

Possible Project Descriptions

Please see the bottom of this page for a list of available project descriptions and associated supervisors.

Application Deadline

Monday, 13th April 2026

How to Apply:

Step 1: Email one of the Supervisors listed below to request permission from them to apply as an intern on their project.

Step 2: Download & complete a copy of the application form. Please ensure you do not type your answers directly into this form – it is important that you download a copy School of Engineering Summer Research Internship Application Form.docx

Step 3: Create a zip file with the Supervisor’s email authorisation and the completed application form and upload it via this online form by the April 13th deadline.

If you have any questions, please reach out to engineering@universityofgalway.ie

Evaluation

Applications will be evaluated by members of the School's Research and Graduate Studies Committee. Students will be ranked based on their academic grades, the proposed research project and the supervisor's recommendation of the application.  

Supervisor	Research Keywords	Example Project	More Information
Dr Adnan Elahi	Wireless implantable sensors Cardiovascular health monitoring Passive LC resonant sensing	The project focuses on the design and characterisation of wireless implantable sensors for cardiovascular health monitoring. The student will investigate sensor design, wireless readout techniques, and performance evaluation in simulated physiological environments, gaining hands-on research experience in the Translational Medical Device Lab.	https://research.universityofgalway.ie/en/persons/adnan-elahi/
Dr Brian Deegan	Electronics Robotics Imaging	Implementing a prototype autonomous hospitality robot using embedded systems and basic AI. Tasks include integrating sensors for navigation, developing simple path-planning algorithms, and building a user interface for interactions.	https://research.universityofgalway.ie/en/persons/brian-deegan/
Dr Dallan Byrne	Agriculture Algorithms Cloud-based Software.	This internship develops cloud-based algorithms to monitor 75 farming machines on three continents. The student will adapt/expand a field classification algorithm (link) for deployment on a cloud server, creating tools that process GPS data and deliver real-time insights to farmers on equipment use, field activity, and operational efficiency.	This paper presents a novel GPS coordinate-based method to perform field boundary detection from a tractor towing an combination baler-wrapper
Dr Eoghan Dunne	Electrical Mechanical Prototyping	The project will work on building and testing prototypes for testing electromechanically medical devices in area of drug delivery and cancer thermal ablation. The student will get hands on experience in rapid prototyping and testing, including use of CAD, 3D printing, and analysis methods.	https://www.bioinnovate.ie/bioinnovate/about-us/our-team/programmementors/dr-eoghan-dunne.html
Dr Eoin King	atmospheric profilnig and acoustic sensor deployment on a drone	The student is to rebuild a drone to be used to carry atmospheric profiling sensors which are read in real time at the ground (this is currently under test). The drone would also need to activate a loud tone, which would be measured at some distance on the ground. Link opposite: Project would contribute to ASHORE project where we want to profile sound propagation conditions over long distances over water	ASHORE: Assessment of Sound Propagation from Offshore Wind Turbines — TheGalwaySoundLab
Dr Kevin Moerman	Mechanical tester Arduino Raspberry pi	This project focusses on a novel and open source desktop mechanical testing system. The current prototype features an Arduino controlled stepper motor, lead screw, and loadcell. The next steps are to finalise assembly and testing of the system and to contribute directly to the write up of a dedicated publication.	https://research.universityofgalway.ie/en/persons/kevin-moerman/
Dr Kevin Moerman	Robotics Arduino inverse kinematics	This project focusses on the use of Arduino Braccio robotic arms. In particular the project aims to implement forward and inverse kinematics for control of these robotic systems. The end goal is to demonstrate motion control and to develop a lab assignment for future students taking a robotics control module.	https://www.arduino.cc/education/braccio/
Dr Kevin Moerman	Biaxial tester Arduino Raspberry pi	This project focusses on the design and development of a novel low cost desktop biaxial testing system. The system will use precision stepper motors and load cells, and can use Arduino or Raspberry pi systems for control of motion. Cameras mounted over the rig will be used to record strain.	https://research.universityofgalway.ie/en/persons/kevin-moerman/
Dr Kevin Moerman	Design mammography skin scanner	This project focusses on the design of the hardware for an imaging system to scan the shape of the breast during a mammography procedure. We will visit the clinic to understand the mammography device and design a system to work with it based on our current (digital image correlation) systems. Link opposite: This is a system similar to what we currently have for imaging limbs, so a simple variant of this could be designed	https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8371235
Dr Meadhbh Brennan	Mesenchymal stromal cells regenerative medicine bone tissue engineering	This project will entail investigations of bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) ability for bone tissue regeneration when delivered on biomaterial scaffolds. In particular, quantification of bone tissue formation, and statistical analysis comparing MSC sources will be conducted.	https://www.universityofgalway.ie/remedi/research-groups/brennangroup/
Dr Michael Flanagan	Additive manufacturing Design 3D Scanning	Sports Prosthetic Design. The student will scan an existing prosthetic using LiDAR and create a CAD model. They will then design an improved version, prepares it in a 3Dprint slicer, and fabricates the new custom prosthetic using a 3D printer, integrating digital modeling with practical fabrication skills.	https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-flanagan-09a72390/
Dr Mingming Tong	Fluid Dynamics Advanced Infrastructure Student Practical	School of Engineering recently procured a new state-of-art multi-purpose smart and green device for teaching and student Labs. A student is recruited to test the device, design an assignment of student Labs, use the device to do a pilot run, and use the results to improve/finalize the assignment. The project's outcomes will be used by teaching staffs in the teaching of fluid mechanics.	https://research.universityofgalway.ie/en/persons/mingming-tong/
Dr Myra Lydon	Accessibility metrics Geospatial Data Analysis Infrastructure Resilience	Work on developing accessibility-based metrics and visualisation tools to assess how bridge failures impact rural communities’ access to schools, healthcare, and jobs. The student will gain hands-on experience in mapping, data analysis, and building interactive dashboards to help improve infrastructure planning and community resilience.	https://www.universityofgalway.ie/embrace/thesolution/
Dr Myra Lydon	Stakeholder Engagement Asset Management Collaboration	Help support the planning of a national forum bringing together bridge owners across Ireland. The student will explore stakeholder needs, review international best practices, and contribute to developing a collaborative framework to improve knowledge-sharing, asset management, and coordinated decision-making across organisations.	https://www.universityofgalway.ie/embrace/stakeholderengagement/
Dr Padraig Conneely	Digital Twin Robotics Advanced Manufacturing	A major multinational F+B manufacturer located in the west of Ireland is planning significant upgrades to its highly automated production, warehousing and conveying systems. Digital Twins need to be developed to validate and optimise the planned upgrades. Develop a pilot digital twin using Visual Components Software as proof of concept.	https://www.visualcomponents.com/
Dr Patrick McGetrick	Hurley engineered wood products testing and analysis	Review of existing state of the art in design and analysis of hurleys manufactured from different wood species and materials, followed by design and mechanical testing and analysis of a hurley using alternative materials or wood products.	https://www.universityofgalway.ie/terg/
Dr Roshan George	Digital Twins Autonomous Driving Gaussian Splatting	This project explores multimodal 3D Gaussian Splatting for autonomous driving scenes. Using the test vehicle's camera data, we reconstruct photorealistic static environments and embed additional sensor modalities, such as thermal and neuromorphic data, into the splat representation. This enables novel-view synthesis across multiple sensor types from a single unified reconstruction.	Example of dynamic gaussian splatting.
Prof Kathryn Cormican	Digital innovation user-centred design software prototyping	Design a low-fidelity prototype for a digital tool that helps local councils communicate flood or storm alerts to citizens. The student will conduct a focused desk research review of user needs and accessibility guidelines to define a concise set of requirements, then develop and evaluate a low-fidelity prototype based on those findings.	https://research.universityofgalway.ie/en/persons/kathryn-cormican/
Prof Kathryn Cormican	Sustainable digital platform peer-to-peer platform user-centred design, low-fidelity prototyping	Design a low-fidelity prototype for a peer-to-peer tool-sharing platform that promotes sustainable consumption. The student will conduct a short desk research review of user needs and trust in digital platforms to define a concise set of requirements, then develop and evaluate wireframes based on those findings.	https://research.universityofgalway.ie/en/persons/kathryn-cormican/
Prof Rory Monaghan	Hydrogen Renewables Energy	Your project will develop modelling and optimisation tools to inform the deployment of green hydrogen production, storage, transportation and end-use technologies. You will work as part of the SH2AMROCK hydrogen valley team.	https://www.sh2amrock.eu/
Prof Seán Leen	offshore wind turbines fatigue steels	Testing of steels for next generation offshore wind turbine support structures, including effects of microstructure (e.g. grain size) and welding effects (e.g. residual stresses) and development of design tool for fatigue of these structures and materials.	https://research.universityofgalway.ie/en/persons/sean-leen/