Pre - 2014

flusurvey.ie will track the spread of flu across Ireland and provide useful real-time data   Irish people are being asked to volunteer information about their health this winter at flusurvey.ie. Now in its second year, the website is a collaboration between NUI Galway and the HSE - Health Protection Surveillance Centre. Volunteers are asked to register with the site, and log any flu symptoms if and when they develop.   The website asks participants about their overall health and possible influenza symptoms – headaches, fever, sore throats – and maps this information in real-time. This provides valuable real-time information for healthcare professionals on the demographic and geographic profile of people suffering from flu.   The system can map the spread of the disease in its early stages, and provide health professionals with an early warning signal of nationwide outbreaks.   Project Leader Dr Jim Duggan, of NUI Galway’s Ryan Institute, says: “Last winter we tracked data from hundreds of volunteers, with the majority coming from Dublin, Cork and Galway. Amongst our participants, we saw particular spikes in illness in mid-to-late February, and also observed the highest percentage of self-reported flu levels from our survey in the under-18 year age group.”   Flusurvey.ie has demonstrated the potential for self-reporting systems, and the team behind it is building on last year’s success to recruit more participants throughout the country. “Our web system is designed to handle a sizeable nationwide survey, and increasing the numbers who volunteer their health symptoms will enhance the overall information we can share with the HSE-HPSC”, adds Dr Duggan.   Dr Darina O’Flanagan of the HSE-HPSC welcomed the re-launch and said that flusurvey.ie is a useful addition to flu surveillance in Ireland and that the information gathered will be aggregated to complement existing methods of influenza surveillance.   Seasonal influenza is a highly contagious viral disease that is characterised by sudden onset of fever, accompanied by muscle pain or headache, and a cough or sore throat. In Ireland, the influenza season typically starts in October, and continues through to late May.   Volunteers register online and self-report by answering short questions relating to demographic, medical, socio-economic and lifestyle issues. The system is secure, and all patient information is analysed at an aggregate and anonymous level. Participants can also view their individual symptom history, and interactive health maps at local and national levels.    Flusurvey is accessible for registration at https://flusurvey.ie  

There was a great involvement by Discipline of Information Technology in the postgraduate conferrals yesterday. Of the 146 who graduated from the College of Engineering and Informatics, 121 were from the Information Technology postgraduate programmes:   PhD MSc Research Master of Information Technology HDip Software Design & Development (ICT Skills/Industry Stream) MSc Software Design & Development Diploma Software Engineering MSc Software engineering and Database Technology   Congratulations to all graduates.  

A group of students from the H.Dip Industry programme were leading the way at the Galway Startup Weekend held in NUI Galway on Saturday. Morgan Commins was interviewed on TG4 and was also assisted by David Pope and Ronan O'Keefe who are both currently in the 1SD3 class.

Congratulations to Menglin Li who successfully defended his PhD thesis. His PhD is entitled “Graph Topology and the Emergence of Cooperation” and was supervised by Dr Colm O’Riordan. The external examiner, Professor Franziska Klugl of Orebro University, Sweden and internal examiner, Dr James Cruickshank of the School of Maths, were very complementary about the depth and scope of his implementation and analysis. Follow the link below to learn more about the areas for research within the Discipline of Information Technology and current funding opportunities. http://www.nuigalway.ie/engineering-informatics/information-technology/research/

Well done, Owen!  Dr. Owen Molloy, who is a partner and Work Package Leader in a Horizon 2020 proposal that has been approved for funding and is now at grant agreement preparation stage. Impressively, the proposal scored 15/15. The proposal is called “Respon-SEA-ble” and was submitted last June under the Call H2020-BG-2014-1 “Blue Growth: Unlocking the Potential of Seas and Oceans”. There are 18 partners and a total budget of €3.89m including €309k for Owen’s group in NUI Galway. An overview is attached. Respon-SEA-ble overview

Congratulations to Dr. Hugh Melvin and Dr. Michael Schukat who have been successful in two Enterprise Ireland Commercialisation Fund proposals in which they are collaborating: FarmEye:  Hugh and Michael are working with Dr Chaosheng Zhang of Geography, NUI Galway, on a web-based, real-time digital nutrient management system based on agronomy modelling, precision location and GIS for land management practitioners. The budget for Discipline of Information Technology is €120,000 over 18 months. SCAMPS:  This is a collaborative project between the Nimbus Research Centre @ Cork Institute of Technology and our Cyber Security Research Group here at NUI Galway. It aims to develop a Cloud / IoT-based infrastructure that allow operators of multiple energy generation and similar assets to centrally control, monitor performance and manage repairs/maintenance cost effectively. The total budget for the Discipline of Information Technology is €70,000 over 12 months.