Impact & Opinions | Tionchar & Tuairimí

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13 December 2022
9  MINS

Investing in our Students  

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13 December 2022
9  MINS

Spotlight on: Corina Cunningham, Lawyer, Vice President, Macquarie Group 

With a passion for law, Corina’s journey has taken her to some of the top financial and legal organisations in the world. Now a lawyer for Macquarie Group, Corina highlights the richness that working internationally affords to graduates.

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13 December 2022
20  MINS

In Conversation: Professor Pól Ó Dochartaigh, MRIA, Deputy President and Registrar, University of Galway 

Professor Pól Ó Dochartaigh

“We have one of the highest participation rates in the world in third-level education, but we are a long way off being one of the highest investors in that education. For the sake of this country and its young people we need to stop trying to do this on the cheap,”  says Deputy President and Registrar of University of Galway, Professor Pól Ó Dochartaigh.

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13 December 2022
9  MINS

Our Future: The College of Business, Public Policy and Law    

Prof Geraint Howells

Prof Geraint Howells, Executive Dean of the College of Business, Public Policy and Law   discusses the college’s ambitious plans for the years ahead.

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13 December 2022
10  MINS

Spotlight on: Arts Student, Katelyn Hayes

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Creative Galway
12 December 2022
14  MINS

Imagining the Creative University

Professor Rebecca Braun

Waning confidence in progress narratives and declining imaginative capacity, among other factors, have led us to what national policy advisor and professor, Geoff Mulgan calls “a deficit of social imagination”. At the heart of this crisis, as articulated by Professor Rebecca Braun, is the need to imagine alternative ways of being on a collective scale, through the circulation of knowledge. If universities, as knowledge communities, are to play a major role in this quest, how might the creative university of the future operate?

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06 December 2022
12  MINS

Spotlight on: Aoibhín Sheedy, Bioengineer

Founder of University of Galway’s WiSTEM (Women in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) Society, Aoibhín Sheedy’s passion for creating change in society through her research and outreach work is having a very real impact. Currently undertaking a PhD on developing an immunotherapy for ovarian cancer, Bioengineer Aoibhín talks to Cois Coiribe about her passion for celebrating women in STEM and how her mentors influenced her career.    

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05 December 2022
18  MINS

In Conversation: Brendan Smith

‘The campus of my youth shaped me greatly and made me what I am today.’

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21 July 2022
16  MINS

Finally, Ireland’s First Hydrogen Valley

Dr Rory Monaghan

Ireland’s offshore renewable electricity resource is at least five times greater than its demand. With green hydrogen, we can indirectly use that electricity to power our trucks, buses, factories, data centres, planes and ships, explains Dr Rory Monaghan, one of the partners responsible for Ireland’s first Hydrogen Valley – GH2. 

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Sustainability
21 July 2022
23  MINS

In Conversation With: Paul Fahy, Artistic Director, Galway International Arts Festival

Thousands of festival goers descend on Galway City for two weeks each year in July, for the Galway International Arts Festival (GIAF). The value that GIAF brings to the city and its surroundings is indisputable – attracting world-class acts to the West of Ireland, putting Galway on the global cultural map and increasing footfall to local businesses. While sustainability has always been a goal for the festival (out of necessity as much as ethics), this year marks an important leap in its sustainability journey.

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Sustainability
20 July 2022
14  MINS

Mighty Microbes – Making Irish Agriculture More Sustainable

Prof Vincent O'Flaherty, Dr Anna Trego

As the world’s population grows, we face the challenge of producing more food while also reducing our impact on the environment. How do we increase production, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and manage waste, all at once?    

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20 July 2022
4  MINS

Connecting with Community for Sustainable Education 

Jamie Goggins, Magdalena Hajdukiewicz

Community-engaged learning with a focus on sustainability is central to the curriculum at NUI Galway’s Civil Engineering, Energy Systems Engineering and Project & Construction Management degrees. Prof Jamie Goggins and Dr Magdalena Hajdukiewicz discuss the impact on both society and the students who partake. 

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Sustainability
06 July 2022
5  MINS

University of Galway’s Sustainability Journey

Michelle O'Dowd Lohan, Sustainability Officer, University of Galway

In 2022, University of Galway was identified as Ireland’s number one university for Sustainable Development by the Time Higher Education’s Impact Rankings. Below, Sustainability Officer Michelle O’Dowd Lohan recounts the University’s sustainability journey thus far, and its goals for the future.

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Sustainability
05 July 2022
14  MINS

Tackling Energy Consumption – We Have More Power than We Think

Prof Frances Fahy, Professor Frances Fahy

A recent study led by Prof Frances Fahy and Dr Gary Goggins shows evidence that people can significantly reduce energy use when given the tools to challenge their everyday practices. If implemented at societal level, these savings could play a major role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and decarbonising the economy.

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Sustainability
01 July 2022
15  MINS

Transforming Waste into Energy

Prof Piet N. L. Lens

Imagine an economy in which domestic and industry waste can be used to create energy. In NUI Galway’s Ryan Institute, Prof Piet Lens and his team of microbiologists are investigating just that; using microbes to discover new ways to convert organic and inorganic waste into bioenergy.

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Sustainability
28 June 2022
15  MINS

Empowering Youth to Create Change

Elaine Nevin

ECO-UNESCO is an environmental education and youth organisation aimed at channeling the creativity of our youth into positive environmental change. NUI Galway Alum, Elaine Nevin, is ECO-UNESCO’s National Director. Here, she talks about her own journey into environmentalism and how young people today are demanding change.

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27 June 2022
10  MINS

Sustainability – A Student’s Perspective

Malena Thren In Conversation with, Tiffany Greenwaldt-Simon 

Since arriving at NUI Galway to study Environmental Science, Malena Thren has been determined to enact change.

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Sustainability
23 June 2022
16  MINS

The Power of ‘Enough’ – From efficiency to sufficiency

Prof Frances Fahy

What is the maximum level of consumption you need in order to live a good life? While lacking the cool factor of ‘clean’ tech, questions like this one around habit and social expectations are just as crucial in encouraging a mass shift towards sustainability. Through extensive research and case studies, Prof Frances Fahy has learned that less is certainly more in the fight against the climate crisis.

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Sustainability
21 June 2022
24  MINS

Global Sea Levels are Rising – Here’s what we can do

Dr Eugene Farrell, Lecturer & Researcher, Geography, NUI Galway

Despite predictions that large parts of Ireland’s coast will be submerged underwater by 2050, Ireland is still decades away from realising the potential of nature-based solutions. Here, geographer Dr Eugene Farrell explains how we can help face the challenges of climate change by restoring key coastal ecosystems.

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Sustainability
15 June 2022
12  MINS

‘Imperfect’ sustainability is still sustainability

Sophie O’Byrne in Conversation with Tiffany Greenwaldt-Simon

Medical Student Sophie O’Byrne, winner of the 2021 Student Sustainability Leadership Award, discusses her take on sustainability and the changes she’d like to see in the healthcare industry.

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15 June 2022
5  MINS

Professor Derek O’Keeffe demonstrates cardiovascular health at Bloom

Apart of the Bloom festival, NUIG professor Derek O’Keeffe was giving the opportunity to demonstrate the cardiovascular system and dangers to poor health.

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Sustainability
15 June 2022
13  MINS

‘Sustainability is a smart business strategy’

Joanne Sheahan

Joanne Sheahan, Senior Executive for Climate Action & Sustainability with Enterprise Ireland talks about sustainability and business in Ireland.

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Sustainability
08 June 2022
17  MINS

Beyond GDP – The value of marine ecosystem services

Prof Stephen Hynes

According to the most recent climate change report from the United Nations, sea level rise, ocean heat and acidification are massively impacting the ability of our oceans to deliver many of the critical ecosystem services that we depend on, yet take for granted. Governments and policy makers have generally failed to recognise the value of these marine ecosystem services in national income accounts and project appraisals; that situation is now changing.

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Sustainability
02 June 2022
7  MINS

ROPES: Biodiversity

Claire Hennessy

Published annually by students of the MA in Literature and Publishing at NUI Galway, ROPES Literary Journal  has firmly established itself as part of the flourishing literary scene in Ireland. Biodiversity by award-winning writer Claire Hennessy, provokes readers to consider ourselves and our futures in relation to our threatened and fragile environments. Originally published in Issue 30, and launched at the 2022 Cúirt International Festival of Literature.

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Sustainability
26 May 2022
15  MINS

From the Ground Up – Irish peatlands communities reducing CO2 emissions

Professor Christine Domegan

As the world strives to reduce carbon emissions, peatlands have been dubbed the new “black gold,” storing over three times the carbon of all the forests in the world. As part of the EU LIFE Peatlands and People project, people who once dug out drains to dry up bogs for peat harvesting are now blocking those very drains as part of a large-scale rewetting process. What drives a cultural shift like this? According to Professor of Social Marketing Christine Domegan, we must match urgent calls to action with positive models for change and mutual community support.

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Sustainability
19 May 2022
25  MINS

Measuring Pollution in the Cleanest Air in Europe

Liz Coleman

Thanks to its unique location, research at Mace Head shows the extent to which the most remote areas in the world are affected by pollution. Observing the rise of Greenhouse Gases, Liz Coleman and her fellow scientists find it increasingly important to communicate their findings to the public. In collaboration with artists Paula McCloskey and Sam Vardy, and science engagement & education expert, Mairéad Hurley, Stories of the Air/Spéirscéalta aims to do just that – driving collective action through storytelling.

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Sustainability
18 May 2022
30  MINS

Taking Risks on Life on this Planet

Tom McDermott, Dr Denis O’Hora

More than ever, we understand the causes of climate change and the likely consequences of inaction. So, what stops us from reducing carbon emissions in a meaningful way? Lecturer in Economics of Climate Change & Development, Tom McDermott and Behavioural Scientist, Dr Denis O’Hora investigate why we, as a society, have been unable to make greater progress in tackling this existential challenge.

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17 May 2022
7  MINS

ROPES: The Apiarist

R.J. Breathnach

Published annually by students of the MA in Literature and Publishing at NUI Galway, ROPES Literary Journal  has firmly established itself as part of the flourishing literary scene in Ireland. R. J. Breathnach’s poem, The Apiarist provoke readers to consider ourselves and our futures in relation to our threatened and fragile environments. Originally published in Issue 30, and launched at the 2022 Cúirt International Festival of Literature.

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Sustainability
13 May 2022
13  MINS

In Conversation: Dr Matt Kennedy, Arup

Dr Matt Kennedy, A. Director of Carbon, Climate & Sustainability, Arup

Design engineering firm, Arup count buildings such as the Sydney Opera House and the Centre Pompidou among their innovative projects. As Associate Director of Carbon and Climate Change, Dr Matt Kennedy leads climate change services for Arup in infrastructure, buildings and cities. Across his 20 years of sustainability leadership spanning government, industry and academia, the NUI Galway alumnus has seen major changes in the way we think about climate change.

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06 May 2022
15  MINS

How Domestic Violence Fuels Wider Conflict

Dr Nata Duvvury

Research shows that strong links exist between domestic violence and manifestations of public violence, from crime to war and terrorism. According to global women’s studies director, Dr Nata Duvvury, to neglect the problem of domestic violence is to neglect the wider conditions for violence across society.

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