INSTITUTE NEWS PROFILES RESEARCH & INNOVATION Your Place - Your Future GMIT Introduction Introduction In 2009, the Second Glion Declaration was published. It is Sa bhliain 2009, foilisíodh an Dara Dearbhú Glion. Is ráiteas é a statement about the challenges we face and, in faoi na dúshláin atá romhainn agus, go háirithe, éileamh orthu particular, a call to those involved in higher education to siúd atá páirteach san Ardoideachas na dúshláin sin a shárú. meet those challenges. It states: Dearbhaíonn sé: “Every generation has had its challenges but those of “ Bhí a dúshlán féin ag gach ghlúin ach tá na cinn ag tús an the early 21st century are unique to the extent to which 21ú haois leithleach sa mhéid go gcinnfidh siad leas todhchai ár they will determine the future wellbeing of our species... gcine... Agus muid ag seoladh ár mbealaigh chomhchoitinn Navigating our collective way towards some new chuig cothromaíocht nua éigin beidh slite nua, equilibrium will instead require new approaches, new smaointeoireacht nua, comhpháirtíocht nua agus thinking, new partnerships and new technology. And this, teicneolaíocht nua de dhíth orainn ina áit. Agus éileoidh sé seo, in turn, will require a change in outlook and a degree of ar a uain, athrú aigne agus roinnt nuálaíochta, a réabfaidh a innovation whose very boldness will be disruptive of much dánacht féin móran den smaointeoireacht nósmhar agus conventional thinking and many established practices.” mórán cleachtais bunaithe” I like the emphasis on being bold and being willing to Is maith liom an bhéim ar bheith misniúil agus toilteanach navigate together through un-chartered waters. The seoladh le chéile trí fharraige anaithnid. Feileann an meafar sailing metaphor is well suited to GMIT. I look out at the seoil go mór d’ITGM. Breathnaím amach ar an Atlantach gach Atlantic every day and every day it gives me something lá agus gach aon lá tugann sé rud éigin éagsúil dom le different to think about. I think about those forced to sail smaoineamh air. Smaoiním orthu siúd go raibh orthu seoladh away from Ireland to make a life and a living elsewhere. I leo as Éirinn chun saol agus beatha maireachtála a sholáthar áit think about how young so many of them were and the éigin eile. Smaoiním ar chomh hóg is a bhí go leor acu agus ar enormous life changes they met. na hathruithe saoil ollmhóra a d’fhulaing siad. MEET OUR STAFF VOLUNTEERING Contents Pages 4 to 19 Pages 20 to 38 INSTITUTE NEWS INTERNATIONAL Pages 20 to 38 Pages 39 to 55 MEET OUR STUDENTS RESEARCH & INNOVATION Pages 39 to 55 Pages 4 to 19 AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS ALUMNI Pages 4 to 19 Pages 20 to 38 Editor: Regina Daly Photos: Our address: Design & Layout: Proactive Boyd Challenger Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) Printer: Brunswick Press Ltd Sarah Connolly Dublin Road, Galway, Rep of Ireland. Keith Heneghan Tel: +353 91 753161 Contributors: Ian McDonald email: [email protected] Keith Bourke Aengus McMahon Denise McNamara Paul Sherwood GMIT Today is published by the GMIT Communications Office. Declan Rooney Ken Wright We welcome your thoughts on this publication. Please send them by post Lorna Siggins GMIT students & staff to Regina Daly, Communications Office, GMIT Dublin Road, Galway. GMIT staff © Copright Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) 2010 GMIT Today Introduction 2 GMIT Today Our students have all the courage, all the capability Tá an misneach céanna, an cumas céanna , agus an fonn and all the zest for life of those earlier innovators. maireachtála céanna ag ár mic léinn is a bhí ag na nuálaithe Sometimes in Higher Education we forget this. Look at the siúd a d’imigh rompu. Déantar dearmad ar seo scaití san profiles of students and graduates in this edition of GMIT Ardoideachas. Féach ar phróifílí ár mac léinn agus ár gcéimithe Today and you will see many examples of leadership, of san eagrán seo de GMIT Today agus feicfidh tú móran samplaí immense capability and capacity for change. Time does de cheannasaíocht, de chumas thar cionn agus ábaltacht ar alter the context but we are part of the great human arc of athrú. Is fíor go n-athraíonn imeacht na haimsire an history still making great strides, finding new challenges comhthéacs ach is cuid de stua mór daonna na staire muid, fós and confronting our own fears. ag déanamh an-dul chun cinn, ag aimsiú dúshláin nua agus ag When the Glion Declaration refers to “our collective tabhairt aghaidh ar ár n-eagla féin. way”, I’m reminded here in GMIT of our role in the Nuiar a luann an Dearbhú Glion ár “mbealach region. Most of our students come from this region; most comhchoiteann”, anseo in ITGM cuireann sé ár bpáirt sa go on to work in this region and in our business réigiún i gcuimhne dom. Is as an réigiún seo d’fhormhór ár incubation centres, some of our great future employers are mac léinn; faigheann an mhórchuid díobh obair sa réigiún seo navigating through un-charted waters. They are real agus inár nGorlanna Ghnó, tá roinnt dár bhfostóirí móra explorers and they are creating the future for themselves. amach anseo ag seoladh trí fharraige anaithnid. Is fíor-fhostóirí Technology makes it possible for them to learn from the iad agus tá siad ag cruthú a ndán dóibh féin. Cuireann an great web of global knowledge but they will hopefully use teicneolaíocht ar a gcumas foghlaim ó ghréasan mór feasa an this region as the centre of their future enterprises. domhain ach tá súil againn go mbeidh an réigiún seo mar For students, these are difficult times. Dealing with lárionad a bhfiontair san am atá le teacht. uncertainty, as those early emigrants did, brings huge Is deacair an saol é do mhic léinn faoi láthair. Cosúil leis na pressure on the individual. As an institution we need, in heisimiricigh sin fadó, tá an-chuid brú orthu agus iad ag plé le collaboration with our region, to look for new thinking to héiginnteacht. Mar institiúid, i gcomhar lenár réigiún, assist them in shaping their futures. Every year in GMIT, I caithfimid smaointeoireacht nua a aimsiú chun cabhrú leo have a chance to see what students are interested in when cruth a chur ar a ndán. Gach bhliain in ITGM bíonn deis agam I look at their work in exhibitions and projects. I’m more fáil amach céard iad na nithe a mbíonn spéis ag na mic léinn and more convinced that we need to utilise their talents iontu nuair a fhéachaim ar a saothar sna taispeántais agus sna and creativity by creating a framework to support them as tionscnaimh. Táim ag dul i ndearfacht ó lá go lá go gcaithfimid they develop their thinking. This year, we have introduced a mbuanna agus a gcruthaitheacht a úsáid trí chreatlach a a new Graduate Entrepreneurship Programme. It is one chruthú chun tacú leo a smaointeoireacht a fhorbairt. I small dint in the prevailing negative mindset. I would like mbliana tá Clár nua Iarchéime Fiontraíochta tugtha isteach to see this scheme expanded so that lots more young againn . Is log beag amháin é sa mheon diúltach atá faoi réim. graduates can follow their ideas. Ba mhaith liom dá ndéanfaí an scéim seo a leathnú chun go I’m back to the ocean and the need for new thinking. mbeidh a lán céimithe óga eile in ann a dtuairimí a leanúint. It was suggested to me sometime ago that among the great Tá mé ar ais ag an aigéan agus an gá le smaointeoireacht úr. unknowns for us as humans, two are pre-eminent: the Am éigin ó shin moladh domsa go bhfuil dhá ghné atá human mind and the great oceans of the planet. We really suntasach i measc na nithe nach heol dúinn mar dhaoine: do not know as humans what we are capable of achieving. intinn an duine agus aigéin mhóra an phláinéid. Mar dhaoine Any higher education system worth supporting must níl a fhios againn ar chor ar bith céard atá ar ár gcumas a bhaint always place a special premium on map-making. We need amach. Caithfidh aon chóras ardoideachais gur fiú tacú leis new maps which signpost new routes for our students. To préimh faoi leith a chur ar léarscáilíocht. Tá léarscáil nua de do this we must be prepared to experiment and be dhíth orainn le bealaí nua a leagan amach dár mic léinn. Chun prepared sometimes to fail. Our “experiment” this year é seo a dhéanamh caithfimid bheith réidh tástáil agus bheith with the new pro-bono programme for the unemployed is réidh teip corruair. Is sampla breá é d’fhiontraíocht rathúil ár a fine example of successful risk-taking. The staff who “dturgnamh” i mbliana leis an gclár nua pro bono do dhaoine developed and delivered this programme did so because dífhostaithe. An fhoireann a d’fhorbair agus a thug an clár seo, they passionately believed that doing nothing was not an rinneadar é mar gur chreideadar go paiseanta nach raibh an option. In particular Ivan McPhillips and Deirdre Lusby rogha acu tada a dhéanamh. is cóir tréaslú le Ivan Mac Philib are to be congratulated for taking this initiative. This agus Deirdre Lusby, go háirithe, as an dtionscnamh seo a chur programme has opened all our eyes. We have learned a i ngníomh. Tá ár súile go léir oscailte ag an gclár seo. great deal from the students and we have learned a great D’fhoghlaim muid an-chuid go deo óna mic léinn agus tá an- deal about human potential. chuid foghlamtha againn faoin acmhainneacht daonna. As for the ocean, I watch the horizon and am always Maidir leis an aigéan, bím ag faire ar an léaslíne agus reminded of what Francis Bacon, one of the great thinkers cuirtear focail Francis Bacon, duine dena smaointeoirí móra in of a turbulent age, had to say: aois shuaite, i gcónaí i gcuimhne dom: “They are ill-discovers who think there is no land when “They are ill-discovers who think there is no land when they they can see nothing but sea”.