SCIENCE ATU SLIGO New honours degree in Clinical Measurement Physiology

September 2023 will see the first intake of students to the BSc (Hons) in Clinical Measurement

BSc (Hons) in Human Nutrition graduate Niamh O’Callaghan continued her studies in ATU Sligo after obtaining a place on an Irish Research Council Government of Ireland postgraduate programme. Niamh’s Masters by Research is titled Investigating Nutrition Related Life of Irish Cancer Survivors.

The Cork native said, “While carrying out my final year undergraduate project on the muscle strength of ambulatory oncology patients and its effect on quality of life, I was inspired to pursue a Masters in the field. The first-hand experience made me realise for each patient’s nutritional status the one size fits all approach is not applicable, and personalised care is fundamental.”

Niamh has published two peer-reviewed publications from her research and attended seven conference presentations. One of these was at the International Society of Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity (ISBNPA) held in Arizona, USA. She also received the FSAI Prize for Best Poster Presentation at the Nutrition Society's Irish Section Conference 2022.

New teaching labs in Human Nutrition

dedicated to health promotion around the world. The accreditation is a reference point for employers in recruitment and selection, as they know graduates are educated to a very high standard. This helps graduates stand out from the crowd and enables career movement across roles, organisations, regions, and countries.

ATU Sligo’s undergraduate degrees have also achieved accreditation for meeting the European standards in the training of exercise professionals. Students can obtain embedded awards in Fitness Instruction, Personal Training, and as an Exercise for Health Specialist.

Graduates from these programmes secure careers in areas including sports development, sports science, physical activity promotion, health promotion, and lots more.

Graduates can also pursue postgraduate study in ATU Sligo or continue their studies in Allied Health Professions such as physiotherapy, radiography, and occupational therapy. ATU Sligo graduates have a strong record of successful careers in the Allied Health Professions.

With 19 of the world’s top 20 pharmaceutical firms based in Ireland, the demand within the pharmaceutical and medtech industries for skilled graduates is at an all-time high. BioPharmaceutical companies are attracted to Ireland thanks to the deep pool of talent coming out of higher education institutes such as ATU Sligo. Sligo is recognised as a rapidly developing hot spot for the collaborative clusters that develop from operational and research excellence between education and industry.

These collaborative clusters in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical devices and diagnostics have been a key element behind the remarkable growth in a sector that accounts for 39% of national exports. Ireland is now the third largest exporter of pharmaceuticals globally, accounting for €80+ billion in exports annually.

Ireland’s pharmaceutical industry offers a wide range of products and services, from research and development for new medicines to the manufacturing and marketing of new medicines for humans and animals. The sector continues to develop and evolve and, more recently, Ireland has expanded its global hub beyond commercialisation to include innovation, digitalisation and next generation technologies. Over 30,000 people are employed in BioPharma companies in Ireland, with 85+ companies operating here. Skills within biomedical science, pharmaceutical science and other science disciplines are naturally required to fulfil the increasing job opportunities. ATU Sligo is an industry leader contributing to the research and development of this sector to ensure Ireland has the skilled workforce required to ensure we remain a global innovative leader within this ground-breaking industry.

Physiology in ATU Sligo. There are only two clinical measurement physiology degrees in Ireland at undergraduate level, and for the first time, this degree provides students with the opportunity to train in all five disciplines – gastro-intestinal, neurophysiology, vascular, respiratory and cardiology. During their studies, students undertake three minor clinical placements in three of the five disciplines.. These placements are a minimum of 300 hours each. In the final semester of Year 4, students undertake a major placement in one of these disciplines. The degree was developed in collaboration with the Irish Institute of Clinical Measurement and allows gradates to work anywhere in the world. There is huge demand for this profession in Ireland and globally, with the demand forecast to significantly grow in the coming years. Graduates also have many additional career paths available to them. For more information, please visit atu.ie/au973

High demand for ATU Sligo Occupational Safety and Health graduates

The increasing demand for graduates from ATU Sligo’s Occupational Safety and Health degrees continues. The legal requirement for all places of work to manage health and safety, coupled with the practical skills of our graduates, has led to over 90% of final year students securing a job in health and safety before completing their final exams.

For over 20 years, our Occupational Safety and Health programme has fostered very close links with industry. Such is the demand, our industry partners are offering paid work placements to students after second year in addition to the mandatory five-month placement after third year. Many of these organisations use the placements as an opportunity to recruit students once they have graduated.

progression from junior to senior roles across all sectors here in Ireland and abroad. Our health and safety degrees have international recognition with the Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) allowing our graduates to take up exciting careers across Europe, Australia and Canada.

Improving career opportunities and increasing employability are at the core of our teaching. Students are introduced to real workplace health and safety scenarios from year one and have several site visits to various work sectors in all years. By third year, our students have the skills to develop safety statements for companies; they are qualified Manual Handling Instructors and Workstation Assessors.

ATU Sligo’s Faculty of Science have invested in the development of a custom-built food technology and sensory unit. The new facilities and state-of-the-art equipment will ensure the continued growth and success of food and nutrition related programmes, as well as encourage and support future research and collaborative activities across the sector. Recently, these facilities were used by Human Nutrition students to develop nutritious products to meet evolving consumer trends. This included flexitarian products, healthy snacks for children, sport nutrition products, foods for older adults, and nutritious convenience foods.

ATU Sligo’s BSc (Hons) in Human Nutrition degree is accredited by the Association for Nutrition. This means graduates are eligible for direct entry as registered associate nutritionists with the Association for Nutrition.

Careers in health and safety are highly paid, challenging and rewarding with rapid

Each year, our fourth-year students work with an Irish company in developing a bespoke Health, Safety, Environmental, and Quality

Fascinating studies for Forensics students

Management System. Organisations worked with recently include Marine Cable Services, ECC Timber Products, KN Circet Telecommunications providers, Good 4U Health

Foods, Aurivo and Golden Vale Co-operative Marts. The range of workplace sectors is an indication of the diversity of employment opportunities upon graduating.

There is never a dull day studying Forensic Investigation and Analysis at ATU Sligo. Some practical highlights this year included experiencing target practice and analysing gunshot residue at Lough Bo shooting range, undertaking a forensic investigation of a car, and a mock murder scene at the Clayton Hotel in Sligo. Students spent a very informative day in The State Laboratory, Kildare and were given a guided tour on a visit to the Beverage Forensic Laboratory at Ballina Beverages, Mayo by Christophe Bouillaud, Analytical Services Laboratory Technical Manager. Students also competed in the Eurachem Analytical Measurement Competition (EAMC) in Dublin, which focused on analytical chemistry.