KEY NOTE SPEAKER Professor Frances Ruane
Director, The Economic and Social Research Institute Professor Frances Ruane has been Director of the ESRI since December 2006. Her previous position was as Associate Professor in the Department of Economics in Trinity College Dublin, where she also held the posts of Director of the Policy Institute and Director of the MSc programme in Economic Policy Studies. Earlier in her career, Professor Ruane held positions in the Industrial Development Authority, the Central Bank of Ireland and Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario. Following her undergraduate studies in Economics, Politics and Statistics at University College Dublin, Frances Ruane studied at Nuffield College and was awarded the degrees of B.Phil. and D.Phil. from the University of Oxford. She is member of the Royal Irish Academy, the Council of the Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland, the Council of Economic and Social Studies, and the editorial boards of the Journal of International and Economic Policy and the International Review of Economics and Finance. In April 2010 she was elected an Honory Fellow of Trinity College Dublin. In March 2007 Professor Ruane was appointed a member of the Higher Education Authority and in May 2007 she was appointed a member of the Health Research Board. In July 2009 she was appointed to the Commission of the National Pensions Reserve Fund and in July 2010 she became a member of the Economic Advisory Group in Northern Ireland.
Between October 2007 and September 2010 she served as a member of the Council of Economic Advisor to the First Minister of Scotland, and from April 2009 to June 2010 she chaired the Expert Group on Resource Allocation and Financing in the Health Sector, which reported in July 2010. Frances Ruane was Chair of the National Statistics Board from 1996 to 2003 and represented Ireland on the European Advisory Committee on Statistical Information in the Economic and Social Spheres (CEIES) from 1998 to 2008. She has also served as a member on a number of Irish State Boards, including the National Board for Science and Technology, the Industrial Development Authority, Forfás and Bord Gáis Eireann. In addition, she has participated on numerous Governmental advisory committees/groups, including Funding of Third Level Education, Tax & Social Welfare Reform and Future Skills Needs. Frances Ruane is currently a Research Associate of the Institute of International Integration Studies and an Honorary Professor at the Depatrment of Economics at Trinity College. She has published extensively, especially in the fields of international economic and industrial development. Her current research interests centre on exploring enterprise heterogeneity.
Dr. Willie Donnelly Ms. Kathryn Kiely Ms. Susie Cullinane Ms. Eimear Fitzpatrick Ms. Martha McIlvenny Ms. Siobhan Harkin Ms. Mary Mosse Ms. Niamh Owens Dr. Jane Russell-O’Connor Dr. Joe O’ Mahony Mr. Eoghan O’Donoghue Dr. Niamh Murphy Dr. Louise Murphy Dr. Colette Moloney Mr. John Sheppard Dr. Sarah Hudson Dr. Helen Hughes Dr. Chamil Kulatunga
Research & Innovation Research & Innovation Research & Innovation Research & Innovation Research & Innovation Research & Innovation School of Business School of Business School of Education School of Engineering School of Engineering School of Health Sciences School of Health Sciences School of Humanities School of Science School of Science School of Science School of Science
CELEBRATION OF RESEARCH, INNOVATION, SCHOLARSHIP & CREATIVITY
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Organising Committee
RESEARCH|DAY
RESEARCH|DAY
13th April 2011
RESEARCH|DAY CELEBRATION OF RESEARCH, INNOVATION, SCHOLARSHIP & CREATIVITY
Welcome from Dr. Willie Donnelly
08:45 - 09:15
Head of Research & Innovation, Waterford Institute of Technology
I am delighted to welcome you to WIT’s Research Day 2011, our annual showcase event where we highlight the diversity, quality and impact of research ongoing within the Institute. As specialists in our own research domains we are accustomed to engaging with our peers to discuss our work and, as experts with deep domain knowledge, this is an academic’s comfort zone. However the objective of the WIT Research Day is to share our research work with academics and experts from other discipline areas. The challenge is to balance between providing a high level description of our work and, at the same time, communicating the novelty and impact of our research. With the downturn of the Irish economy there is increased emphasis on identifying the impact that research can have on our community in particular through enterprise development and employment creation. In the past, Ireland has taken a narrow focus when identifying research areas for national investment. However, with the emergence of the knowledge economy it is becoming more evident that future job creation opportunities require a multi-disciplinary approach. For instance the development of e-health solutions requires experts from health science, computer science, social science and applied arts. Events such as today provide the opportunity for building awareness and collaborations within our community which will enable the development of multidisciplinary research teams to deliver novel solutions such as those required for e-health. The Institute is strongly committed to collaborating with our external stakeholders in industry and government bodies to exploit the outcomes of our research activities for the benefit of society and the economy. Throughout the day you will hear presentations from 18 WIT researchers working in the areas of business, education, engineering, humanities, science and health science research. Furthermore, we invite you to view the many posters and research demonstrations on display highlighting the high quality postgraduate research ongoing at WIT. This is an opportunity to provide our stakeholders with a greater appreciation of the broad range of research knowledge and capacity at WIT which hopefully will lead to increased collaboration.
WIT RESEARCH DAY 2011
AGENDA Registration & Refreshments
Dr. Willie Donnelly Head of Research & Innovation Waterford Institute of Technology
Lunch & Networking
14:00 - 16:45 | Session 3
09:15 - 10:45
14:00 - 14:15
Environmental Nanotechnology - Energy harvesting and sensor technologies Dr. Joe O’Mahony, Department of Engineering Technology
Research Funding Policy: What might Ireland do next? Prof. Frances Ruane, Director, The Economic and Social Research Institute
14:15 - 14:30
‘The Paper Witness’: The Analysis of Irish Music Manuscripts as Information Sources Dr. Colette Moloney, Department of Applied Arts
Research Funding Policy: Models used for funding research and innovation in Ireland in the period 1995 to 2008 Dr. Mícheál Ó Foghlú, Executive Director Research, Telecommunications Software & Systems Group
14:30 - 14:45
EXCITEing Irish Communities: A 4 lens model to support the use of Information and Communications Technology for Irish Voluntary Organisation Mr. TJ McDonald, Department of Computing, Mathematics & Physics
14:45 - 15:00
Exercise Self Confidence in Trainee Gardaí Following an E-Counselling Intervention Ms. Ciara Losty, Department of Health Sport & Exercise Science
15:00 - 15:15
The Role of Information Systems in Supply Chain Management Mr. Liam Doyle, Department of Computing, Mathematics & Physics
11:05 - 13:05 | Session 2
15:15 - 15:30
The Role of Affective Equality in Community Education Ms. Maeve O’ Grady, Department of Adult & Continuing Education
11:05 - 11:20
Clifford Odets and the Theatre of the Great Depression Dr. Richard Hayes, Department of Languages, Tourism & Hospitality
15:30 - 15:45
Nano-Positioning Research in WIT Dr. Liam O’ Shea, Department of Engineering Technology
11:20 - 11:35
Plastic Antibodies for isolation and purification of pharmaceutical compounds Dr. Panagiotis Manesiotis, Department of Chemical & Life Sciences
15:45 - 16:00
The Educational Merits of incorporating a service-learning component in the Nursing Curriculum Ms. Kate Madden, Department of Nursing
11:35 - 11:50
Graduate Entrepreneurship Programmes: Entrepreneurs’ Perspectives Ms. Mary Fenton, Department of Adult & Continuing Education
16:00 - 16:15
Poster Presentation Awards
11:50 - 12:05
Competitive Activities in New Technology Industries Dr. Jim Lawlor, Department of Engineering Technology
12:05 - 12:20
Optical Fibre Manipulations Enabling State-of-the-Art Technologies Dr. Dominic Murphy, Department of Computing, Mathematics & Physics
12:20 - 12:35
Making Sense of Learning from Experience: Facilitating reflective practice in an undergraduate work placement programme Ms. Corinne Power O’Mahony, Department of Management & Organisation
12:35 - 12:50
Finite Element Analysis: A powerful tool for Industrial Research and Development Mr. Eoghan O’ Donoghue, Department of Engineering Technology
12:50 - 13:05
Application Management Systems in the Cloud Dr. Jaime Martin Serrano-Orozco, Telecommunications Software & Systems Group
Opening Address: Prof. Kieran Byrne, President, WIT
Towards a Common Strategic Framework for EU Research and Innovation Funding Dr. Willie Donnelly, Head of Research & Innovation
I hope you will find the day insightful, thought provoking and enjoyable, with an opportunity for you to meet with WIT colleagues, students and partner organisations.
13:05 - 14:00
09:15 - 10:45 | Session 1 KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Finally, research is carried out in the context of research and innovation policy at both national and EU level. Appreciation of the drivers and developments in the area of research policy can enable research groups and partners to position themselves to maximize their research funding, expand international networks and enhance the impact of their research. I am delighted to welcome Professor Frances Ruane, Director of the Economic & Social Research Institute (ESRI) and Dr. Mícheál Ó Foghlú, Executive Director Research at the Telecommunications Software & Systems Group who will lead a timely and undoubtedly very interesting debate examining Ireland’s research and innovation funding models and policies of the past two decades. In the context of the current economic challenges and looking to the future the discussion will consider what the appropriate level of investment in research for Ireland should be and how we might shape our research support environment and priorities for Ireland going forward.
WIT RESEARCH DAY 2011
AGENDA
Open Discussion
10:45 - 11:05
Tea/Coffee Break
16:15 - 16:45 | Closing Ceremony 16:45 - 17:00
Tea/Coffee & Networking
RESEARCH|DAY
CELEBRATION OF RESEARCH, INNOVATION, SCHOLARSHIP & CREATIVITY