The research presented on the day reflected the phenomenal range of research ongoing in a range of areas that align to this theme. The award-winning School of Health and Science at DkIT is making this world a better place and is globally recognised for its endeavours and contribution to the field of health & science.

The morning started with a welcome address by Dr Edel Healy Head of School of Health & Science and was followed by presentations from researchers from the Centre for Smooth Muscle Research, NetwellCASALA Research Centre, Centre for Freshwater & Environmental Studies and the Nursing/Midwifery & Early Years Research Group. These presentations were followed by ‘Lightening Talks’ where 32 DkIT researchers took to the stage with only 60 seconds each to give a brief overview of their current research under the time constraints of a stopwatch. This was a high energy and fun way for the Institute to showcase the extraordinary work being undertaken currently in DkIT.

The ‘Lightening Talks’ included several research overviews from the Smooth Muscle Group at DkIT which represents the largest group of researchers studying the physiology and electrophysiology of smooth muscle in Ireland and the UK.;  NetwellCASALA which is a leading applied multi-disciplinary research centre designing, developing and testing digital technology to support the management of health and wellbeing as people age , the researchers from Centre for Freshwater and Environmental Studies (CFES) which is an active and vibrant research centre that engages in inter and multi-disciplinary research that investigates environmental issues and evaluates effective solutions and the newly Established Nursing Midwifery and Early Years Research Group  A range of teaching and learning research projects from across the school were also presented

Dr Edel Healy, Head of School of Health & Science said

“Well done to all the participants who took part in the School of Health & Science Annual Research Day. Research was presented from over 30 staff and postgraduate research students through a combination of poster presentations, oral presentations, and lightening talks. This event showcases the wide range of cutting-edge research ongoing in the School. Well done to our presentation prize winners Ann Everitt-Reynolds, Ryan Callan, and Patricia McAleer”.

Anne Everitt-Reynolds won the best lightening talk for her presentation on NMEY Research which addressed compassion within an academic setting: Experiences of student nurses.  The best poster presentation was awarded to Patricia McAleer from Netwell CASALA, for her presentation on the role of telephone triage nurses in supporting people with multimorbidity to digitally self-manage their health and the final award of the day was bestowed to Ryan Callan for the best oral presentation from the CFES centre who presented his work on, investigating the effect of harvest timing on the pre-harvest indicators of silage quality on multispecies swards. 

The event finished off with an extremely interesting keynote speech from George Hussey who is the Secretariat Manager for the Climate Change Advisory Council. George spoke about a review of recent climate policy and science and the role of the climate change advisory council.

This year is a particularly exciting year for all things science in DkIT as the Institute are delighted to report that their new 1,300 sqm Science building which is part of their STEM extension is on track for completion this summer.