Making An Impact Final 2011
Making An Impact Final 2011
The winners of the 2011 HEA/Irish Independent Making An Impact competition are Dermot Donnelly (UL) for his research on the Virtual Lab in Classrooms and Daniel O’Donovan (TCD) for his research work on antidepressant drugs.
Pictured are John Hennessy (HEA), Dermot Donnelly, Kevin Myers (MC at the final), Daniel O’Donovan, Geoff Lyons (Irish Independent).
The five finalists for “Making An Impact” in
Dermot Donnelly (UL) – “The Virtual Lab”
Conor Duff (NCAD) – "Task Furniture in Education: Designing Tomorrow's Schools for Today"
Mary Fannon (NCAD) – “Signs and the City”
Jaimie-Leigh Jonker (NUIG) – “How Barnacles Will Change the World”
Daniel O’Donovan (TCD) – “Designing Antidepressants”
The standard was extremely high and we are grateful to all who submitted an entry.
This is the third year that the Higher Education Authority has run the “Making An Impact” competition in partnership with the Irish Independent. It is designed as an opportunity for research students to show how their research is or can make an impact on any aspect of Irish life.
The final will take place at 2pm on Wednesday 13th April at
The presenters have two audiences to convince. The expert panel, comprising three members, and the audience, comprised mainly of second level students.
At the end of the event, there are two prizes of €2,500 sponsored by the Irish Independent. One is determined by the panel and the other by the second level students in the audience. The awards are determined on the basis of which finalists have most effectively communicated the impact of their research.
The final is open to members of the public and is free.
Making an Impact Competition Winners
Congratulations to the two winners of Making an Impact, Aidan Quilligan winning the judges award with his submission "Optimisation of Concrete Wind Turbine Towers" and Roisin O'Shea winning the student audience vote with her submission "Family Law in Ireland".
We would also like to thank Caitriona Logue, Blathnaid Nolan, Roisin Bradford and Michelle Tierney for giving exceptional presentations.
Running Order on the Day of the Competition
The running order for the Making an Impact competition will run as follows:
- Caitriona Logue
- Aidan Quilligan
- Michelle Tierney
- Blathnaid Nolan
- Roisin O’Shea
- Roisin Bradford
Making An Impact Announcement
The six finalists for the Making An Impact competition are Roisin Bradford (UCD) with her submission "The Communication Chain: Effective Flood Risk Communication", Caitriona Logue (UCD) with her submission "The Warmth of the Irish: The Economics of Charity in Ireland", Blathnaid Nolan with her submission "Transportation of Women from Grange Gorman to Tasmania", Roisin O'Shea (WIT) with her submission "Family Law in Ireland", Aidan Quilligan (TCD) with his submission "Optimisation of Concrete Wind Turbine Towers" and Michelle Tierney (Teagasc) with her submission "Superweeds: Irish Seaweeds' Potential as the New Superfood".
The Higher Education Authority would like to congratulate all its finalists and to thank everyone who submitted an entry into the competition.
The HEA & Irish Independent are pleased to announce the 'Making an Impact' event on Monday the 26th April:
* MAKING AN IMPACT *
The Higher Education Authority and the Irish Independent are inviting research students in any discipline to make a short submission on the difference that your research work will make to a particular aspect of Irish life, to the country as a whole or indeed, internationally.
The six researchers, who in the opinion of an independent adjudication panel, will be put forward and the most innovative or challenging ideas will be invited to present how their research is making an impact at a public event at The Helix at Dublin City University on Monday 26th April. They will have a maximum of ten minutes to make the presentation, followed by a brief question and answer session with an expert panel.
Two awards of €2,500 sponsored by the Irish Independent will be made at the end of the evening, one by the expert panel and the other by a vote of second level students who will form part of the audience.
If you would like to enter this competition, then before 5pm on Monday March 8th, make your submission to:
"Making an Impact",
Higher Eduction Authority,
Brooklawn House,
Shelbourne Road,
Dublin 4.
Or simply email impact@hea.ie
Guidelines
1. This competition is open to any postgraduate research student or researcher in any discipline at any higher education institution in Ireland.
2. Entrants should focus on the impact that their research will have on Ireland or a particular aspect of Irish life.
3. Entries will be assessed on how effectively the entrant communicates the research and he/she should explain their work as if outlining it to a layperson. If you saw your idea/proposal in a news story, would you read it?
4. The submission can be in any format – written (no more than 1,000 words), audio-visual (no more than 10 minutes in length) or any other form.
5. Those selected for the final must be available to travel to the Helix, DCU for the evening of Monday 26th April to make a brief presentation (max 10 minutes) before a panel and an audience of their work. The panelists may ask up to three questions. Travel expenses will be provided for finalists and accommodation for those from outside Dublin.
6. Finalists will also be profiled in the Irish Independent and on the HEA website.
7. Closing date for submissions is 5pm on Monday 8th March.