IT Sligo has increased its research capacity by more than 25 per cent in the last year, with the introduction of a new President’s Bursary Award.

Ten IT Sligo staff researching in areas key to Ireland’s economic and social recovery and sustainability received a major funding boost through the Bursaries for postgraduate research projects. With the funding awarded, they have taken on 10 new research students to take forward a range of exciting research projects. This includes an annual student stipend of €6,500 and a waiver of tuition fees for up to three years.

With a growing reputation in the field of research, IT Sligo is a dynamic provider of higher education, research, innovation and entrepreneurship in the North West.

Awarding the Bursaries to the new postgraduates, President of IT Sligo, Professor Terri Scott, welcomed the students and said research students are the life blood of a thriving higher education institution.

Successful projects range from the use of suction embedded plate anchors for mooring floating wave energy devices to moving IT Sligo towards a world-class green campus.

Professor Terri Scott said that the investment is a demonstration of IT Sligo’s commitment to supporting the development of research for the benefit of the wider region; “Research is the lifeblood of any higher education institute and this investment significantly enhances IT Sligo’s position as a national leader in some of our strategic research groups, such as Environmental Health and Sustainability and Geotechnical Engineering. It is an investment in our students, our staff and in IT Sligo’s positioning as a regional hub for research advancements, which will benefit the entire region.”

Head of Research at IT Sligo, Dr John Bartlett, said the investment in research is important within the parameters of changed economic times; “Irish research funding has become severely restricted, in the short term. This means that the types of funds students used to be able to access directly themselves, have diminished significantly and that is what makes this investment by IT Sligo so timely and pertinent. Large scale European funding is still around and we have been successful in a number of large-scale project applications, but this is not really geared towards individual student opportunities,” he said.

The full list of projects under the Inaugural IT Sligo President’s Bursary Awards are listed here https://www.itsligo.ie/research-innovation/research-welcome/presidents-bursaries-awards/

Staff and students who have been successful under the inaugural IT Sligo President’s Bursary Awards pictured with IT Sligo President, Professor Terri Scott; Head of Research Dr John Bartlett; and Head of School of Science, Dr Jeremy Bird. Missing from the photo are Dr Frances Lucy and Dr Joe Gildea.

The student perspective

Faye Monaghan pictured with President of IT Sligo, Professor Terri Scott and, Head of Research, Dr John Bartlett.

Faye Monaghan is originally from Drumcliffe in Co Sligo . She completed her degree in Mathematics in NUI Galway where she went on to obtain a postgraduate Diploma in Education. Having been employed as a Maths tutor for the last two years, Faye wished to further her mathematical study and viewed a research programme such as this as a great opportunity to explore and develop her interest in Maths; “Without this IT Sligo bursary, furthering my studies may not have been an option. I am grateful to my supervisor for selecting me to undertake this research and most importantly, to the President for making these bursaries available and for giving us the opportunity to educate ourselves further.”

Pamela Boyle pictured with her supervisor Dr. James Moran and the President of IT Sligo, Professor Terri Scott.

Pamela Boyle is from Swinford in Co Mayo. She obtained an honours degree in Environmental Science from NUI, Galway in 2009. She has also recently graduated from a one-year Masters course in Ecological Assessment in UCC. “The IT Sligo President’s Bursary Award has enabled me to begin research in an area which I am particularly interested in. It has also given me the chance to work in an area of research that is of increasing importance on a national and European level,” she said.

Supervisor Dr Conleth O’Loughlin pictured withstudents Bridgeen Barron and Colm O’Beirne.

Bridgeen Barron is from Ballyshannon in Co Donegal. She earned an honours degree in Civil Engineering at IT Sligo before being awarded the Bursary; “For my masters, I am researching the benefits of the use of suction embedded plate anchors for mooring floating wave energy devices. Having the President’s Award has meant that I can concentrate on my studies and not worry about funding for my masters.”

 Colm O’Beirne is from Celbridge in Co Kildare and graduated with an Honours Degree in Civil Engineering from NUI Galway last year. The IT Sligo President’s Bursary Award has been hugely important in his career path, he said: “Without having been offered such an award, I would have had no choice but to resign from full-time education and ultimately sacrifice my hopes of acquiring a doctorate of philosophy. I believe that the Institute of Technology, Sligo will greatly benefit from the research I will be carrying out and that the award should therefore be considered as an investment.”