GMIT Review 2007/2008 · Dr Tom Roche and Dr John Lohan, GMIT Centre for the Integration of...

GMIT Review 2007/2008

GMIT Newsletter_next:Layout 1 28/05/2008 14:23

A word from the President

When I meet graduates of GMIT in Ireland or abroad, I always enjoy listening totheir reflections on GMIT and I learn a lot from listening to their experiences.More than anything else they talk about the people they remember at GMIT and in particular those who have remained embedded in their memories as influencers.

One name crops up very often – Fanchea Caden, a lecturer in maths. Generationsof students will, I know, join with me in paying tribute to her. Above all else, Fanchea sees the student first and then the discipline. She knows and remembers her students and they remember her.

They remember her passion for her job, her willingness to always hear whatthey had to say, her encouragement of their efforts, her focus on high standards,hard work and commitment and her capacity to have a bit of ‘craic’ with them.They remember the yellow ‘stickies’ she left on desks so that they could outlineany problems they were having without calling attention to themselves. Theyknew that paltry excuses would get short shrift and that genuine problems wouldget her full attention.

I saw Fanchea meet a group of graduates a few years ago. She arrived withtheir class photographs taken when they were in first year. They gathered roundher to look at themselves, to share tales of lives since GMIT and Fancheawanted to know about them as people – they were never numbers on an examsheet to her.

Great teachers are always remembered. Their genuine influence lasts a life-time and goes far beyond the discipline they teach. Good teaching in mathsshould be especially valued because the discipline is the foundation of learningin many domains. A positive experience learning maths is particularly importantfor students in first year of third level education. Fanchea has said repeatedly thatwe need to pay more attention to the first year experience of students. She believes that the habits of thinking and doing developed in first year have asignificant influence on third level performance.

GMIT students and staff have learned from her. We have had a chance to seewhat it is to have a passion for students and a passion for life lived to the full.

Editor:Regina Daly

Design & Layout:ProactivePrinter:

Brunswick Press Ltd.

Contributors:Dick Ahlstrom, Irish Times,

Jo Lavelle, Galwaynow,

Grainne McMahon, iradio, and GMIT staff

Photos:Ros Kavanagh,

Joe Geoghegan,Yann Photography, Aengus McMahon, Mike Shaughnessy,

Keith Heneghan, Michael Conneely,

Western People, and GMIT staff.

Our address: Galway-Mayo Institute

of Technology (GMIT)Dublin Road,

Galway, Rep. of Ireland, Tel: +353 91 753161

email: [email protected], www.gmit.ie

GMIT Review 07/08is published by the GMIT

Communications Office. We welcomeyour thoughts on this publication.

Please send them by post to: ReginaDaly, GMIT, Dublin Road, Galway, or

email [email protected]

© Copyright Galway-Mayo Institute ofTechnology (GMIT) 2008

2 / Introduction


GMIT named Institute of Technology of the YearGMIT was named “Sunday TimesInstitute of Technology of the Year2007” during the past academic year. The prestigious award wasannounced in The Sunday TimesUniversity Guide 2007. It is thesecond such accolade for the Institute:GMIT won the award in 2004.

The annual Sunday Times UniversityGuide assesses each third-levelinstitution in Ireland and Britain on25 criteria using data from eachInstitution, the CAO, HEA, Dept of Education and Science, andinterviews with students’ unions.

The Sunday newspaper stated: “Astrong academic performance, highstudent satisfaction and enhance-ment of courses at the 35-year-oldGalway-Mayo Institute of Technology(GMIT) won it the Sunday TimesInstitute of Technology of the YearAward for 2007.”

“With five campuses along thewestern seaboard, GMIT is Ireland’smost geographically dispersed third-level institution. An increasingnumber, 63%, of Galway-Mayo’s degree students achieved a topgrade, better than several universitiesand among the top performances ofall third-level institutes in Ireland. It is introducing the republic’s largest newcourse portfolio this year and next,which will push student numbersclose to 6,000.”

Chairman of GMIT GoverningBody Rory O'Connor said it is awell deserved recognition. “It is areflection of the overall quality ofeffort of the entire academic andadministrative staff. It is also a verypositive comment on the engage-ment of the student population andtheir leadership in the S.U."

GMIT President Marion Coy said:"This award recognises the qualityof our students and also of our staff.It focused on the high satisfactionrate of our students which we think isvery important and of which we areparticularly proud."

The rankings for The Sunday TimesUniversity League Table are judgedon criteria such as the qualificationof entrance, degree results achieved,research quality, student/staff ratios,graduate unemployment levels anduniversity dropout rates.

In addition, the institutes are judgedon student satisfaction, access for non-traditional students and their role in regional, national and international development.

The 68-page third-level guide isdescribed as “Everything you needto know about higher education".

Colleges collaborate to develop “Knowledge Region”GMIT and NUI, Galway have formeda strategic alliance to develop Galwayand surrounding areas into a recog-nised “Knowledge Region”. Togetherthe two colleges have secured fund-ing of €824,000 under the StrategicInnovation Fund (SIF), which supportshigher education reform.

The funding will be used to stimulateeconomic development, provide agreater range of services to commu-nities, business and industry, andenable people to avail of highereducation in the region.

This concerted collaborativeapproach to regional developmentwill deliver greater benefits thancould be achieved by implementingparallel programmes.

Marion Coy, President of GMIT,said: “Together we will seek toidentify services we can offer, look atthe expansion of our academicprogrammes and engage in the jointpromotion of higher education ininternational markets which haspotential in relation to the develop-ment of tourism. We will also seek toidentify how we can promote theregion as a centre for new businessdevelopment and growth.”

“Developing a knowledge regionis the only way to ensure thatcommunity life will continue to thrive.This approach harks back to the‘Meitheal’ and the belief that we willall be stronger and more successfulwhen we work together and share avision for the region.”

Professor Jim Browne, President ofNUI Galway, said: “The concept of a‘Knowledge Region’ is an emergingphenomenon involving the interactionof governmental agencies, knowledgebased enterprises and third-level institutions to combine efforts and define common agendas to the benefit of the region."

"NUI Galway and GMIT, with theirhistory of cooperation and interactionwith industry, development agenciesand social and cultural organisationsin the Galway area are well placed toact together as a catalyst for furtherdevelopment”.

The GMIT / NUI Galway collabora-tive project is one of a range of proposals approved for SIF funding.GMIT was approved SIF funding worthover €4m for two further projects, bothof which will be led by the Institute -“Student-Led Learning” and “Curricu-lum Reform”, which is also a jointcollaborative project with NUI Galway.

News / 3


GMIT researchers and Oysterhomes joinforces to create low-CO2 homes

GMIT School of Engineering hasformed an innovative research part-nership with property developmentcompany Oysterhomes Ltd to carry outresearch on the development of newenergy efficient A-rated homes, in linewith new building energy regulations.

Dr Tom Roche and Dr John Lohan,GMIT Centre for the Integration ofSustainable Energy Technologies(CiSET), will collaborate with thecompany over the next three years,using best practice engineering toolsand methodologies, to investigate theoptimum combination of insulation,structural and fabric details and re-newable technologies, to achieve en-ergy efficient homes.

New legislation stipulates a 40%improvement in energy efficiency and31% reduction in CO2 emissions fornew homes.

Dr Tom Roche, Principal Investi-gator, GMIT Centre for the Integra-tion of Sustainable Technologies(CiSET), said: "This research project isextremely important not just for theowners of homes in these develop-ments but also nationally for thefurthering of Ireland’s mission to cutCO2 and to reduce its dependenceon imported fossil fuels.”

“This collaboration will alsogreatly benefit undergraduatestudents in the Mechanical, Civil andConstruction Engineering Depart-ments at GMIT and other colleges,via knowledge transfer, the GMITwebsite, and site visits.” he added.

GMIT's Dr John Lohan, Principal Investigator,

Andrew D’Arcy, Head of Development,

Eamon Conneely, CEO Oysterhomes,

Gerard MacMichael, Head of School

of Engineering and Dr Tom Roche,

Principal Investigator, GMIT.

4 / News


Valuable library collection donated to GMITThe distinguished theologian Rev-erend Professor Enda McDonagh,retired Professor of Moral Theology inMaynooth, has donated his personallibrary and papers to the Castlebarcampus of GMIT.

Dr McDonagh, a native of Bekan,Co. Mayo, is a moral theologian ofinternational standing, with a distin-guished publication record at homeand abroad. He has written andedited numerous collections, severaldealing with the theme of politicalviolence, and has also been involvedwith the cause of political recognitionin Ireland, South Africa andZimbabwe.

His library containing over 20,000books, reflects the extent of his globalinterests from the problems of LatinAmerica, the political challenge ofZimbabwe, and HIV/Aids in Africa, tohis concern for the marginalizedworldwide.

GMIT in association with theWestern Theological Institute helda very successful conference tohonour Rev. Enda McDonagh, inClaremorris in October. Some 260people attended from all over thecountry. Speakers included Sister StanislausKennedy, Dr. Garret FitzGerald, MsNuala Bourke, Ms Marion Coy, Dr.Noel Dorr, Dr. Eamon Conway forDr. Seán Freyne, Ms Anne Harkin-Peterson, Rev. Brendan Hoban, Dr. Linda Hogan, and Rev. PatrickO’Brien.

GMIT Letterfrack has teamed up withHomag UK Ltd, one of the leadingmanufacturers of computer-controlledwood processing equipment, in a newcollaborative agreement.

Homag will install two CNCmachines - a new Weeke VentureCNC and Holzma beam saw, in GMITLetterfrack every year for the nextfive years. The two machines areworth over €180,000.

The agreement gives staff andstudents access to the most up-to-date automated equipment and soft-ware in use in the furniture industry,and further boosts the excellent net-work of GMIT/Industry collaborations.

Homag Managing Director IanBrown visited the Letterfrack campusin January this year (2008) alongwith three senior managers of thecompany.

Professor Enda McDonagh (second front)

with GMIT President Marion Coy, friends

and colleagues at a conference in his

honour, organised by GMIT and the

Western Theological Institute.

Assistant Registrar Michael Hannon, GMIT

President Marion Coy, Homag MD Ian

Brown and Dermot O’Donovan,

Acting Head of Centre, Letterfrack. Mr

Brown was presented with a wine bottle

holder designed by furniture students using

one of the new CNC machines.

News / 5

Homag and GMIT Letterfrack forge new links


6 / Awards

Mathematics lecturer Fanchea Cadenhas won the inaugural President’sAward for Teaching Excellence.

Fanchea currently teaches all threeyears of the Bachelor of Engineeringin Civil Engineering in the DublinRoad campus.

She graduated from UCG with aBSc Degree and taught with DublinVEC and at Sligo IT before joining thestaff of GMIT in the early 80s.

Fanchea has developed different

teaching and learning methods andstyles by using group and individualwork in class, out of class assign-ments, class discussion and problem-solving sessions.

Commenting on her award, shesaid: "I am absolutely delighted andhonoured. There are many commit-ted, effective teachers in the Instituteand I feel privileged to have been selected from among them."

"I love teaching and my currentjob, teaching Mathematics to first,

second and third year students onthe Bachelor of Engineering in CivilEngineering programme is particu-larly rewarding.

Nationally, Mathematics is currentlygetting bad press. Fortunately thecalibre of student opting to do CivilEngineering understands that Mathe-matics will be an integral part of theprogramme, so there is no antipathytowards it."

"I enjoy the structure, rigour andchallenge of the subject but I equally

Fanchea Caden receiving the President’s Award for

Teaching Excellence from Marion Coy, GMIT

President. The award comprises a plaque and

bursary of €5,000.

President’s Award for Teaching Excellence Fanchea Caden


Awards / 7

enjoy the interaction with thestudents. They energise me and I tryto motivate them. I encourage anatmosphere in the class where astudent finds it easy to ask questions.Provoking students to think and askquestions is the key to progress.Mathematics is about solving problems. You have to make a startbe it right or wrong! If no solution is forthcoming then try anotherapproach. Even though practice isrequired, mathematics is not solelyabout practising routines"

"Students need to know the rulesof engagement right from the start-what is my responsibility and what istheir responsibility.

Attitude to attendance andadherence to deadlines is paramount.Sometimes we demand too little fromthe students and maybe do not sethigh enough standards."

"Many of the qualities that areimportant in the delivery of educationare e-words: engagement, empathy,enthusiasm, energy, empowerment.”

"I regard my job as more thanjust teaching mathematics. The ethosof the Department is to ensure alearning environment such that thestudent has every opportunity tomaximise his/her potential. A sense ofbelonging is engendered and aneffective class dynamic is nurtured.I am coordinator for First Civil andI passionately believe that first year isthe most important year.”

"One of the best resourcesstudents have is their peer group.Group study and collaborative learn-ing are promoted and can be veryeffective. In my career I have alwaysfound that students are very gener-ous with their time and knowledge."

"We all blossom if our contribution is acknowledged so Imust remember to acknowledgecommitment and effort on thestudents’ part. Unfortunately wetend to do more faultfinding thanpraising in this profession."

The acclaim from both staff andstudents regarding the decision toaward Fanchea Caden the Director’sAward for Teaching Excellence isproof positive that the judgingpanel made the right call. Anyonewith any doubts of this should havebeen in the Kings Head on the nightof the graduation where she andher husband, Des, were fetedceremoniously by the celebratingstudent party. Never was an awardmore deserved.

Since her arrival at Galway RTCback in the 80s Fanchea hasconstantly made a positive inputand has continuously served as aninspiration and a driving force tostaff members, young and old. Herenthusiasm from day one right upto the present is quite infectiouswith no sign of letting up. She hasserved on, and contributed to,countless committees both withinand outside of the Institute andwhile she has always been a mosthelpful, good humoured anderudite work colleague her main fo-cus, at all times, is on the student’swelfare and progress - or lack of.

Her lecturing skills and quality ofher delivery are widely acknowl-edged. When a student, asked forsuggestions for improvement on thecourse feedback form replies “noimprovements required… do youteach any other subjects?” youmust be doing it right!

One of her most impressivetalents is that of anticipating prob-lems and heading them off. Shewould regularly identify individualsor groups of students whosecommitment was beginning towaver and, together with compli-ant fellow lecturers would arrangethat the students concerned beencouraged by all in a concerted

‘pincer movement’. Currently a fewCivil 2 students are enjoying the ex-perience.

Fanchea is, without doubt, themain reason that retention rates areso high in the Civil EngineeringDepartment. As one of our externalexaminers put it “The pastoral careprovided to the students is excep-tional and very worthy of commen-dation”.

And has all this untiring endeav-our taken a toll on her personal life?Not a bit of it! Recently at theextremely enjoyable function mark-ing the retirement of one of ouresteemed colleagues, Ted Parslow,one of the lecturers made the com-ment - “that woman taught memany years ago in Ringsend andshe’s looking every bit as goodtoday as she did all those yearsago”. Politically incorrect perhaps,but many people, male and femalewould be seriously pleased to havesuch a comment made about them.

Is she flawless? Not quite… Despite her renowned enthusiasmfor traditional music and all thingsIrish she has not, at the time ofgoing to press, as yet mastered theconcertina and is currently somedistance behind Breda Joyce in thatregard. And her name is hardto spell!

Congratulations to Fanchea onher most well deserved award andwe, in the civil engineering depart-ment, will continue to allowourselves to bask in the reflectedglory of her achievement for sometime to come.

- Mossy Farrell

Mossy Farrell, Lecturer, Civil Engineeing, shares hispersonal thoughts on Fanchea’s achievements and hercontribution to the college.

Colleague’s tribute toFanchea Caden

“Fanchea is, without

doubt, the main

reason that retention

rates are so high in the

Civil Engineering

Department.”


From encouraging the development ofnew programmes to overseeing theday-to-day operations of the GMITCastlebar campus, Dr Barbara Burns’job as Head of Centre is diverse.

The Iowa native, who moved to Irelandover 20 years ago, has just completedher first year in the job. She lectured atthe college for ten years prior to takingup the post, beginning as a maths andstatistics lecturer and going on to

lecture in psychology, operationsmanagement and various businessprogrammes. She also served on Insti-tute-wide committees and the Aca-demic Council and has considerableexperience in research and industry.

Dr Burns’ academic training is inpsychology, international relationsand epidemiology and she continuesto lecture in Critical Thinkingand Decision Making despite thedemands of her position as Head of

Centre. Maintaining constant contactwith students and staff is important,she believes.

“I think having a good relation-ship with the students and the staff isessential, particularly because yourely on informal contacts with people. People need to trust you andyou need to be able to talk to peoplecomfortably. Before I moved into thisjob, I was lecturing on 14 differentprogrammes. So, I understand the

8 / Profile

Profile: Dr. Barbara BurnsNew Head of Centre, GMIT CastlebarBy Jo Lavelle


concerns and interests of differentgroups. It makes it a lot easier and alot friendlier.”

Having an open-door policy forstudents and staff is very importantto Dr Burns. And she enjoys theeasy-going banter and the downto earth attitude that comes withstudent interaction.

“The students are fantastic;they’re absolutely a delight. If youwant to deal with people whoalways have questions, who arenever satisfied with the way thingsare and always want things to bedifferent and better, it’s great. It’sone reason I like to keep teachingbecause that’s what the wholecampus is all about. If the studentsweren’t there and if they’re notsucceeding in what they want to do,then we’re out of business. And, theykeep me grounded.”

Major changes have taken placewithin the campus in the ten yearsthat Dr Burns has been workingthere, not least the fact that thecollege has more than doubled in size.

“Because of the excellent staff,we’ve been able to continuouslyupdate our programmes and add a number of completely newprogrammes. We’ve seen majorchanges occur in what students arelooking for and major changes in theeconomy. We’ve gone from a verystraightforward stage-based systemto a much more flexible modularsystem, and added a range ofpart-time accredited programmes, delivered both on and off campus.”

The largest change, reflected inthe student body and the buildingitself, has been the Nursing School.Over the last two years, an additional wing of the building was renovated, rejuvenating the140-year old former asylum withstate-of-the art facilities in a brightairy atmosphere.

While much has been done interms of developing the college and programmes, there are somechanges Dr Burns says she feels

would really enhance the system asa whole.

“I’d like to see more ability forpeople to take part time courses tofit in with their life; part-time maturestudents. That’s currently controlledby the fact that the government onlypays tuition if they’re full time, so itlimits people who are working andpeople with families.”

“Mature students are brilliant,they’re absolutely dedicated. Theyknow exactly what they want to do.It’s great for them and it’s great forthe campus. There are a lot of peoplewho would like to come back toschool and pick up a qualification -but they simply don’t have the resources in terms of time or financesto fund it one module at a time.”

“I’d also like to see us work moreclosely with local industry, whether itbe retail businesses, social services,manufacturing companies, both toallow our students a chance to getwork experience but also to allowthem a much better realisation of the real world and the types ofopportunities that are out there. Increased work placement in programmes is one of the plans forthe Institute as a whole, which is going to be a great opportunity forthe students, explains Dr Burns.

Increased flexibility is somethingthat she would also like to see moreof within the system. “If you’retaking a business degree and yourfamily owns an electronic shop, whyshouldn’t you be able to do abusiness degree with the electives of

the electronics programme? Whyshouldn’t you be able to do aprogramme that is half computingand half tourism, or architecturaltechnology mixed with heritage?Why not facilitate people, tailoringthe programmes to their own needsrather than having to fit into a“box”, so to speak. It’s one of thebest things with a campus like this.We have the capability because ofthe working relationship among thestaff members to offer more flexibleprogrammes. The flexibility is also toour advantage - allowing us to offerspecialised programmes that wouldnot be viable if they had to standalone.”

When not working, Dr Burnstakes her talents to the WestportChoral Society where she is musicaldirector and to the Kilmeena andFahy churches where she is the choirdirector and organist. When she’sfeeling a little more adventurous, thehead of the GMIT Castlebar campustakes to the skies to get away fromit all and is currently in the process ofgetting her flying license to fulfil along-held dream.

“Mature students are

brilliant, they’re

absolutely dedicated.

They know exactly

what they want

to do.”

Profile / 9


Digital media students collaborate

with local enterprise

GMIT students are pioneering thedevelopment of new applied digitalmedia web sites as part of their second year studies on the BSc in Applied Digital Media and BusinessApplications programme.

The students are developing commercially viable sites for use bylocal and national medium to smallbusinesses and are assessed on theirfinal group project.

The web sites are developedquickly and effectively and are uniquein that every aspect is developed bythe students including digitalimages/photographs, and audio andvideo material using the latest technology.

GMIT Maths and Computing Department hosted a highly success-

ful Digital Media Open Day for localbusinesses at the Institute's DigitalMedia Centre at the Cluain Mhuirecampus in early 2008. Visitors had achance to see at first hand thestudents' work.

The B.Sc. in Applied Digital Mediaand Business Applications programmeis pushing the boundaries of web site development and is continuallyupdated to reflect all modern developments in information and com-munications technology.

For further information, contact Dr Robert J Loughnane. Tel. 091-742281 and/or email: [email protected]. For full programme details see: www.gmit.ie/science/bsc-digital-media

CIOB recognition forconstructionmanagement degrees

Plans for new part-time accountingprogramme

The Chartered Institute of Building(CIOB) and Hetac recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding, inwhich CIOB recognises Hetac level 8construction programmes as fulfill-ing requirements for chartered mem-bership of CIOB.

Graduates of Hetac level 7 construction programmes can alsomeet the requirement upon gaining anadditional 60 ECTS credits at level 8.

Level 8 graduates may now immediately apply to become Incorporated (ICIOB) members ofCIOB. Thereafter they can progress tofull chartered status after gaining appropriate professional experiencein the workplace and passing the professional review mechanism ofCIOB. For more info on CIOB seewww.ciob.org

GMIT has entered into an agreementwith the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ireland (ICAI) to deliver the CA Proficiency 1 Profes-sional Accounting programme at theInstitute.

It was identified that students fromGalway city and the adjoining regionswere not being provided with a localservice for this programme and GMITwas recognised as having both thetechnical expertise and facilities to deliver it.

The course is designed for students who have just entered intothe accounting profession, having undertaken a degree in an unrelatedarea in college, ie arts, engineering, orstudents who studied business or accounting but failed to achieve anexemption from the ICAI. The courseis expected to commence in October2008 and be delivered at weekends.

Changes to curriculum reflect demandGMIT has made a number of changesto its curriculum in the past year, introducing innovative programmesrelative to the region and the econ-omy and discontinuing programmesthat are no longer in demand. Thefollowing new full-time programmesare on offer from September 2008,through the CAO:• BB (Ordinary) in Tourism

Management, Galway campus.• BB (Ordinary) in Retail and

Customer Service Management, Galway campus.

• BS (Ordinary) in Internet Technologies, Castlebar campus.

The following new post graduateprogramme are available by apply-ing directly to the college:• Higher Diploma in Technology

(Education), which qualifiesgraduates to teach technology related subjects at second level.

• Professional Accountancy Programme in association with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ireland, apart-time programme which will be delivered at weekends in the Galway campus from October.

Programmes no longer on thecurriculum are the BB in Hotel andInformation Technology, Galwaycampus, and the Higher Certificatein Electronic Engineering, Castlebarcampus.

Under GMIT's flexible approach toprogramme delivery, new pathways arebeing created to awards from existingprogrammes. See GMIT's full list of programmes at:http://www.gmit.ie/study-at-gmit/programmes.html

10 / News


First cohort complete

property studies (hons) degree

New Research &

Innovation magazine

November 2007 marked the gradua-tion of the first cohort of students onthe BSc (Hons) in Property Studies atthe Dublin Road campus.

Initiated in 2003, the programmeis fully accredited by the Society ofChartered Surveyors (SCS) and theIrish Auctioneers & Valuers Institute(IAVI).

As part of their degree, thestudents spent one year on profes-sional placement, many of themsecuring employment with leadingproperty consultancy firms beforegraduation.

Research and innovation activitiesin GMIT are outlined for the firsttime in a dedicated new A4 colourpublication, produced by the GMITCommunication Office.

The 48-page journal containsreports, interviews, profiles, opinionsand features on the wide rangeof GMIT research projects andcollaborations.

Printed copies are available on re-quest by e-mailing [email protected] read the publication on-line, clickon: http://www.gmit.ie/news-events/publications/

Property (hons) students are pictured with their

lecturers Tom White, Head of Dept, Patricia

McCann, Fiona Watson, Barry Gantly, Brian Doyle,

Mary Rogers and Siobhaun Cawley.

News / 11


Castlebar students develop Mayo Peace Park website

GMIT awarded Irish Aid research grantLecturer captures ClareIsland in pictures

Two students at the Castlebar campus have developed a websitefor the new Mayo Memorial PeacePark in Castlebar.

David Coffey from Knocknacarraand Catherine Nally from Ballindineare studying towards a B Sc (Hons) inComputer Services Management.They developed the site over fourmonths under the supervision of theirlecturer Mark Frain and with inputfrom Mayo Peace Park Committeemembers.

The Park is dedicated to thememory of all those from Mayo whoserved and died in wars and conflictsof the past century, with the Alliedand Commonwealth Forces, andMayo-born Irish Amy soldiers whoserved and died on UN operations

To view the site see: www.mayomemorialpeacepark.org

GMIT has been successful in an appli-cation for research funding under theProgramme of Strategic Co-operationbetween Irish Aid and Higher Educa-tion and Research Institutes.

The Institute has been granted€50,000 to carry out a study aimed atfostering and facilitating collabora-tion among Irish IoTs and HE sectorsin Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania andLesotho.

In particular it aims to strengthenteaching, learning and appliedresearch capacity, and to support thedevelopment of institutional diver-sity in each country.

The project titled ‘Building Capacity for Collaboration’ willresearch existing capacity andneeds in each of the four countriesand disseminate this knowledge as abasis for developing collaborativepartnerships.

For further information, [email protected] at the GMITCastlebar campus.

GMIT photography lecturer JimVaughan has captured Clare Island innew book titled This time, this place,a public art project commissioned byMayo County Council.

Jim worked with the islandcommunity encouraging them tocreate images that reflected their ownidea of life on the island.

Poet Macdara Woods also wrotean original poem Fifteen Contactsresponding to the images and hisown experience of the island.

All 140 residents of Clare Islandwere given a special limited editionhardback version of the book and afurther limited run of paperbacks waspublished by Mayo County Council.

L-R: Stephen McLaughlin, Ernie Sweeney,

Cllr Eugene McCormack, Mayor of Castlebar,

Dr Barbara Burns, Head of Centre GMIT,

Michael Feeney, Henry Moroney.

Front Row: Mark Frain,

GMIT lecturer, and GMIT students Catherine

Nalley and David Coffey.

12 / News


Educational agreement with Saudi Arabia

Nanchang students conferred

GMIT delivered its first specialisededucation programme to 20 nationalsfrom the Kingdom of Saudi Arabiaduring the past year, as part of a newagreement with the Saudi GeneralOrganisation for Technical Educationand Vocational Training (Gotevot) andfour other Irish colleges.

The group of third-level teacherscompleted an eight week programme

at the Dublin Road campus. Modulesincluded intensive English, Comput-ing and Electronic Technology.

Gotevot delegates first visitedIreland in December 2006, at theinvitation of Enterprise Ireland (EI).Links were further developed duringthe EI Gulf Trade Mission in January2007, led by then Taoiseach BertieAhern.

Six students from Nanchang Univer-sity (NCU) in China graduated with aBachelor of Business (Hons) duringthe 2007 conferring ceremonies.

They were the first to benefit fromthe co-operation agreement between

NCU and GMIT whereby thosesuccessful in their studies obtain adegree from both institutions.

Pictured ad the signing of the GMIT-Saudi Gotevot

agreement, L-R, back row, Conor Fahy (Enterprise

Ireland) EI Regional Director for Southern Europe,

Middle East and Africa; Frank O’Connor, EI

International Education Service Manager; Front, Dr

Saleh Al-Amr, Deputy Governor, Gotevot, and Jim

Fennell, Financial Director, GMIT.

Nanchang students with GMIT President Marion

Coy (centre), after the 2007 conferring ceremony

in the Radisson Hotel.

International / 13


All of the institutes of technologyexert a powerful local influence onthe regions where they exist, but thisis particularly true of Galway-MayoInstitute of Technology (GMIT). Itmaintains not one but five campuses,with a spread that reaches fromGalway city to Castlebar.

More than half of GMIT’s studentbody comes from the two counties, sohaving two campuses in Galway cityand one each in Letterfrack, Castlebar

and Mountbellew gets the Institutionseen and understood by the peopleleaving nearby.

“It is a more costly enterprise torun than having one campus, but interms of serving the region and having a real presence five campuseshave a high impact in their locality,”says Dr Des Foley, Head of School ofScience at GMIT.

“It is very important to nurtureour identity, especially as theinstitutes of technology are still rela-

tively young. In a small centre, thepresence of an institute is a real boostfor these towns,” he believes.

It also affords GMIT an opportu-nity to specialise. Letterfrack, forexample, has established a nationalreputation as a centre for the study offurniture design. Its Castlebar campusis a base for the Institute’s nursingschool adjacent to the general hospi-tal, so the impact is immediatelyapplicable on a local basis.

“However, I don’t think we always

14 / Interview

GMIT: Contributor to the knowledge economy

Interview: Dr. Des Foley, Head of School of ScienceBy Dick Ahlstrom, Irish Times


get the credit for operating a diffusemodel in terms of funding and running a number of campuses does-n’t come cheap”.

Dr Foley has an interesting per-spective on GMIT and its future,coming to it from Elan Corporation in2003 initially as head of strategicplanning. It has given him a veryclear idea of where GMIT stands andwhere it is heading in the years tocome.

“The IoT sector is in a state offlux at the moment, with changescoming as a result of Governmentpolicy related to the development ofa knowledge economy. It means theold core remit of providing techni-cians and technical staff is nowevolving towards greater researchactivity and even stronger collabora-tive links with industry,” Dr Foleysuggests.

“The nature of learning is chang-ing very quickly,” he says. The notionthat learning means having to becontained within four walls andbound to a clock is going.

“I don’t think that we can auto-matically make an argument that de-livering 30 hours of class contact aweek is twice as good as 15 hours.We have to refine our ideas abouthow people learn especially in theage of the ‘digital student’.”

The sector is also coming underpressure to play a more central rolein the creation of a knowledge econ-omy by helping to provide the edu-cated personnel that will drive theparadigm forward. “All of the na-tional policy documents are pointingto a greater role for the IoTs for involvement in research and forstronger linkages with enterprise,”Dr Foley says.

The IoTs increasingly are beingasked to become involved “in realcollaborative research with tangiblebenefits for enterprise”. They are go-ing to have to change to deliver thishowever, he believes. The institutesare going to have to continuouslyimprove their standing in research

and overturn the traditional view ofthe sector being involved primarily indelivering certificates and diplomas.In effect this means boosting the col-lective reputation of the IoT sector bybuilding on its strengths.

“I think there is a job of work tobe done there which is only start-ing,” he suggests. Yet building onwhat is already there gives the sector particular advantages that areunlikely to be matched in the univer-sity sector, he believes. GMIT’sstrategic plan points towards the de-velopment of these latent strengths,particularly in the area of skills trans-fer and continuing education.

“Being able to transfer new skillsto GMIT graduates is central,” Dr Fo-ley says. Students leaving third levelare expected to have expertise intheir principal areas of study, sayphysics or chemistry, but now employers are looking for a muchwider set of skills.

“When I left university with myPhD the first thing I had to do in mynew job was look at departmentalaccounts which meant nothing tome It was straight into a multidisci-plinary environment,” he says.

An early research project involved the design of an electroni-cally-controlled transdermal patch.The collaborators were designersfrom Swatch Watch who had “a

completely different view to whatan engineer or chemist would haveseen”.

GMIT is attempting to build thismuch wider skill set into its educa-tional programmes. Having skills inteam working and problem solvingprovide them with something extrawhen reaching the jobs market, DrFoley says. He strongly believes thatabsorbing these skills must be donein a realistic context, not necessarilyby taking modules on team buildingor report writing but by doing place-ments in real companies.

“We are doing work placementsmore and more,” he states. “Overhalf of our programmes have a workplacement element. The students arecrying out for it and the companiesare crying out for it.”

These changes feed directly intothe development of a knowledgeeconomy, both by giving students amore hands-on education when inthird level and then delivering thegraduates who will enter the knowl-edge economy.

“We are producing graduatesthat have come through very practi-cal programmes and our researchprofile is also growing all the time,”Dr Foley says. GMIT and the IoT sec-tor also have a central role to play inskills enhancement, given theirstrong grounding in the practical andthe realities of the workplace. Dr Foley believes the sector could de-liver “professional PhD” type pro-grammes based on collaborationwith other elements of the third levelsector.

“We could be doing a lot moreabout workforce development,” hesays. GMIT is already involved in this,at undergraduate and post-gradu-ate level. “There are a lot of peopleworking today who will still be inthe workforce in 20 years time. At some stage, they will need toupskill.”

“I think we still have to serve thetraditional IoT cohort and technicaleducation,” he adds. But this does

not preclude the sector from movinginto the skills transfer and in-servicetraining areas that would grow fromthe close associations the IoTsalready maintain with industry. “Ithink we could do that type of workvery, very well and be a majorcontributor to the knowledge econ-omy,” he concludes.

“The institutes are

going to have to

continuously improve

their standing in

research and overturn

the traditional view of

the sector being

involved primarily in

delivering certifcates

and diplomas.”

Interview / 15


Top awards for professional cookery students

H&C students win IHI Management Game

First and second year ProfessionalCookery students, based at the DublinRoad campus, Galway, between themwon seven Gold medals, two Silver,three Bronze and three Certificatesof Merit at the Panel of Chefs NorthWest Catering Exhibition this year.

Hotel & Catering Management stu-dents, winners of the Irish HospitalityInstitute (IHI) Business ManagementGame (2008), for the second year in arow.

The annual competition, which isheld in association with ChampagneTaittinger and Fáilte Ireland, attracts

student hospitality managers fromthird level colleges all over Ireland.

The GMIT team was tutored byGerry O'Neill and Deirdre McMahon.Deirdre Burke,who coached last year’swinning team, also provided supportand coaching advice.

Back row, l-r: TJ Kenny (Gold), Bernard Tracy

(Silver), Yun Lin Xu (Gold), He Bin (Gold), Kai Puis

(Gold). Front row, l-r: Amaya Fernandez (Bronze),

Avril O'Connor (Gold), Ashling Vaughan (Gold)

and Niamh Larken (Bronze). [Missing from the

picture is Sam Mulholland who won Gold, Silver

and Bronze medals.]

Irene Burke, Sara Gilligan, Aine O'Neill, (Captain),

Andi Qerama, and Belinda Sibalda.

16 / Awards


Bronze medal for professional cookery student

Bar Managment students represent Irelandat international competition

Amaya Fernandez, a second year Pro-fessional Cookery student, won aBronze Medal at the finals of thisyear's Knorr Student Chef of the yearCompetition.

Amaya competed against eightother finalists representing cateringcolleges around the country. This is

the twelfth year of the competitionwhich is renowned as an importantopportunity to showcase students’culinary skills.

Amaya’s tutor is Johnny Carrolland her coach for this competitionwas Noel Loughnane.

Two GMIT Hospitality students repre-sented Ireland at the finals of theprestigious International Francoli CupCocktail-making competition in Italyin March.

Marie Sexton from Cork city andPaul Harkin from Ballyliffin, Co. Done-gal, both students on the Bachelor ofBusiness in Bar Management pro-

gramme at GMIT’s Dublin Road cam-pus, were selected as finalists in theevent which attracted over 400 entriesfrom catering colleges across Europe.

They were the only Irish represen-tatives in the international event. Thetwo students were accompanied tothe finals by their coach/lecturer inLicensed Trade Studies Elizabeth Fox.

Student Amaya Fernandez and her coach, lecturer

Noel Loughnane.

Marie Sexton and Paul Harkin.

Awards / 17


Science students runners up in Eurachem Final

Engineering students retain CIOB title

For the fourth time in five years, GMITscience students have finished in thetop two places in a prestigious national competition open to all universities and institutes of technol-ogy in the State.

Patrick Ryan and Mtwakazi Nilalacame second in the Irish EurachemAnalytical Measurement Competition.The two second year students arestudying towards a BSc in Chemical &Pharmaceutical Science.

Final year Construction Management(Hons) students have won the Char-tered Institute of Building (CIOB)Student Challenge for the second year in a row. The event was held in Limerick IT in March.

The students had to devise andanalyse project proposals for a residen-tial village for international studentson a site in Limerick.

L-R: Chemistry lecturer Kathleen Lough, Patrick

Ryan and Mtwakazi Nilala.

L-R: Gavin Lawless, Keith Gallagher,

Donal Dowd and Tomás Cawley,

with their lecturer/coach John Hanahoe.

18 / Awards


Top design awards for Letterfrack students

Second year BSc in Furniture Designand Manufacture student ConorTrawinski has been awarded firstprize in the Habitat/House and HomeStudent Design Awards.

In a competition that has seen GMITLetterfrack perform consistently wellover the years, fourth year studentCian Kilfeather, BSc in Furniture Technology, came second place. An-other fourth year Furniture Technol-ogy (Design) student, Andrew Kirrane,was also short listed in the top 12 ofthe competition. All students are featuring in House and Home magazine. Conor’s winning entry wasa chair solution designed for use in acrèche.

“When I started designing theMultiPooch I wanted to create something that was unusual, fun andenticing, but most of all I wanted tocreate something that was functional.The chair was designed for people ofdifferent heights and ages. Versatilitywithout moving parts was my aim. Tostart with it was a rather abstractshape, but as it progressed it startedto resemble a dog more and more.Several sketches later and the MultiPooch came to life. I realisedthat the waste material generated bythe pooch was enough to makesmaller chair… The MultiPup wasborn.”

Meanwhile, Fergus Gahan, afourth year Furniture Technology(Design) student, came second inTG4’s Comórtas Ceirde Craftspersonof the Year Competition beating offstiff competition from top designstudents from third level universitiesand ITs. GMIT Letterfrack featured onthe series which finished in March.

Conor Trawinski (first place) and Cian Kilfeather

(second) with their winning entries in the Habitat

Design Awards 2008.

Fergus Gahan (right), who came second in TG4’s

Comórtas Ceirde Craftsperson of the Year

Competition, pictured with Dermot O'Donovan,

Acting Head of Centre, GMIT Letterfrack, and his

winning design.

Awards / 19


Students design new podium for President McAleese

Students in NationalSkills Competition inCabinetmaking

Third year design students on the BScin Furniture Technology at GMITLetterfrack are designing a podiumfor future use by President McAleesein Áras an Uachtaráin.

Following a visit to Áras anUachtaráin with lecturer AnthonyClare, 15 students created design

concepts and a full scale model oftheir podium design, one of whichwill be chosen for presidential addresses.

The students travelled to Áras anUachtaráin to present the finishedpieces to the President.

Five students and one graduate havebeen selected for the finals NationalSkills Competition in Cabinetmakingfor 2008.

Lecturer Anthony Clare, co-ordi-nator of the competition says, “this isan outstanding achievement consid-ering only eight people are in the final. It demonstrates the level of skilland competence attained by studentsat this Institute”

Last year GMIT Letterfrack stu-dent PJ Murphy won the competitionand went on to represent Ireland atthe World Skill Competition in Japan.

The six finalists are: Sean Costello,Shane Griffin, Ian McDermott, DanielMcNamara, Stephen Richardson,Daniel Wright.

A selection of students involved in the design

of the new podium.

20 / Awards


Castlebar innovation awards reveal bright ideas

Construction student wins inter-campus design award

The Innovation in Business Centre(IiBC) at GMIT Castlebar held its second Student Innovation Awardsthis year. The event aims to promoteentrepreneurship and creative think-ing among students and graduatesof the Institute.

Joint first were Wayne Murphy, forhis project “Tonnta”, Ireland's firstsurfing magazine, and Michael Byrneand Daniel Kealy for their project“Ocean Heritage Adventure”; second

place, Peter Walsh, for his project“Sprice”, a Spaghetti / Rice measur-ing device; third, Kathie Nally andDavid Coffey, for their project Katco,back-up and recovery and storage facilities; and fourth, Paul Wuensche,for his project “Energising Floor”, afloor that produces its own energythrough movement. For further infor-mation, contact Maria Staunton,Manager IiBC, Tel: 094-90-43198.

Student Jonathan O’Brien, Roscam,winner of the GMIT Autodesk Intercampus Design Competition,sponsored by Amicus Technology andCADCO. Jonathan won a laptop com-

puter for designing and illustrating astudio complex with an environmen-tal design aspect using AutoDeskSoftware.

L-R: Brian Mulhern, GMIT (judge), Brian O'Malley,

EI (judge) Paul Wuensch, David Coffey,

Kathie Nally, Wayne Murphy, Daniel Kealy and

Michael Byrne, Peter Walsh and Ciara McHugh,

AIB (judge).

L-R: Construction student Jonathan O’Brien

(winner), Mark Green, Amicus Technology

(sponsor) and Gerard MacMichael,

Head of School of Engineering.

Awards / 21


Marketing award for business student

Lucrative commissions for textile artists

Marie Horkan, a third year student inthe Bachelor of Business in Market-ing, has won a Marketing Institute ofIreland Western Region award.

Marie designed a creative campaign for Irish Water Safety whichincluded a song to make school

children aware of the importance oflearning how to swim. She was presented with a Hewlett-PackardiPAQ Pocket PC and given the oppor-tunity to help implement her campaign in Irish Water Safety.

Four textile artists from the CluainMhuire campus received lucrativecommissions at the prestigious Knit &Stitch Show in the RDS Dublin.Carolyn Walsh from Kerry wascommissioned by an Irish business-man based in Holland to produceinterior designs for a public premises.

Caroline Ryan from Kilkenny hadher work snapped up by a leadingIrish architect - she recently under-

took a commission to work on theecclesiastical digitally printed designfor the Diocese of Orsary. Geri O'Brienfrom Newcastle, Galway, was success-ful in the sales of her textile artworkto Dublin art collectors and GillianGott (Meath) was hugely received bytextile Dutch artist Tilleke Schwarz.Lecturer Jackie King says it’s a greatstart to their careers.

L-R: Carmel Brennan, Head of Dept. Business

GMIT, Maeve O'Malley Hewlett-Packard Galway

Limited, Roger Sweeney, Irish Water Safety,

GMIT student Marie Horkan, winner,

and Patrick Brennan,

Chairman Marketing Institute West Region.

L-R: Caroline Ryan (back row, 2nd left),

Geri O’Brien (front row, 1st left) from Galway,

and Carolyn Walsh, (front row, 2nd from right).

22 / Awards


Foghlaimeoirí na Bliana - BAi nGnó agus Cumarsáid

Bronnadh Scoláireachtaí anIontrála BA i nGnó agusCumarsáid

Kevin McDonagh, Léachtóir, Tomás Ó Ceallaigh,

Léachtóir. Chun tosaigh: Rónán Mac Gearailt,

Comhordaitheoir an Chláir BA i nGnó agus

Cumarsáid, Bríd Nic Dhonncha, Carna, Mairéad

Peircín, Leitir Mealláin, Gráinne Feeney, Maigh

Cuilinn agus Caitlín Ní Ghábháin, Léachtóir

(as láthair Séamus Mac Donnacha,

An Cheathrú Rua).

Grianghraf: Mike Shaughnessy

Rónán Mac Gearailt, Comhordaitheoir an Chláir

BA i nGnó agus Cumarsáid, Marion Coy, Stiúrthóir

GMIT, Mairéad Ní Chathmhaoil, An Spidéal, Bridie

Nic Dhonnacha, Leitir Mealláin, Niamh Ní

Shúilleabháin, Camus, Micheál Ó Dubháin, Leitir

Móir agus Caoimhín Ó Flaithimhín, Údarás na

Gaeltachta.

Grianghraf: Mike Shaughnessy

Awards / 23


GMIT Business student Eimear O'Malleyfrom Cloonkeely, Ower, Headford.

GMIT Art & Design student Lisa McConvillefrom Prospect, Dunmore.

GMIT Film & Television student Aisling NíFhrighil from Gortahork, Letterkenny.

GMIT Hotel & Catering student PadraigBellew from Woodlawn, Ballinasloe,

GMIT Outdoor Education & Leisure studentMaire McLoughlin of Achill Sound, Co Mayo.

GMIT Computer & Electronics Systems stu-dent Stephen O'Donovan from Fairhill, Cork.

GMIT Medical Science studentKaren McWalter of Milltown, Tuam.

GMIT Furniture Design & Manufacture stu-dent Darren McGarrigle from Lifford, CoDonegal.

GMIT Nursing student Sarah Blagrovefrom Lavally, Tuam.

GMIT Outdoor Education student Megan Win-ters from Cleaboy Road, Waterford.

Academic ScholarshipsAcademic scholarships were awardedto first year students this academicyear (2007/8) who received the high-est points in their Leaving Certificate.The students are studying various programmes in each of GMIT’s fiveSchools and campuses.

24 / Academic Scholarships


Sports Awards 2007/2008

GMIT SU Incoming President Patrick Bonner, Paul McGrath, Victoria Stephens, achievement award recipient (rowing),

Marion Coy, President GMIT. Victoria represented GMIT in this year's intervarsities, capturing the women's Single Scull Title.

Victoria has qualified for the World Student Games, which take place in Belgrade in September (08). She will also represent

Ireland at the Home Regatta, Wales, in July.

GMIT Ladies Gaelic Football Team

Sports Awards / 25


GMIT Fitzgibbon Cup Hurling team

GMIT Letterfrack Hurling Team

26 / Sports Awards



GMIT Archery Club

GMIT Men’s Soccer Team

Sports Awards / 27



Two senior appointments at Castlebar

Dr Barbara Burns has been appointedHead of Centre and Michael Gill Headof Department of Business andTechnology at GMIT Castlebar.

Dr. Burns has been a lecturer inBusiness at Castlebar for ten yearsand has served on government anduniversity advisory groups. She is apast international director of the Society of Manufacturing Engineersand prior to joining GMIT, worked asa consultant in research, project man-agement, manufacturing and indus-try. She succeeds Dr Katie Sweeney,who is CEO of Co Mayo VEC.

Michael Gill holds a Bachelor ofCommerce from NUI, Galway and aPostgraduate Diploma in ProfessionalAccounting from the Michael SmurfitBusiness School. Mr. Gill as a Chartered Accountant with Pricewa-terhouse Coopers and worked for atime as a taxation manager in KPMG, Galway. He joined GMIT in Sept 1998as a lecturer in finance and in 2003was appointed Acting Head ofDepartment in Hotel & CateringManagement.

Michael Gill, Head of Dept of Business and

Technology, Castlebar campus, and Dr Barbara

Burns, Head of Centre, GMIT Castlebar.

Head of Hotel & Catering Management DeptCáit Noone has been appointed Headof Dept of Hotel & Catering Manage-ment. Ms. Noone spent 16 yearsworking in the education sector over-seas and returned to Ireland in 2005.

She set up and was appointedDean of the first International HotelManagement College in Shanghaiwith the Chinese government partnerJin Jiang International. She workedfor Les Roches Switzerland, a leadinginternational Swiss hotel school, as

Academic Manager, and taught inthat sector from 1992. She holds a BAin Post Compulsory Education and anMBA from University of Colarado.

Cáit Noone

28 / Appointments


GMIT President appointed to influential career guidance groupGMIT President Marion Coy has beenappointed to the ManagementCommittee of the National Centre forGuidance in Education (NCGE).

The agency provides support forprimary school teachers, second and third-level education guidancepractitioners, and those workingin Youthreach and with adults in ed-ucation.

The GMIT President also recentlytook over as Chairperson of Institutesof Technology Ireland (IOTI), a position she holds until January 2009.

Her three priorities for the yearare: to develop new career and personal development opportunitiesfor students; ensure that Institutes ofTechnology are key players in theimplementation of the NationalDevelopment Plan especially in theareas of workforce development, in-creased participation rates andindigenous economic development;and ensure the voice of the Institutesis to the forefront in the developmentof national higher education policy.

GMIT President Marion Coy

Commercial Services ManagerJohn Kennedy has been appointedGMIT Commercial Services Manager,a new position in the GMIT Develop-ment Office. He will oversee commer-cial activities, consolidate and growcurrent revenue streams and identifyand develop future growth potential.

Current areas include: technologytransfer, intellectual property, spin-outs and incubation, commercialcatering, adult education, and strate-gic partnerships with industry. Incomefrom these activities will further sup-port GMIT’s pivotal role in education,research and regional development.

Mr Kennedy has a PhD in MarineZoology from NUI Galway and anMBA from the Open University. Heworked with Bord Iascaigh Mhara inDublin as a Senior Resource Develop-ment Officer and in recent years inGermany in venture capital and atPwC. He was manager of PwC GlobalIncentive Services Unit and set up itsLocation Services International Unit.Before joining GMIT he worked inNUI Galway as programme managerof the Regenerative Medicine Insti-tute (REMEDI). John Kennedy

Appointments / 29

Student counsellorPauline Clancy joined GMIT DublinRoad in the past year, bringing to twothe number of counsellors availableto students at the campus. She has arange of experience having worked inthe voluntary sector, community settings, psychiatric units and privatepractice in Britain, working with individuals and groups.

Ms. Clancy trained as a Psychoan-alytic Psychotherapist, and holds adegree in Social Science and MSc in

Computing. She returned to Irelandfrom London in December 2007, to work for the first time in the third-level education sector.

Pauline Clancy


Head of Creative Arts, Cluain MhuireDr Suzanne O’Shea has been appointed Head of Creative Arts atthe GMIT Cluain Mhuire campus.From Cork, she graduated with a Doctorate in Fine Art & Aestheticsfrom UU Belfast in 1997, and re-ceived the Vice-Chancellor’s ResearchAward for her PhD. She lectured at LIT for ten years, also running theCritical & Contextual Studies Dept forfive years.

Dr. O’Shea has been a guest lecturer at UCC, UU, UL, Queens University Belfast and Goldsmith’s

College University of London and haspublished poetry, art criticism and artcatalogues since the early 1990s. Shewas Director of the Vangard Fine ArtGallery in Cork and continues to advise corporate clients. She alsoacted as an independent arts consultant on a number of projects,most notably the Integrated ArtworksProject at the Royal Belfast Hospitalfor Sick Children.

Dr Suzanne O’Shea

Film lecturer elected to AosdánaFilm & TV lecturer Vivienne Dick hasbeen elected to Aosdána, an associ-ation of people in Ireland who haveachieved distinction in the arts. Vivienne has been lecturing atGMIT's Cluain Mhuire campus since1999. Between 1977 - 1982 she livedin New York, part of a group of film-makers whose affiliation to the musicand aesthetic of punk became knownas 'New Wave'. Working mainly onSuper 8, her films from this periodfeature many musicians from the NYpunk movement.

Ms. Dick returned to Ireland in1982 and went on to London in 1985,where she was a member of The London Filmmakers Coop for many

years and produced a number of filmsin 16mm, and in video. She gradu-ated from the University of the Arts,London, with an MA in IndependentFilm and Video.

Aosdána was created in 1981 onthe initiative of a group of writersand with support from the Arts Coun-cil of Ireland. Membership, which isby invitation from current members,is limited to 250 individuals. On herelection to the prestigious group, shesaid: “This is a fantastic honour forme and for GMIT. Film as an art formhas not often been recognised andI’m very pleased that perception ischanging”.

Vivienne Dick

30 / Appointments

RetirementsSixteen staff retired from GMIT Dublin Road campus during the past academic year, following service ranging from ten to 39 years.

Ann Bree, Lecturer, School of Humanities.Katie Collins, Administration, Library. Teresa Corbally, Cleaning staff, B & E Dept.Mary Feely, Catering/Canteen.Jean Fox, Cleaning staff, B & E Dept.Dr Elizabeth Gosling, Lecturer, School of Science.

Teresa Kane, Administration, Library.Dr Myles Keogh, Lecturer, School of Science.Sean McEllin, Lecturer, School of Engineering.Rita O'Connor, Cleaning staff, B & E Dept.Damien O'Neill Fitzsimons, Lecturer, School of Hotel & Catering.Ted Parslow,Lecturer, Dept Maths & Computing,

School of Science. Tony Quinlan, former registrar, former Head of Schoolof Engineering/, former lecturer, Mechanical Engineering.Paul Scannell, Lecturer, School of Hotel & Catering (IT).Dr Malachy Thompson, former Head of Learning & Teaching,former Head of School of Science.Nora Walsh, Cleaning staff, B & E Dept.


Sports News / 31

GMIT in both Sigerson and Fitzgibbon semis for first time By Mike Geoghegan

GMIT’s chances of a unique Sigersonand Fitzgibbon double came unstuckat the semi-final stage in both compe-titions this year. While disappoint-ing, this still represented the college’sbest showing ever in their participa-tion in these competitions. Indeed itwas the first time that either the foot-ball or hurling side had reached thepenultimate stages.

Draws with the Garda College andUCC were enough to see the hurlersthrough to the group stages and set-up a clash with CIT in the quarter-final. Strong and focused and playingcontrolled hurling, GMIT overcamethe Cork side in a compelling gamequalifying for the weekend stage.GMIT came up just short to LIT in athrilling semi-final played in Cork on29th Feb with the highlight being astirring second half comeback by theGalway boys. Final score: 3-10 to 2-10.

The hurling side included inter-county stars Ger Mahon and KennethBurke from Galway, Clare sharp-shooter Mark Flaherty, Offaly pairCathal Horan and Ciaran Flanneryand current All-star AndrewO’Shaughnessy from Limerick.

In Football, GMIT defeated Waterford IT and UL to qualify for thesemi-final which was to be played in Carlow on 6th March. Their opponent’s participation – the GardaCollege – was embroiled in contro-versy which saw the game delayeduntil this week (156th Apr) whenGMIT lost out to an injury time goal inextra time. Final score: 2-13 to 1-15.

Players to watch out for from thefootball side are last year’s GalwayAll-Ireland winning captain PaulConroy and Donal Vaughan, AidanCampbell and Tom Cunniffe, leadingmembers of the Mayo U21 side.


Galway - Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT)

Dublin Road, Galway, Rep of Ireland.

Tel: +353 91 753161

Fax: +353 91 751107

email: [email protected]

website: www.gmit.ie


GMIT Review 2007/2008 · Dr Tom Roche and Dr John Lohan, GMIT Centre for the Integration of...

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