Research News
The Irish Universities Association partnered with national TV broadcaster RTÉ and producers New Decade to bring Ireland’s 'Change Makers' to the small screen this January and February, showcasing the most transformative research-led projects and the inspiring people behind them.
The series highlights the remarkable and lasting public impact of leading researchers from eight Irish universities, working in areas including children’s health, health technology, education, youth justice, gender equality and inclusion, and the environment. The show also introduces the people they help as they develop technologies and treatments for diabetes, pre-eclampsia, compulsive behaviours and maths anxiety, and tackle societal challenges in areas such as education and climate change.
Episode 1, 'Children’s Health and Wellbeing,' features Professor Patricia Maguire and the team behind AI_PREMie, a game-changing research project which uses Artificial Intelligence to disrupt diagnostics practices in pre-eclampsia to help save the lives of mothers and their newborn babies. Preeclampsia is a serious complication of pregnancy with potentially life-threatening consequences for both mother and baby. At present, preeclampsia diagnosis relies on error-prone techniques, furthermore, the delivery of the preterm infant is the only curative treatment. In this SFI/DFA funded project, AI_PREMie uses cutting-edge biomedical, clinical and machine learning techniques to analyse a combination of biomarker signals and clinically relevant maternal haematological, demographic and clinical assessment data, to return an easily interpretable risk score within a few hours, aiding clinical evaluation in real-time.
Also featured, University of Limerick’s Greentown Project identifying the most vulnerable young people at risk of joining Irelands organized crime gangs; NUI Galway's Health Behaviour in School Aged Children; DCU's ‘Moving Well, Being Well’ and TU Dublin's Happy Maths project.
Watch the episode.
Episode 5, 'Gender and Equality,' features the very impactful political science projects ‘We the Citizens’ and the Citizens' Assembly, led by UCD’s Chair of Politics, UCD School of Politics and International Relations Professor David Farrell, in partnership with DCU’s Professor Jane Suiter. The connected projects, which have had global impact, raise a constructive conversation about the nature of democracy and how citizens have the power to transform it. In a worrying time of deepening divides and disinformation, solutions have emerged from this field of social science research to restore faith and value to our tired democratic institutions and engender legitimate participation and representation of citizens.
Also featured, Maynooth University's STEM passport, which supports 1,000 girls from working class communities across Ireland to move into STEM courses and careers.
Watch the episode.
Learn more about the other research stories in Change Makers https://www.iua.ie/press-releases/iua-release-20th-dec-change-makers-irish-universities-most-innovative-and-transformative-research-projects-solve-real-life-problems/