Students from Ulster University’s Magee campus have been reflecting on how the Derry and Strabane City Deal will benefit their studies and future careers.
Ulster University Magee Campus
The £250m investment package, which reached a key milestone last month with the signing of its Heads of Terms agreement, includes the delivery of the School of Medicine at Magee, the creation of a Health Research Institute (HRI) and the expansion of the C-TRIC research facility at Altnagelvin hospital through a pioneering health innovation project called THRIVE.
THRIVE, a partnership between the Western Health & Social Care Trust, Ulster University and Derry City and Strabane District Council, will see the team of personalised medicine researchers grow at the expanded C-TRIC/THRIVE building, based at Altnagelvin and into the new HRI/THRIVE building, located beside the new School of Medicine.
Ulster University has released a series of videos asking students what the City Deal will mean for them. For second year Personalised Medicine student Sarah McCloskey, the deal will help the region fulfil its highest potential and “see what we can become”. Watch video
https://investderrystrabane.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/InvestDerry_Strabane_logo_small-003.jpg00Adam Goodallhttps://investderrystrabane.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/InvestDerry_Strabane_logo_small-003.jpgAdam Goodall2021-03-16 10:34:592021-03-16 10:35:28Ulster University students welcome City Deal
An Ulster University Artificial Intelligence (AI) expert is working on pioneering new technology which could help people communicate after serious brain injuries.
Professor Damien Coyle aims to develop AI technology that can be used in new forms of wearable neurotechnologies. These devices, which measure signals from the brain and allow their wearer to interact with technology without movement, could help those unable to communicate following a serious injury or illness.
Professor Coyle, Director of the Intelligent Systems Research Centre at Ulster University’s Magee campus, has received UK government investment for the research. He is leading a national trial in partnership with 17 hospitals to evaluate AI-enabled neurotechnology for consciousness assessment in prolonged disorders of consciousness following severe brain injury.
The AI R&D planned will be thoroughly trialed in the lab and with end-users of the technology, including patients and clinicians. The AI will be deployed in ‘wearables’ developed in partnership with NeuroCONCISE Ltd, an Ulster University spinout.
The Derry City and Strabane District Council area has officially become the first Zero Waste City in the UK and Ireland.
The European designation sees the Council area join a network of communities across the continent sharing learning and experiences of reducing waste generation while improving recycling rates and the quality of the resources captured.
The new status comes amid a deepening collaboration with local campaigning group Zero Waste North West, and marks the latest stage of the City and District’s adoption of a Circular Economy/Zero Waste Strategy.
The Strategy aims to keep resources and products in use for as long as possible, extracting maximum value for the local economy, before recovering and regenerating them at the end of their life cycle.
For more on Council’s Waste and Recycling Services visit derrystrabane.com/recycling. Full details on Council’s Circular Economy strategy can be viewed at derrystrabane.com/circulareconomy.
https://investderrystrabane.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/InvestDerry_Strabane_logo_small-003.jpg00Adam Goodallhttps://investderrystrabane.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/InvestDerry_Strabane_logo_small-003.jpgAdam Goodall2020-12-15 13:46:372020-12-15 13:46:38Derry and Strabane become Zero Waste City pioneers
A US-based research scientist and biotechnology entrepreneur with Donegal roots has donated $100,000 to support three students through their four-year degrees at Ulster University’s School of Medicine.
Massachusetts-based Dr Susan K Whoriskey, whose great-grandfather, John Whoriskey, was from Creeslough in Co Donegal, made the donation via the Irish American Partnership.
Dr Whoriskey has worked with COVID-19 vaccine manufacturer Moderna since it was a start-up, and was involved in the founding of several top biotech companies. She has also been Entrepreneur in Residence at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The Medical Education Scholarships at Ulster University offer financial assistance to a number of eligible students who are successful in obtaining a place on the Graduate Entry Medicine programme, commencing in August 2021. The Scholarships are aimed at students who have, and/or continue to experience challenges, and where finances present a barrier to accessing a medical education.
More information about the scholarships, including eligibility criteria and key milestones, can be found at www.ulster.ac.uk/medicine.
Local social prescribing firm Elemental has been named Best Small Tech Company of the Year at the 2020 Digital DNA Awards.
The Derry-based ‘tech for good’ company helps connect individuals, families and their carers with community-based programmes, services and interventions to make a positive impact on their lives.
Elemental Co-founders/CEOs Leeann Monk-Özgül and Jennifer Neff were also highly commended in the Founder of the Year category at the awards, which celebrate Northern Ireland’s best technology businesses and people.
This year’s awards were held online and featured more than 300 entries from over 160 companies.
“Myself, Jennifer and the entire team at Elemental are on cloud nine after winning the Digital DNA Small Tech of the Year award,” said Leeann Monk-Özgül.
“The calibre of finalists in each category of the Digital DNA awards is testament to how much the tech sector is thriving here and how much talent we have on our doorstep.”
https://investderrystrabane.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/InvestDerry_Strabane_logo_small-003.jpg00Adam Goodallhttps://investderrystrabane.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/InvestDerry_Strabane_logo_small-003.jpgAdam Goodall2020-12-15 13:38:122020-12-15 13:38:13Elemental scoops Digital DNA Award
A leading Magee-based Ulster University researcher will develop Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology that could help people to communicate following serious brain injuries, thanks to a £20million government investment announced today.Professor Damien Coyle of Ulster University’s Magee campus has been awarded the prestigious Turing AI Acceleration Fellowship. The Fellowships will give 15 of the UK’s top AI researchers the resources to work with industry to bring their innovations to benefit multiple sectors.
Professor Damien Coyle who is currently Director of the Intelligent Systems Research Centre (ISRC) at Ulster University’s Magee campus, said:“Everyone’s brain is different and many factors influence brain states so brainwaves are extremely complex and change and evolve from minute to minute and day to day. This presents an excellent challenge for AI in detecting specific brains states. “The AI R&D planned for this fellowship will be thoroughly trialed not only in the lab but also with end-users of the technology – patients and clinicians who can really benefit. The AI will be deployed in wearables developed in partnership with NeuroCONCISE Ltd, an Ulster University spinout. “New AI developed for neurotechnology during the fellowship will be translated across other sectors and industry led-data analytics challenges so the fellowship will impact widely within the city and region, Northern Ireland, the UK and beyond.”
The ISRC, where Professor Coyle is based will feature in the Derry and Strabane City Deal through the Cognitive Analytics Research Laboratory (CARL). Its objective is to help NI industry across a broad range of sectors from health to financial technology to become world-leading in their use of Artificial Intelligence. The ISRC is already home to the Dr George Moore Chair in Data Analytics, a world-class academic position made possible with the philanthropic support of Mrs Angela Moore. This funding injection is another endorsement of Derry – Londonderry as a place where AI and Innovation thrives.
Science Minister, Amanda Solloway said:“The UK is the birthplace of artificial intelligence and we therefore have a duty to equip the next generation of Alan Turings, like Ulster University’s Professor Damien Coyle, with the tools that will keep the UK at the forefront of this remarkable technological innovation.“Northern Ireland is a hotbed for innovation and the inspiring AI project we are backing today could assist those who have experienced a serious illness or injury to communicate, transforming how they live, while cementing the UK’s status as a world leader in AI and data.”
Ulster University’s new School of Medicine at Magee is now recruiting future doctors after progressing through the next steps of the General Medical Council’s rigorous quality assurance process.
With support from the Executive, ring-fenced funding combined with the GMC’s recent review of the University’s readiness, allows the school to recruit staff and students for a September 2021 opening.
Professor Louise Dubras, Ulster University.
Ulster
University’s new School of Medicine based on the Magee campus is now recruiting
Northern Ireland’s future doctors following a successful progression through
the next steps of the General Medical Council’s (GMC) rigorous quality
assurance process for new medical schools.
With
support from the Executive, ring-fenced funding was announced last month,
combined with the GMC’s recent review of the University’s state of readiness,
enables Ulster University to recruit staff and students for a
September 2021 opening. Ulster University’s School of Medicine will select
students who have already completed an undergraduate degree and provide them
with four years of innovative, intensive, practical medical education. The
School will offer a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) medical
degree programme that is unique in Northern Ireland.
In 2018,
The Department of Health commissioned a Review of Medical School Places which
recommended that Northern Ireland needs 100 more medical students a year to
meet the increasing demand for doctors. Currently, approximately 40% of medical
graduates in Northern Ireland tend to stay and live within 10 miles of Queen’s
University Belfast after graduation, according to the GMC. The new School of
Medicine at Magee will address departmental recommendations by providing access
to medical education in the North West, positioning
the Derry~Londonderry City region as an attractive place to study and
work. It further builds on Ulster University’s capacity to deliver
life-changing education and research, supporting the health and well-being
agenda in Northern Ireland.
Students
will benefit from access to clinical placements across the full range of
general practice, medical and surgical specialities with primary care-based
experience from week one. This will enable students to develop knowledge and
appreciation of the interconnectivity between primary, secondary, social and
community-based healthcare.
Foundation
Dean of the School of Medicine, Professor Louise Dubras who will lead the
Gradate Entry degree programme commented: “As a GP working in the city myself,
I am continually reflecting on the role of the doctor and the doctor-patient
journey. COVID-19 has emphasised that a career as a doctor requires a
commitment to lifelong learning and adapting to life’s modern
challenges.
“The MBBS
programme at Ulster’s School of Medicine will provide students with the professional
skills, knowledge and relevant clinical experience necessary to be a twenty
first century doctor. Working closely with our partner medical School St
George’s University of London and alongside globally acclaimed visiting
professors, our medical provision, rooted in the heart of Derry-Londonderry on
our Magee campus, will provide the much-needed doctors required for the North
West.
“The
School of Medicine on our Magee campus will attract students to study, work and
live in the North West and will be a catalyst in the innovation corridor to be
established as part of the City Deal. We look forward to taking the next steps
and to welcoming our first medical students ready to embark upon such a
rewarding and vital career path with us.”
The Graduate
Entry programme offered at Ulster’s School of Medicine is open to anyone with a
minimum of a 2:1 honours degree in any subject: Applicants are required
to sit the GAMSAT entrance exam in September 2020 or March 2021 at
the location most convenient for them, with the Magee campus recently added as
a test centre on the island of Ireland. Those successful in the GAMSAT
will be invited to Multiple Mini interviews which have to be passed, along with
an Enhanced Disclosure from Access NI or other relevant authority before offers
can be made. The University will work with key partners to establish a
scholarship fund to support students, details will be announced early next
year.
The
University has already received hundreds of enquiries from the North West,
across the island of Ireland and the UK who are keen to find out more about the
School of Medicine and the MBBS Medicine programme of study. For more
information, visit ulster.ac.uk/medicine
All new
medical school applications must complete a GMC multi-stage approval process.
Now that this milestone has been passed, work will continue with an ongoing
programme of checks and visits over the coming months and years to make sure
that the medical school remains satisfactory and passes all GMC quality
assurance requirements. Once all of these stages have been completed,
and subject to the approval of GMC Council, the school will be added to the
list of institutions able to award its own primary medical qualifications in
2025.
https://investderrystrabane.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/InvestDerry_Strabane_logo_small-003.jpg00Adam Goodallhttps://investderrystrabane.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/InvestDerry_Strabane_logo_small-003.jpgAdam Goodall2020-10-19 13:55:332020-10-28 15:27:55Ulster’s School of Medicine now recruiting future doctors for 2021
Five new entrepreneurs and start-ups have each received £10,000 from Innovate UK, the government’s innovation agency, as part of the first Catalyst North West Co-Founders programme.
The funding will help the winning
teams pursue their technology, engineering and science ideas and contribute to
the thriving innovation ecosystem growing in the North West region.
Although based at Catalyst Innovation
Centre at Fort George in Derry, the Co-Founders cohort completed a part-time
online programme one night a week for 16 weeks.
The five ideas which have secured
funding include technology for medical student training, an innovative
development for cat’s eyes on the road, a digital platform for golf caddies, a
social fintech solution and a digital platform for exercise and wellbeing.
Catalyst at Fort George opened in 2014
and is fully occupied by 32 companies and 250 people working in the innovation
and knowledge economy.
https://investderrystrabane.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/InvestDerry_Strabane_logo_small-003.jpg00Adam Goodallhttps://investderrystrabane.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/InvestDerry_Strabane_logo_small-003.jpgAdam Goodall2020-10-19 13:49:542020-10-19 13:49:54£50K funding boost for local start-ups at North West Co-Founders programme
InterTradeIreland’s Fusion programme has awarded “Exemplar” status to five businesses across the island, two of which are Northern Ireland based.
The Fusion initiative supports business development by collaborating companies with a research institution and a graduate project manager, funded by InterTradeIreland.
The graduate then works directly with the business to deliver new products or improved processes over 12 to 18 months.
Operations manager Alan Morrow said: “All of these Fusion projects were in very different areas. However, all of the companies involved were open to new products and processes. This is what the Fusion programme is about – giving firms the tools to boost their business through innovative collaboration.”
The five businesses have reported sales of more than £2.2m between them and savings of over £150,000 during their Fusion projects.
They have combined anticipated sales upwards of £14m and savings of £400,000 over the next three years.
Belfast medtech Axial3D makes custom 3D printed replicas from medical scans, to improve outcomes for patients through better surgical planning.
The company started its Fusion project to improve its capability of printing paediatric cardiac anatomy in 3D. It paired with Professor Kathleen Curran in University College Dublin and graduate James Fitzpatrick.
It has now developed new technology, entered a new market its staff has grown from 14 employees to 24. The company was also recently named ‘Health Technology leader’ in the 2020 Global Digital Health 100 list.
Hawthorn Heights in Eglinton, Derry/Londonderry specialises in the design and installation of play parks, sports pitches and landscaping.
It worked with Sligo Institute of Technology and graduate Ciaran Farren. The company said it has since doubled its turnover and has had to move to bigger premises.
Margaret Hearty, Director of Operations at InterTradeIreland concluded: “All of these companies have showcased the success and commercial benefits that come from collaboration. The results speak for themselves and we would encourage other SMEs who want to build innovation into their business to apply for our Fusion programme.”
The Princess Royal officially opens the new state-of-the-art Spatial Computing and Neurotechnology Innovation Hub (SCANi-hub).
The SCANi-hub uses cutting edge technology to determine the body and brain’s responses to stress, fatigue, achievement, awareness, error and threats in complex training and performance assessment scenarios simulated in virtual environments. Established by Professor Damien Coyle and Dr Karl McCreadie at the Intelligent Systems Research Centre, the new SCANi-hub will also build on award-winning neurotechnology research at the centre enabling research and education in the next wave of human-computer and human-machine interaction for able-bodied and physically impaired people.
The Princess Royal officially opened the facility which contains multiple mobile wearable EEG headsets, functional near-infrared spectroscopy brain imaging, an advanced car/flight simulator and various new AR and VR spatial computing technologies, vibrotactile stimulation suits and ultrasonic haptic interfaces. Further technologies include those that enable walking in virtual environments (virtual treadmills) as well as a state-of-the-art Smartglass façade to adapt the room for various experimental situations and public engagement activities.
The tour of the Magee campus continued with the Princess Royal meeting with staff and students including Professor Louise Dubras, Foundation Dean of the School of Medicine to discuss how the Graduate Entry Medical School at Magee will provide medical training to help address the skills and workforce challenges felt by the health care sector in Northern Ireland. Nursing students and recent graduates were commended by the Princess Royal for their work in their local communities and the tour concluded with a visit to view the £1.3 million Magee library transformation.
Welcoming The Princess Royal back to the Magee campus, Vice-Chancellor Professor Paddy Nixon commented:
It is with a great sense of pride that we welcome The Princess Royal today to the Magee campus to officially open the SCANi-hub and meet with our students and staff who are making a significant contribution to the health service and healthcare locally, nationally and internationally. Building on our world-class infrastructure and pioneering scientific research at the Intelligent Systems Research Centre, the SCAN-i hub will equip the next generation of graduates and researchers with the skills and knowledge to merge bio-inspired computing and AI and SCAN technologies to address many research and industry led challenges that help define how humans interact with technology in the future.
SCANi-hub is funded by the Department for the Economy through the Higher Education Research Capital Fund.
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