Latest news with #ResearchIreland
Agriland
3 days ago
- General
- Agriland
Study aims to improve gender balance in agri and rural reporting
A research project is aiming to promote better gender balance when it comes to coverage of agricultural and rural issues in the media. Over the coming 12 months, the 'Time to be Seen' project will work to identify how both women and men are represented in the media when it comes to these topics. It will raise awareness in cases where women are omitted from this coverage or misrepresented and how this can be addressed. The project is also aiming to develop resources to promote women's participation and representation in Irish mainstream media coverage of farming and rural matters. Dr Muireann Prendergast (third from left) with farmers and journalists who took part in the Agri Rural Media Forum in Limerick Dr Muireann Prendergast, a postdoctoral researcher based at the South East Technological University (SETU) in Waterford is the principal investigator of the study. She previously worked as a journalist in Latin America and has recently been working on the Grass Ceiling project in Waterford which is focused on women innovators in farm and rural areas. Funded through Research Ireland, the Time to be Seen study is being carried out in conjunction with Macra and the University of Limerick. As part of the project an Agri Rural Media Forum took place in Limerick yesterday (Thursday, June 5) which brought together journalists and women working in agriculture and living in rural areas. The in-person forum, which was attended by Agriland, will be supplemented by interviews with journalists and rural women. There will also be a focus group held with farm and rural men to hear their views on the topic. Media analysis will be carried out to examine specific issues such as how female leaders in farm organisations are represented in the media. Gender balance Dr Muireann Prendergast told Agriland the project is hoping to develop guidelines and recommendations for journalists to promote gender balance when it comes to reporting on farm and rural issues. Training materials will also be made available through Macra Skillnet to help women develop their media skills and encourage their participation in stories. 'There a lot of social and cultural norms that are present in media in terms of how farming and entrepreneurship in rural areas is more associated with men than women, which is inaccurate. 'Women also make a huge, fantastic contribution to these areas as well. We just want to promote that their voices are seen and heard,' Prendergast said. During yesterday's forum, the rural women present suggested that a gender balanced media directory be developed to allow more women to feature in farming and rural stories on media outlets. Prendergast described this as a fantastic recommendation, adding 'we do find that more men than women tend to be quoted as expert sources'.
Irish Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
I am often asked by students how to plan for a career in research. I tell them to move abroad
In the 1940s, the USA began recruiting the best scientists they could attract from Europe. Oppenheimer's Trinity test in New Mexico was undeniable proof of science's essential role in competitiveness and defence. Since the second World War, the USA has viewed science as an existential priority. They understood that their position was predicated on being at the frontier of key emerging technologies – a view which has been vindicated by the space race, the internet, mRNA vaccines and artificial intelligence. The results are clear. By 1920, Germany had accrued more Nobel Prizes than any other country. But since 1945, the USA has won more Nobel Prizes in the sciences (physics, chemistry, and physiology or medicine), than any other country, by an enormous margin. The USA is credited with 310 Nobel laureates in science, with the UK in second place at 89 and Germany at 71. Of those who did their work in the USA, over a third were scientists who migrated to America. Competitive science requires competitive individuals who know no borders, and raise the standard of research in their environment. Minister for Higher Education and Research James Lawless recently outlined a bold vision to attract top US-based academics to Ireland through our new national funding agency, Research Ireland. This ambition signals a real desire for Ireland to become an international leader in science and innovation. But excellent science requires two things: talent and money. Europe has no choice but to view research and innovation as fundamental to our competitiveness and security Research is expensive, and the US government has invested nearly $200 billion a year into research and development, including about $50 billion to the National Institute of Health (NIH), the world's leading funder of all biomedical research. The USA has also reaped the economic benefits. A recent analysis shows those grants supported 407,782 jobs and $95 billion in new economic activity in 2024. That translates to a return on investment of $2.56 for every $1 in grant funding. READ MORE Now the world is shifting. The Trump administration is engaged in a co-ordinated attack on science; by drastically cutting government research support , directly attacking universities, marginalising international scientists and students, and dismissing scientific facts . The long-term outcomes are unclear, but many US-based academics are looking for alternatives . In a recent poll by Nature, more than 1,200 scientists – three quarters of all respondents – said they were considering leaving the US, with most looking to Europe or Canada. The scientific world is also shifting, and we may soon be approaching an Oppenheimer moment in artificial intelligence at a time where European security is under threat from Russia. Europe has no choice but to view research and innovation as fundamental to our competitiveness and security. Ireland has plenty to offer the scientific world. Our assets include a liberal university environment, a large number of professional researchers and crucially a constant stream of bright, adaptable and hard-working research students. Ireland also has a strong scientific diaspora, of which many individuals are luminaries of their fields. However, Ireland did not manage to benefit from the wave of academics who left the UK after Brexit. And that's at least partly connected to what's missing: a predictable supply of competitive, indigenous research funding. Ireland cannot compete with the USA – but Europe can, and Ireland has the opportunity to lead a new generation of European research by acting quickly Recruitment of international scientists needs to be coupled with a revitalisation of our domestic research base and university infrastructure. Research funding, previously through Science Foundation Ireland, led to Ireland's scientific renaissance of the late 1990s and early 2000s. But we never quite emerged as a European leader due to the financial crisis of 2008. In 2023, an open letter by 2,000 members of the academic community noted that 'Ireland is at real risk of being overtaken by other EU member states as they invest more in their research and innovation systems'. This is an understatement. Eurostat data shows that Ireland's research expenditure as a proportion of GDP lags well behind Italy, Spain and Poland. We spend under 1.2 per cent of GDP on research, substantially behind the EU average of 2.3 per cent. A similar picture is seen with the more accurate metric of research expenditure per inhabitant , where Ireland contributes under €200 per person per year, well below the European average of €275 per person, and just behind Italy at €230. In contrast, Denmark spends €555 per person per year, on par with the USA. The solution is obvious. While visiting Dublin in March 2025 , the president of the EU's premier funding agency the European Research Council (ERC), Maria Leptin, recommended to the Taoiseach that the Government should triple the budget of Research Ireland to a total of €1 billion per year. Such an investment would rapidly transform Ireland into a European leader in science and research, and create a world-leading research environment that would benefit our own graduates and attract international scientists. This would force us to improve the living standards and support for PhD students, particularly in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Ireland cannot compete with the USA – but Europe can, and Ireland has the opportunity to lead a new generation of European research by acting quickly. This would attract further European investment, for example the ERC has created a €500 million package for recruiting top international researchers to EU member states. [ 'Don't come to Ireland': PhD researchers offer advice to US colleagues Opens in new window ] What are we missing out on by not increasing our research funding to internationally competitive standards? Apart from boosting the quality of our universities, we are losing out on economic returns such as the vibrant biotechnology and applied science clusters that naturally build up around centres of research excellence such as Basle, Zurich, Vienna, Cambridge, and Copenhagen. Domestically, we should aspire to the best outcomes seen in smaller European countries. Fintan O'Toole recently observed that Denmark is a global hub for clinical research and Ireland isn't . With proper investment in science, the halo effect on industry could help Ireland transition from a manufacturer of other people's drugs to a hub of innovation where new drugs and treatments can be invented, tested and owned. Science and research represent a public good that allows us to nurture the potential of our young people. When I lecture at Trinity I am often asked by eager students about how to plan for a research career. They are usually disappointed when I say they should plan to move abroad. We have the opportunity and means to change that. Tomás Ryan is professor in Neuroscience at the school of Biochemistry & Immunology at Trinity College Dublin
Irish Times
13-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Ireland seeks to poach US academics with new funding plan and talent scouts
The State will co-fund salaries for top academics as part of a scheme to poach overseas talent for Ireland's universities , under plans going to the Cabinet on Tuesday. The effort is expected to target, among others, disillusioned academics in the United States who have lost financial backing due to interventions by the Trump administration. Minister for Higher and Further Education James Lawless will brief Ministers on his plan for a global talent initiative, which will see a team of talent 'attaches' deployed around the globe to court high-calibre researchers, as well as a team in Ireland. Under the plan, being developed with Research Ireland, salaries for those who take up posts will be funded by universities and directly by the exchequer, which is a departure from the norm, Government sources said, where higher education institutes usually have autonomous funding powers for recruitment. READ MORE This will be done on a temporary basis, although it is yet to be decided how long the funding will be offered for. The US will be targeted, along with other countries, with researchers sought who are working in areas such as renewable energy, food security, digital technologies, artificial intelligence , semiconductors, medtech and healthcare. It is expected that research funding will be paired with start-up supports as part of the effort, for circumstances such as spin-out companies associated with third-level institutions. Researchers will have to work in higher-level settings in order to be eligible. At an event on Monday hosted by the Irish Universities Association , Mr Lawless said there had already been inquiries about options to work in Ireland. While the US became a global leader in research after the second World War, 'the last few months has undoubtedly changed how people view the US when it comes to research', said Mr Lawless at the event attended by all seven presidents of Irish universities. 'It has become a cold place for free thinkers and talented researchers. Faculties are having pledged funding revoked, institutes are facing shutdown,' he added. Meanwhile, Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill will update the Cabinet on Sláintecare reforms, including new figures showing reductions in daily trolley counts – down 11 per cent in 2024 compared with 2023. She will also give an update on surgical hub construction. Ms MacNeill will tell Ministers that performance in emergency care improved over the May bank-holiday weekend when compared with Easter and St Brigid's Day, outlining that there were 21 per cent fewer patients on trolleys compared with the same periods in 2024.
