Marine Institute hosts Postgraduate Symposium

Postgraduate students funded under the Cullen Scholarship Programme and Eoin Sweeney Scholarship Programme, supported by the Marine Institute and funded under the Marine Research Programme by the Government of Ireland. 5th December, 2022: The Marine Institute hosted a Postgraduate Scholarship Symposium on Wednesday 30th November 2022 where the postgraduate students funded under the Cullen Scholarship Programme and Eoin Sweeney Scholarship Programme presented the progress and current findings of their marine research projects on a wide range of topics.

The Cullen Scholarship Programme is not only a valuable training and capacity building measure, but research carried out by Cullen scholars adds value to the Marine Institute’s role in providing scientific and technical advice and services to support sustainable management of Ireland’s marine resources and a sustainable ocean economy. This combination of capacity build and knowledge generation will be especially important to support recovery in maritime sectors affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Eoin Sweeney Scholarship Programme aims to provide research training opportunities for scientists in oceanography, marine engineering and related marine science disciplines leading to the acquisition of a higher degree. Through annual placement of the researchers at PLOCAN (Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands) the programme increases collaboration between Ireland and Spain though research undertaken using the test-bed and demonstration facilities in both countries.

A total of 41 scholarships with total grant-aid of €3.9 million has been awarded for research under the Cullen Scholarship Programme from 2014 to 2021, with a further six Scholarships currently under contract negotiation following the 2022 funding call. Two scholarships were awarded under the Eoin Sweeney Scholarship Programme call in 2020. A list of students who presented at the Symposium is included below:

Presenter

Higher Education Institute

Project Title

Catherine Jordan

University of Galway

Space based observations of marine phytoplankton

Aileen Kennedy

University of Galway

Fisheries Data Integration and Analytics

Amy Fitzpatrick

Munster Technological University, Cork

Next generation sequencing for Norovirus Genotypes

Elliot Murphy

University of Galway

Culture optimisation, and bioactivity of selected toxic Irish microalgae

Signe Martin

Atlantic Technological University, Galway

Evaluate the disease status of velvet crab, brown crab, lobster & shrimp

Colin Guilfoyle

Atlantic Technological University, Galway

Biodiversity conservation and restoration in the Wild Nephin Ballycroy National Park

Callum Sturrock

Atlantic Technological University, Galway

Biological changes in key commercially exploited fish in the light of Climate & Ocean Change

Grace McNicholas

Trinity College Dublin

Ecology of Irish tunas

Aideen Kearney

University of Galway

Enhancing farmed Atlantic salmon quality through new production technologies

Madhuri Angel Baxla

Atlantic Technological University, Galway

Machine learning assisted detection & prediction of climate change related anomalous events in complex marine systems

Ashly Kalayil Uthaman

Maynooth University

Seasonal to decadal sea level and ocean waves predictions through numerical modelling and statistical analysis

Anna Stroh

Atlantic Technological University, Galway

Improving fishing survey indices though the use of spatio-temporal models

Virginia Morejon

University College Dublin

Development of a Cumulative Effects Assessment Framework for Ireland’s Marine Planning Process

Bela Klimesova

Atlantic Technological University, Galway

Epidemiological investigations of the salmon louse Lepeophtheirus salmonis on Irish Atlantic salmon farms

Iain McLeod

Maynooth University

Wave-powered data buoy

Bríd O'Connor

University College Cork

The status of sensitive fish species within Irish waters and their vulnerability in relation to fishing and discarding practices

Patrick McLoughlin

Maynooth University

Recovering legacy tidal records to elucidate trends in sea level rise in Ireland

Nicolé Caputo

Atlantic Technological University, Galway

Development and Implementation of molecular assays for the routine detection of toxigenic and harmful phytoplankton species in Irish coastal waters and sediments

Felix Butschek

University College Cork

Celtic Sea acoustic data analytics for improved habitat mapping and ecosystem assessment

These projects are supported by the Marine Institute and funded under the Marine Research Programme by the Government of Ireland. 

                       

ENDS

For more information, please contact:
Sinéad Coyne, Marine Institute e. sinead.coyne@marine.ie m. +353 (0)87 947 7090

Sheila Byrnes, Marine Institute e. sheila.byrnes@marine.ie m. +353 (0)87 815 5271

Notes to the Editor:

Marine Institute
The Marine Institute is the state agency responsible for marine research, technology development and innovation in Ireland. It provides government, public agencies and the maritime industry with a range of scientific, advisory and economic development services that inform policy-making, regulation and the sustainable management and growth of Ireland's marine resources. www.marine.ie