Change Makers: Irish Universities’ Most Innovative Research Projects Solve Real-Life Problems

The Irish Universities Association has partnered with RTÉ and New Decade TV to bring Ireland’s Change Makers, the most transformative research-led projects and the inspiring people behind them, to Irish television this coming January and February 2022.

The series will showcase the remarkable and lasting public impact of leading research projects by eight universities in Ireland in areas such as children’s health, health technology, education, youth justice, gender equality and inclusion, as well as the environment.

Take Dingle Peninsula 2030, a University College Cork and MaREI research project using the power of citizen science to reduce Dingle’s carbon emissions by 50% in just under 10 years, or the Neureka App for Mental Health developed by the Global Brian Institute at Trinity College Dublin that combines mobile technology with citizen science to help create a clearer picture of people’s mental health as two transformational projects in the series.

Also changing the game in terms of research impact are University College Dublin’s AI PREMie project which uses Artificial Intelligence to ‘disrupt’ diagnostics practices in pre-eclampsia to help save the lives of mothers and their newborn babies and University of Limerick’s Greentown Project where a new investigation system identifies the most vulnerable young people at risk of joining Irelands organized crime gangs.

Commenting on the unique impact of Irish university research, Jim Miley, Director General of the IUA, said, “Irish universities play a crucial and growing role in solving real-life problems in society. Change Makers shines a light on the transformative research-led projects and partnerships that are delivering meaningful change across Irish society.

“Be it in health, education, social sciences, the environment and across all age ranges, the innovative research at our universities brings untold value to the people of Ireland now and will continue to do so in the future. Covid has shown the real value of science and research and our hope is that these powerful stories will make people realise the everyday benefits to people’s lives made possible by university research”.

The six episodes will feature research from University of Limerick’s ‘SI Drive’ and ‘Greentown’ projects; Dublin City University’s ‘Backdrop’ and its ‘Moving Well Being Well’ projects;  Maynooth University’s ‘Story Exchange’ and its ‘STEM Passport’ projects;  NUI Galway’s ‘HIVE’ and ‘Health Behaviour in School Aged Children Study’; Trinity College Dublin’s ‘Sorgente’ and ‘Neureka’ projects ; University College Cork’s ‘CIPHER Hip Hop Interpellation’ and ‘Dingle Peninsula 2030’ projects; UCD’s ‘Citizens Assembly’ and Ai PREMie projects; Technological University Dublin’s ‘Happy Maths’ project.

The 6-part series will be broadcast from Monday, January 3rd 2022 at 8.30 pm on RTE One television and the RTE Player.

More information can be found here.