A new 2016 campaign of the Irish Research Council (IRC) called #LoveIrishResearch has launched, which will show off Ireland’s contribution to breakthrough research.
As a nation, the Irish are often known as a self-deprecating bunch, afraid to toot our own horn, and the launch of the #LoveIrishResearch campaign comes due to a fear that the general public isn’t particularly aware of our greatest research achievements.
Which is a pity, given that, despite our relatively small population, 11 Irish researchers are listed among the top 1pc of researchers currently practising worldwide.
Additionally, as a nation, we have most recently placed ninth in the Thomson-Reuters InCites global scientific rankings, while in the fields of nanoscience, nanotechnology, immunology, computer sciences, and neurosciences and behaviour we rank in the top five.
The #LoveIrishResearch campaign, officially launched at Trinity College Dublin (TCD) today (28 January), will look to make the general public more aware of these successes by undertaking activities through competitions, showcase events, a decade of centenaries programme, monthly research themes and a series of publications.
‘Ireland has a rich legacy of ground-breaking research’
The first of these publications, called Discovery Ireland, was unveiled at the launch and it tries to combine the successes of the past with the best of the present, including research on how solar storms on the sun disrupt communications networks on earth, to how cells die and the implications for resistant cancers where the normal cell death process is disrupted and cancer cells continue to grow.
The #LoveIrishResearch campaign will see participation from higher education institutions over the course of the year, with the IRC hosting a calendar of events on its website.
Speaking at the launch, the chair of the IRC, Jane Ohlmeyer, said: “For a country of this size, these are major achievements. Add to that the historic accomplishments of researchers such as Robert Boyle, George Boole, John Tyndall and Kathleen Lonsdale, and it is clear that Ireland has a rich legacy of groundbreaking research.”
One of the first events to look out for this year will be held next month with the launch of a yet-to-be announced decade of centenaries programme and a dedicated research zone at the PostgradIreland Fair.
Trinity College Dublin in lights image via Semmick Photo/Shutterstock
