NUI Newsletter

Issue 9: April 2026

2026 has been a busy year so far for NUI. We would love to share our latest news with you and have a look back at our highlights from the first quarter of 2026. 

If you would like to keep up with us in real time, follow us on LinkedIn, BlueSky, Facebook, and Vimeo. We have lots of events coming up, and we would love to see you there, so stay tuned to our social media.

Events

Rare Disciplines Symposium: Exploring the potential for an Irish project

11 June 2026 - NUI, 49 Merrion Square

This is a day-long event on the concept of rare disciplines and how it might be used in the Irish context to identify and support rare disciplines (or ‘small subjects’), following the success of similar projects in Europe.

NUI is hosting this event – with a mixed format of keynote and workshops – to bring academics, university leaders, and policymakers together.

More details to come soon. If you’re interested in learning more, please email events@nui.ie or suichonnachtaigh@nui.ie. 

L-R: UCC President John O'Halloran and Professor Emanuele Zannini 

Higher Doctorate Degrees on Published Work

NUI had the privilege of conferring a Higher Doctorate on Published Work on Professor Emanuele Zannini at a ceremony in University College Cork on 25 March 2026. This degree is a recognition of his great contribution to the field of food science.

Professor Emanuele Zannini is a Senior Research Coordinator at at University College Cork's Cereal Sciences Research group. Professor Zannini's research centres around 'Lactic acid bacteria as bio-modulators of the food structure and food bioactivity'. This research has taken place across Universita’ Politecnica delle Marche, University of Alberta and UCC. His impressive contribution has amounted to no less than 165 publications, including 158 peer-reviewed research papers in scientific journals, 6 book chapters, 1 edited book and over 7900 citations.

The National University of Ireland is committed to highlighting the excellence of the research conducted at its member institutions and by their graduates through every stage of their careers. The Higher Doctorate on Published Work is the highest qualification awarded by NUI and is a wonderful opportunity to honour the recipient's immense work in their chosen area throughout their academic career. 

News

NUI.ie Goes Live

We are so happy to announce the launch of our updated website. Our former site served us very well, but we decided it was time for a new look and new functionality, and we're delighted with the results. 

Thank you to FUSIO Ltd, who helped us get this great final product and provided us with essential training and tools to maintain our new site. Working with FUSIO made the process smooth, and we are so grateful to have had their expertise.

We would also like to thank Darragh Neely of Darragh Neely Design Works, who gave us a sleek new look last year. This has not only refreshed NUI, but it also really informed the new site, as you can see in the colour, fonts, and our new logo.

Eagarthóirí Nua ar Éigse: A Journal of Irish Studies

Tá áthas ar Sheansailéir Ollscoil na hÉireann, an tOllamh Michael Murphy, a fhógairt go bhfuil an tOllamh Regina Uí Chollatáin (an Príomhoifigeach/Déanach ar Choláiste na nEalaíon agus na nDaonnachtaí, agus an tOllamh Sinsearach le Nua-Ghaeilge, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) agus an tOllamh Caoimhín Ó Muirigh, Roinn na Sean-Ghaeilge agus na Meán-Ghaeilge, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Corcaigh, ceaptha ina gcomheagarthóirí ar Éigse: A Journal of Irish Studies.

New Editors of Éigse: A Journal of Irish Studies

The Chancellor of the National University of Ireland, Professor Michael Murphy, is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Regina Uí Chollatáin (College Principal and Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, and Chair of Modern Irish, University College Dublin) and Professor Kevin Murray, Department of Early and Medieval Irish, University College Cork, as the new co-editors of Éigse: A Journal of Irish Studies.

NUI Awards

2026 Travelling Doctoral Studentships 

The Travelling Doctoral Studentships 2026 call for applications is now closed. We received a record number of applications, with research ranging from Neuroscience, Food Engineering, Mathematics, and Physics (for our TDS in Sciences and Engineering) and Law, Linguistics, Archaeology, and Psychology (for our TDS in Humanities and Social Sciences). Interviews of shortlisted candidates will take place over the summer with the final results being announced shortly after.

Find out more about the Travelling Doctoral Studentships, including results from last year’s call for applications, here. 

Once again, NUI is proud to partner with the French Embassy in Ireland to support researchers in Ireland. The France Excellence Research Residency grants fund the mobility of researchers in Ireland hoping to go to France for their research. Each year, two awardees from the scheme’s cohort are directly funded by NUI. Both awardees are researchers in an NUI institution and will go to France for a period of 2 to 4 weeks. Congratulations to Dr Smaranda Rachieru (Maynooth University) and Dr Sinan Richards (UCC) for being selected this year!

You will find the list of results for this year’s call for applications here.

NUI Grant Scheme for Early Career Academics 

The call for the NUI Grant Scheme for Early Career Academics will soon open, with a deadline for applications in early June. This scheme offers grants to scholars based in NUI member institutions, to support the organisation of an international conference or symposium.

More information about the scheme and the next call for applications here. 

Conferrings and Graduate Services

Since January 2026, the Graduate Services team has continued to support a high volume of activity across NUI institutions. A total of 1,370 graduate applications have been processed to date, representing an increase of 170 applications compared to the same period in 2025. During this time, 4,500 parchments, diplomas, and certificates have also been issued across seven institutions, both at home and abroad. The team has also supported six collaborative degree programmes with partner institutions in France, Germany, Spain, and the UK. Graduation documentation has been distributed globally, reaching 53 countries, with recipients spanning from Ghana to Vanuatu.

News from our Member Institutions

Professor Fintan Sheerin holds an inaugural lecture 

Professor Fintan Sheerin, Professor of Nursing and Founding Head of the School of Nursing at Maynooth University, explores presence, compassion, and care in his inaugural lecture titled 'The (Un)Bearable Lightness of Being Present'. The impact of technology and the ever-changing, complex landscape of healthcare systems was discussed in great detail. You can watch this lecture online via the link below. 

Early career researchers receive €4.3m in prestigious Research Ireland funding

NUI would like to congratulate the early-career researchers at University College Cork (UCC) who have received a combined €4.3m in research funding. This funding was awarded through the 2025 Government of Ireland (GOI) Postdoctoral Fellowship and Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship awards.

Nine UCD projects funded under Research Ireland’s Enterprise Fellowship programme

Congratulations to Faithful Chiagoziem Onwuegbuche, Niraj Khemka, Saeid Sinehbaghizadeh, Xingyu Fu, Clare Moriarty, David Nicoll, Matisse Huiskens, Tess McCann, and Tong Guo of UCD, who have all received funding under the Research Ireland’s Enterprise Fellowship Programme. The UCD projects span across many disciplines, including an AI security framework, therapies for sight loss, and a breakthrough cancer screening test.

Two University of Galway projects awarded European Research Council funding

NUI would like to congratulate Professor Ted Vaughan, Director of the Institute for Health Discovery and Innovation and Professor of Biomedical Engineering at University of Galway, and Professor Martin O’ Halloran, Principal Investigator in the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences and Executive Director of the BioInnovate Programme at University of Galway, on their ERC funding. This European Research Council funding will allow Professor Vaughan and Professor O'Halloran to progress their projects on next-generation 3D printing and hydrogel pain relief therapy.

The IPA Governance Forum

The IPA annually hosts a suite of events to support and promote good governance across the Public Service. The Institute kicked off its 2026 programme of Governance Forum events with a half-day conference focused on ‘Reframing Governance in 2026 and Beyond’. 

RCSI secures more than €1m in Research Ireland funding for cutting-edge research infrastructure

Two RCSI projects have received more than €1 million in combined funding through the Research Ireland Infrastructure Programme. This funding is for cutting-edge healthcare research infrastructure. Congratulations to Professor Oran Kennedy, from the RCSI Tissue Engineering Research Group, who is leading the HARD2HISTO project, and to Professor Claire Condron, based at the RCSI SIM Centre for Simulation Education and Research, who is collaborating on the Medical Device Innovation Network (MeDiNet).