Each year, CONFIRM researchers develop and participate in activities under the Centre’s Education & Public Engagement (EPE) programme. The primary focus of the EPE programme is to engage with stakeholder groups outside of academia with the view to enhance knowledge and awareness of SETM research, particularly with respect to Smart Manufacturing, while also facilitating inclusion of the wider societal voice in terms of shaping the direction of the research.
Since the programme began in 2018, CONFIRM researchers have delivered over 500 EPE activities, engaging with over 60,000 people through both face-to-face and virtual events. Activities within the EPE programme are delivered by members at every level within the Centre from Principal Investigators to PhD students highlighting the fact that the importance of engaging with the public has been fully integrated into the Centre’s ethos and mission.
While the contributions of all CONFIRM team are highly valued, at this year’s annual conference we decided to celebrate those who went over and above in terms of EPE participation in 2021 through the presentation of our inaugural Education & Public Engagement Awards. In total 21 awards were presented again highlighting the commitment of CONFIRM members to public engagement:
The recipients for the 2022 awards were:
| Dr. Aidan Quinn, Principal Investigator, Tyndall National Institute |
| Dr. Alan McGibney, Funded Investigator, Munster Technological University (Cork) |
| Dr. Bharath Sudharsan, PhD Graduate, University of Galway |
| Dr. Declan Devine, Funded Investigator, Technological University of the Shannon (Athlone) |
| Prof. Dirk Pesch, Principal Investigator, University College Cork |
| Prof. Donna O’ Shea, Principal Investigator, Munster Technological University (Cork) |
| Jason Curran, PhD Student, University of Limerick |
| Jayasekara Kapukotuwa, PhD Student, Technological University of the Shannon (Athlone) |
| Dr. Jobish John, SMART 4.0 Research Fellow, University College Cork |
| Dr. Matteo Menolotto, Post-Doctoral Researcher, Tyndall National Institute |
| Qatada Damra, PhD Student, University of Limerick |
| Dr. Rupal Srivastava, SMART 4.0 Research Fellow, Technological University of the Shannon (Athlone) |
| Prof. Thomas Newe, Principal Investigator, University of Limerick |
| Prof. Conor McCarthy, Principal Investigator & Centre Director, University of Limerick |
| Prof. Barry O’ Sullivan, Principal Investigator, University College Cork |
| Ivan Guevara, PhD Student, University of Limerick |
| Dr. Kevin J. O’ Sullivan, Senior Research Fellow, University of Limerick |
| Dr. Lubna Luxmi Dhirani, Academic Collaborator, University of Limerick |
| Dr. Sourabh Bharti, SMART 4.0 Research Fellow, Munster Technological University (Cork) |
| Dr. Zhen Su, Post-Doctoral Researcher, Tyndall National Institute |
