News & Events

More than 1,000 third-level students across Ireland, including students from University of Galway, engaged in a potentially lifesaving project as part of the Road Safety Reimagined initiative, highlighting the lifelong and potentially devastating impact of a moment’s distraction behind the wheel.  Research from the Road Safety Authority (RSA) in 2023 found that nearly one in 10 Irish drivers have been caught using their phones while driving.   In response, Road Safety Reimagined tasked students from University of Galway, University of Limerick, South East Technological University, Maynooth University and University College Cork to reimagine road safety through contemporary marketing concepts and develop solutions to positively impact driving behaviour.  The initiative was led by University of Limerick and An Garda Síochána, with Garda Commissioner Drew Harris presented awards for the top entries from each participating university as well as the winners of the overall prize and special categories.  The winning University of Galway entry centred on the tagline “SHOULD’VE stayed focused, WOULD’VE stayed safe, COULD’VE been avoided”, encouraging passengers to be a co-pilot and act responsibly to avoid distractions while travelling with a driver.  Bearing the striking tagline ‘Worst passenger? Your phone’, the overall winning concept by UL students highlights the dangers of using a phone while driving, taking a driver’s eyes, hands and focus away from the road.  Speaking at the event, Commissioner Drew Harris said: “Road Safety Reimagined provides a great opportunity for so many students to engage with such an important topic, and one which is so relevant to you all gathered here in this room.   “It opens up conversations around road safety and helps us to reach those who often struggle to connect with this key message. Too often we see tragedy on the roads, and so, anything we can do to prevent this from happening An Garda Síochána is glad to support.   “Engaging these talented young people in devising a marketing campaign around road safety which is aimed at their peers was a novel idea, and to see this initiative go from strength to strength is a credit to all those involved.   “This work provides us with such valuable insights and showcases the great many creative and innovative ways we can connect with those most at risk on our roads.”  Ends 

University of Galway Societies celebrated four major wins at the Board of Irish College Societies (BICS) National Awards.   With these latest wins, University of Galway Societies continue to hold the record for the most BICS awards of any third level institution in the country - 85 since the competition began.   The University took home awards in the following categories:   Best Society Civic or Charity: Palestinian Solidarity Society  The Palestinian Solidarity Society were recognised for their powerful activism and raising awareness to the ongoing crisis in Gaza, organising events, demonstrations fundraisers, and high-profile speaker sessions to highlight the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. University of Galway was the first Irish university to publicly call for a ceasefire, and the Palestinian Solidarity Society worked closely with other Palestinian Supporting organisations on campus and Galway City to ensure the cause of Palestinian liberation was at the forefront of university life in Galway    Best Intervarsity: - Compsoc (Computer Society) for ‘Capture the Flag’    This year, Compsoc hosted it’s largest-ever Capture the Flag (CTF) Intervarsity, a fast-paced competition where teams solve cybersecurity challenges to uncover hidden “flags” and earn points. These events encourage competitors to think outside the box and find common vulnerabilities or loopholes in the challenges. This year marked a significant milestone, with every challenge designed in-house by the Compsoc committee.   Best Fresher: Kornelia Zach, Dramsoc  Kornelia Zach was recognised for her leadership and contribution to theatre on campus. She coordinated the Jerome Hynes One Act Play Series, which saw five one acts performed consecutively and the winning play awarded a prestigious Druid Theatre award celebrating 50 years of Druid. She concluded the year by travelling to Belfast with Dramsoc to showcase their two productions at the Irish Student Drama Awards (ISDA).    Best Poster - University of Galway Horror Society  Newly established this year, Horror Soc has made an impressive debut by winning the Best Poster Award, quickly building a community of 300 members and hosting 16 events.   University of Galway’s Societies Officer Ríona Hughes said: “The awards are a culmination of a year’s work by our Societies and celebrate the diversity, creativity and contribution our students make to campus life. Congratulations to all of the students who represented us at the BICS National Awards. We are very proud of you all."   With more than 13,000 students involved across 135 societies, University of Galway has hosted almost 3,500 events this academic year alone, providing students with educational, social, and developmental opportunities to enhance their university journey.     The Board of Irish College Societies (BICS), established in 1995, serves as a national platform supporting student societies across Ireland’s universities, colleges, and institutes of education. The annual awards celebrate and recognise the huge effort of the students who lead and contribute to these societies.     Ends 

Two University of Galway academics have been awarded the 2025 ENLIGHT Impact ambassador award for their research endeavours. Dr Pádraig MacNeela and Dr Muriel Grenon have been honoured as part of the University’s membership of the ENLIGHT European university alliance involving 10 research intensive universities. The ENLIGHT Impact Ambassador Awards were bestowed at the ENLIGHT Impact Conference which took place at the University of Groningen. Dr MacNeela and Dr Grenon were recognised for their impactful projects, highlighting the significant positive change their research brings to society and their endeavours in planning for and achieving impact.  Dr MacNeela and the team involved the Active* Consent programme were recognised for their work on consent, sexual violence and harassment. Dr Muriel Grenon and team were recognised for their work on widening participation in STEM with science outreach. Alex Metcalfe, Vice-President for International, University of Galway, said: “These ENLIGHT Impact Awards are a well-earned recognition of the meaningful societal change being driven by the research of Dr Pádraig MacNeela and Dr Muriel Grenon. Their work on consent education and widening participation in STEM exemplifies how thoughtful, committed research can make a difference in people’s lives. Their success reflects the strength of our research community and the University’s commitment to impact across Europe and beyond.” University of Galway had three nominations, including one for Dr Jessamyn Fairfield and her team with their research-led project ‘We Built this City on Rock & Coal’. ENLIGHT includes University of Galway; Comenius University, Bratislava (Slovakia); University of Groningen (Netherlands); University of Bern (Switzerland); University of Bordeaux (France); Ghent University (Belgium); University of Tartu (Estonia); University of Gottingen (Germany); University of the Basque Country (Spain); and Uppsala University (Sweden). The project is supported by the Government and the European Commission. The aim is for the alliance to develop as a platform for the creation of a new type of European university campus where students and staff have increased opportunities for international study, training, teaching, research and sharing of services. ENLIGHT aims to collaboratively transform higher education, addressing societal challenges and promoting equitable quality of life, sustainability and external engagement with the communities of the partner universities. Ends