I am really interested in pursuing a career in academic research and I feel like this project is the perfect opportunity for me to experience what university research is like. I hope to gain new valuable skills and improve exiting ones while working alongside my project mentor. These skills will only prove vital to me when I enter the workplace after graduating. I cannot express how excited I am to take part in this six week journey!

Mentor: Dr. Eithne Dempsey 

Bio: Hello, my name is Alex Lapiy and I am a third year general science student studying chemistry and biology. I have a great interest in analytical chemistry with electrochemistry being one of my favourites. I am excited to work alongside Dr. Dempsey in this project and be able to apply my electrochemical knowledge in the lab. 

Analytical chemistry is like a puzzle where you use different experimental methods to find various information about certain molecules and compounds and put them together to get a bigger picture. I am looking forward to gaining knowledge about nanostars and I am ecstatic about acquiring various electroanalytical techniques to form and examine metallic nanostructures which could contribute to new biodiagnostic tools. 

Being in the lab always brings me joy and so I have an interest in the world of research. This project will be able to give me the perfect insight into what research entails including the design, performance and the aftermath of the experiment which may be a path I will want to take.

I am interested in social equality, diversity and inclusion as I had done projects relating to these topics in my secondary school. Thus, how the EDI policies affect the Irish workplace appeals to me. I hope to gain more practical experience and knowledge about practices of online research, recruitment and work in the EDI field through the SPUR programme. I am looking forward to working with my mentors this summer!

Project Mentor: Dr. Rhiannon Bandiera

Bio: Hi my name is Andrew Newman, and I am a mature student currently in second year studying Anthropology and Criminology. This project intersects a number of areas of particular interest to me; the impact of medical discourse, the ever-expanding medicalisation of areas of life, state influence and control, capitalism, and white-collar crime.

 

Hopes: This project represents an invaluable opportunity for me to experience the world of academic research. I am hoping to gain insight into how research is conceptualised, forged, and presented, as well as the various skills used in this pursuit. I am extremely grateful and excited to be given this opportunity

One of the reasons I enjoy Experimental Physics is how the theories we learn about in our lectures can be demonstrated through our labs. Especially with quantum mechanics, it’s really interesting to see phenomena related to it being observed in real life. In this project we will be setting up and calibrating optical equipment that will be used to carry out experiments on entangled photon pairs. I’m looking forward to being involved with setting up the optical equipment needed for this project. I’m also excited to see the outcome of these experiments and see if they enhance my current understanding of quantum mechanics. 

I became interested in this SPUR project as I believe it will give me an idea of what the current research projects being carried out in this branch of physics are like. I really enjoy the lab work in my course and plan to go into research after I finish my degree. I hope this project gives me experience with working in a research lab and helps me to further develop my laboratory skills.

I have a very strong interest in the organisational behavior topic, especially in leadership, diversity, and inclusion. 

I have applied for SPUR because previously I did not have the opportunity to access and complete a third level education as I see its strong importance.

I believe that broadening the involvement of people from diverse backgrounds in the educational process would add significant value for both, students, and academic staff and would help to enhance and differentiate learning processes. 

Being involved in SPUR, I hope to gain knowledge in a field of research but also to learn practical data management and visualisation methods. I feel this is a great opportunity to enhance a range of soft skills too through meaningful work with project mentors.

I will apply all my knowledge that I have attained from my two years of studying computer science and software engineering in order to create an application that is both efficient and easy to use. With the help of my mentors, I believe we will accomplish just that.

Mentors: Dr. Anne O’Brien & Dr. John Cullen

Bio:
Hi! My name is Angel, and I am a second-year Theology and English student. I decided to participate in MU SPUR because I want to contribute to a project which explores issues that I care deeply about — and I saw that the project on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in the Irish Recruitment Market is a perfect fit! Through the SPUR internship, I hope to gain some insights into academic research, exercise my skills, develop new skills, and gain more clarity on which career path to pursue after college. 

I am delighted to be selected for this project and am excited to work with my mentors, Dr. Anne O’Brien and Dr. John Cullen!