Category Archives: review

Jan 2008 TRIL Centre IDA Review

Tril logo

Along with my co-Principal Investigators in the TRIL Centre (Technology Research for Independent Living) we presented to an external review panel on our work to date and plans for 2008 across the 5 strands within TRIL. I presented on the TRIL Technology Platform (TTP) which is headed up by Michael McGrath (Intel), Paddy Nixon (UCD) and myself Aaron Quigley (UCD).

I’ve only recently joined this team but I was very proud to present the outcomes of the TTP work to date. Across the strands the team have made great strides in clinical research, IT research, ethnographic research and developments targeted at key areas in ageing. Ageing is both a social and a biological process where I like to focus on the challenges, opportunities and excitement which it presents rather than the typical view of disconnection and decline.

The TRIL Centre is a coordinated collection of research projects addressing the physical, cognitive and social consequences of ageing, all informed by ethnographic research and supported by a shared pool of knowledge and
engineering resources.

July 2007 Grant Evaluation FCT Portugal

FCT

In late June I was invited by the Foundation for Science and the Technology Portugal (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia) to evaluate a number of grant proposals on a Computer Engineering Panel. This involved the detail review and evaluation of over 15 proposals followed by a two day scientific evaluation panel meeting hosted at the offices of the Science and Technology Foundation – Lisbon.

Overall this was a very rewarding and enlightening experience. Having been involved in remote project evaluations in Ireland, the UK, Australia and Canada this level of involvement and commitment took the oversight process to a new level of rigour. This process is how the SFI in Ireland reviews many of its grant applications and it really is international best practice. The Foundation for Science and the Technology promotes national scientific inquiry and the technological development through financing project at institutions of scientific inquiry. All project funding decisions are made through a public competition and independent evaluations are carried out by panels consisting by foreign scientists, such as the one I was involved with.

The round I was involved with had over 5,000 applications which has kept the hard working staff in the FCT busy for many many months!