Students and staff members of the college celebrated for achievements

14 May 2021

Fifty-six award recipients across students and staff members of the College of SEFS were celebrated at the annual college awards ceremony, which took place online this year.

The event recognises and celebrates the successes and achievements of students and staff members during the previous academic year. These include high-profile award recipients nominated for recognition by their unit, college-level award winners, and student-nominated outstanding staff members. Students from within the college who have received university-awarded prizes are also recognised. This year, the SEFS Graduate of the Year is Conor Healy, a graduate of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, who is due to start a Ph.D. in Power Converters for Environmental Applications in UCC next September. The Graduate of the Year Runner Up is Emma Lyons, who graduated in 2020 with a BSc in Genetics and is now is currently studying Graduate Entry Medicine. This year, the University Graduate of the Year 2020 — which considers students from across all four colleges — is a SEFS graduate: Ciara Judge, who studied Genetics.

The ceremony also celebrated two new college awards: the Sustaining Excellence PhD Scholarships, and the Janssen Strategic Science & Technical Operations Awards. The inaugural recipients of the Sustaining Excellence Scholarships are Ibrahim Ramadhani Msuya, who will research rapidly urbanizing cities in Tanzania, to enable improved understanding of associated health inequalities, and Dingani Chinula, whose project will investigate malaria vectors and generate new insights on the effectiveness of micro-mosaics as a potential new tool for effectively managing insecticide resistance. The recipient of the Janssen Strategic Science & Technical Operations Work Placement Award will have the opportunity to undertake a paid placement in the Clinical Supply Chain team this summer, gaining valuable workplace experience and skills. The winner is Jessie Perez Hourigan, School of Biochemistry and Cell Biology. The recipient of the Janssen Strategic Science & Technical Operations Education Award receives a bursary. This year’s winner is Roisin Keady, School of Microbiology.

The President of UCC, Prof. John O'Halloran, warmly welcomed the recipients and guests, while the recently-appointed Vice President for Research and Innovation, Prof. John Cryan, spoke of the significance and impact of the College of SEFS and its students, staff and researchers. Head of College, Prof. Sarah Culloty, was Master of Ceremonies for the event and praised the awardees for their achievements, particularly in such a challenging year. A full list of all the awardees is below the following slide of our Graduate of the Year. We send them all our sincere congratulations.