The event brought students from the School of Humanities and School of Education and Lifelong Learning together to showcase the variety of their research
The inaugural Joint School of Humanities and School of Education and Lifelong Learning Postgraduate Research Symposium took place in the Tourism & Leisure building at South East Technological University (SETU)’s Waterford campus on 14 June.
The event aimed to raise awareness of the range of postgraduate projects in both Schools whilst also strengthening the sense of community among students within and across both disciplines.
Major contribution to society
Introducing the panels of presenters on the day, Dr Suzanne Denieffe Head of the School of Humanities, SETU Waterford, highlighted “the major contribution that research in the fields of Humanities and Education can make to the social, political, cultural, environmental, and policy issues that society is currently facing.”
Students presented oral and poster presentations reflecting the variety of research interests in both Schools including education and internationalisation, digital mindsets, disability services, spirituality, creativity, and caregiving in conflict.
Awards for best presentations
Presentations were judged by Prof Sally Shortall, SETU Joint UK Visiting Professor in the School of Humanities, SETU Waterford, and Dr Declan Doyle, Vice President for Development and Research at SETU Carlow.
The award for best oral presentation was won by Tara Travers for her project ‘Hunger for Food, Hunger for Life: The Inner Spiritual World of Women who have Overcome Eating Disorders’. Aaron Kent won the best poster award for his presentation on Waterford writer and playwright Rosamond Jacob.
Shared knowledge, new concepts, and peer-to-peer learning
Prof Shortall gave tips to students on developing professional skills in her workshop ‘Selling Yourself to the Job Market’. Closing the event, Dr Helen Murphy, Head of the School of Education and Lifelong Learning in SETU Waterford noted that, “the symposium really demonstrated the value of bringing our community of postgraduate researchers together. It allowed us all to gain insights into current research projects and facilitated shared knowledge, new concepts, and valuable peer-to-peer learning.”