Academic Taster Lectures

Experience a Faculty of Engineering and Computing College Lecture

Title of Lecture	An Introduction to Biomedical Engineering
Presenter	Assistant Professor Tanya Levingstone, School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering
Description	Biomedical engineering involves the application of engineering techniques and analyses to problem-solving in medicine and biomedical sciences. This lecture describes the process involved in the design of a medical implant.
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Title of Lecture	Computer Science in a Nutshell
Presenter	Assistant Professor Murat Yilmaz, School of Computing
Description	This taster lecture introduces the notion of computer science and explains computing as a form of information processing system. It discusses the relationship between information and knowledge and explains things from the AI researchers and programmers' point of view. It explains how these things are useful in understanding real-life problems and why they have affected our way of thinking and, ultimately, our civilization. This talk is really relevant if you're interested in computing and learning more about these basics.
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Title of Lecture	Introduction to Algorithms: from Binary Search to PageRank
Presenter	Assistant Professor Kevin McGuinness, School of Electronic Engineering
Description	An algorithm is a kind of computational recipe that describes how to solve a problem. Algorithms have become a key computational ingredient in the modern world; in this lecture, Dr McGuinness introduces key concepts needed to understand algorithms, starting off with a simple example and working up to some of the most important algorithms used by large companies today. He describes the algorithms Netflix uses to recommend the next movie you should watch, and the algorithm Google uses to order the pages you see in your search results.
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Title of Lecture	How to Engineer a COVID-19 Test
Presenter	Assistant Professor David Kinahan, School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering
Description	This lecture describes how engineering fundamentals covered in Year 1 and 2 of Engineering could be combined to design a laboratory instrument for COVID-19 diagnostic testing.
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Experience a Faculty of Science and Health College Lecture

Title of Lecture	The physics of cancer research
Presenter	Dr David Grimes, School of Physical Sciences
Description	Physics plays an absolutely vital role in how we diagnose, treat, and understand cancer. This lecture delves into how principles in physics have played instrumental roles in the history of treating cancer, and how they're shaping the future of cancer research.
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Title of Lecture	Challenging global health problems: a focus on the Sustainable Development Goals
Presenter	Professor Anne Matthews, Course Chair: BSc in Health and Society
Description	This lecture is from a module called 'Challenging global health problems' from the BSc Health & Society year 3. In it we will look at the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals (2015-2030) and how they can enable us to challenge the major global health problems in our societies, which themselves challenge us. The Decade of Action to meet the Goals starts this year and now more than ever global communities are focusing on health and sustainable development; we highlight ways in which we can all contribute to that.
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Title of Lecture	Introduction to Biotechnology
Presenter	Dr Michael Freely, Assistant Professor in Biomedical Sciences
Description	The lecture provides an introduction to the exciting world of the biotechnology industry and how advances in this area have impacted medicine, food/beverages and the environment.
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Experience a Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences College Lecture

Title of Lecture	Subtitling and Multimedia Translation
Presenter	Dr Joss Moorkens, School of Applied Language and Intercultural Studies
Description	This short session encompasses a brief overview of the Multimedia Translation module from Year 4 of the ALTS degree, followed by an introduction to subtitling, its origins and many contemporary variations.
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Title of Lecture	The language of 'war' and the Coronavirus pandemic
Presenter	Dr Catherine Connolly, Post-Doctoral Fellow
Description	Why is it harmful to describe the Coronavirus pandemic as a 'war' against a 'hidden enemy'? This lecture explains!
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Title of Lecture	Moot Court & Practical Legal Skills - An Introduction
Presenter	Dr Aisling De Paor, Law Firms Liaison Officer, School of Law and Government
Description	This lecture provides an overview and introduction to the Moot Court module and legal skills at DCU. A moot court is a mock court in which students argue a fictional case. The module aims to develop students' ability to construct legal arguments and present them orally. It also develops important practical ‘soft skills’ including team work, organisation, communication, self- management and decision- making. These skills and attributes are increasingly relevant in a ‘real world’ or workplace setting.
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Title of Lecture	What exactly is creativity and how can we stimulate it?
Presenter	Dr Ciarán Dunne, Course Chair, BA in Social Sciences and Cultural Innovation, School of Applied Language and Intercultural Studies
Description	Creativity is perhaps humans' most important attribute, but it can be hard to define and understand. Historically, it was argued that creativity was something some people were born with, and others not. However, this is not the case. This lecture explores the idea of creativity in an accessible way and discusses ways in which each of us can enhance our own creativity.
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Title of Lecture	Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person in Criminal Law
Presenter	Dr Sophie Doherty, Teaching Fellow in Criminal Law, School of Law and Government
Description	This lecture briefly looks at non-fatal offences against the person in Irish criminal law, introducing students to key concepts such as the Actus Reus of offences, the Mens Rea of offences, case law, comparative law, and legislation.
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Title of Lecture	How to make polluters pay to save the planet?
Presenter	Dr Markus Pauli, School of Law and Government
Description	Are the carbon taxes & emission trading schemes in place saving our climate? Why does Tesla receive billions from climate change denying pick-up truck drivers?
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Experience a DCU Business School College Lecture

Title of Lecture	Critical Thinking for Business
Presenter	Dr Orla Feeney, Assistant Professor in Accounting, Course Chair: BA in Accounting & Finance
Description	Critical Thinking is all about thinking clearly and rationally - understanding the logical connection between the different components of a decision or a problem. This module is designed to provide students with a more solid foundation in critical thinking, problem solving and data evaluation skills and is delivered by a cross-functional team from backgrounds as varied as accounting, organisational psychology, economics and library studies. The module was recently nominated for the DCU President's Awards for Excellence in Teaching in the ‘Team Award’ category and you can watch a short video HERE on what this module is all about.
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Title of Lecture	Are the glory days of aviation in the past? Some reasons to think that maybe they are not!
Presenter	Dr Cathal Guiomard, Course Chair: BSc in Aviation Management
Description	Cathal Guiomard discusses the state of the aviation industry today, the reasons to expect it to recover and to offer a good career in the future.
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Title of Lecture	The world needs us to be innovative
Presenter	Dr Roisin Lyons, Assistant Professor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Description	Learning Innovation for Enterprise (LIFE) is a new module for all students in the Business School. It aims to teach students about the need for innovative thinking across a broad range of work contexts, through a range of learning experiences and applied projects with industry.
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Title of Lecture	Design Thinking - why it's the number one skill employers want!
Presenter	Dr Peter Robbins, Assistant Professor: Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Course Chair: BSc in Marketing, Innovation and new Technology Degree (MINT)
Description	Innovation is a top three priority for 84% of businesses these days but only 6% believe they have the skills to do it well and succeed through innovation. Design Thinking is the emerging process for injecting creativity into organisations and helping them create sustainable competitive advantage. DCU's MInT programme really foregrounds this part of business strategy.
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Experience a DCU Institute of Education College Lecture

Title of Lecture	BEd in Gaeilge and French, German or Spanish: Language learning to language teaching
Presenter	Dr Laoise Ni Thuairisg, Chair of BEd in Gaeilge, and French or German or Spanish
Description	This taster lecture shows how students learn to become post-primary teachers of Gaeilge and French, German and Spanish. Participants get insight into how languages are learned and used throughout the programme and how students are encouraged to share their language skills with pupils in the classroom. Participants also learn about the exciting and dynamic delivery of modules across the programmes, the programme’s residential language placements in the Gaeltacht and abroad, and also the exciting clubs, socs and events which are a key part of the DCU experience.
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Title of Lecture	Why Play is Powerful!
Presenters	Marlene McCormack, Course Chair, Bachelor of Early Childhood Education and Sandra O'Neill, School of Language, Literacy and Early Childhood Education
Description	Have you ever wondered why children play? This interactive session explores the critical nature of play for young children’s learning and development. Drawing on research from the fields of neuroscience, psychology and education, participants discover why play is the perfect mechanism to support children’s learning.
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Experience a Career Focus Lecture

Topic	Career Focus
Presenter	Ross Munnelly, Director of Alumni Relations
Panel	Amy Molloy, Public Affairs Correspondent at Independent News and Media, Bachelor Civil Law, 2014 Conor McGraynor, Recruiter at Google, BSc Biotechnology, 2015
Description	Director of Alumni Relations Ross Munnelly will lead a panel discussion with two graduates who have embraced the digital space in recent months. Young Journalist of the Year (2018) Amy Molloy will share her DCU journey while Conor McGraynor has played intercounty football for Wicklow GAA alongside his student life. This promises to be a very engaging discussion with a major emphasis on the student supports available at DCU.
Video URL	Click HERE to view a recording of this lecture

Topic	Career Focus
Presenter	Yvonne McLoughlin, Head of Careers at DCU
Panel	Abdul Ali Hassan, Assistant Engineer and Dublin City Council, BSc Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, 2013 Steph Creanor, Peer Learning Manager at SAP, BSc Psychology, 2015
Description	Yvonne McLoughlin, Head of Careers at DCU will talk about DCU's graduate employability rate and introduce a panel discussion between two recent graduates. Abdul and Steph, will provide an insight into their work in the public and private sectors whilst outlining how their roles have adapted to meet the needs of digital skills in the last number of months. Steph, a former Irish International Athlete, will provide advice to students on how to balance elite sport and academic progression.
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