Research on Walls

Visual Communications Competition for Research Students

This year marked the thirdResearch on Walls Competition, a visual showcase of research undertaken by our diverse postgraduate research student community in DCU. In total we had 56 research students partaking in this year's event taking place on May 12th in SOLAS Room, Glasnevin Campus. More details about the event can be accessed here.

In photo: Winners from 2026 Research on Walls competition with Prof Sharon O'Brien, Dean of Graduate Studies

2026 Winners

Well done to all 56 particpants at this year's Research on Walls competition, and congratulations to the winners:

Róisín O'Connor, School of Policy & Practice: 'A Relationship Fit for the modern day'
Ciaran Cooling, School of Physical Sciences: 'Let's be clear on conductors'
Yingru Zhou, School of Chemical Sciences:' From a commonplace beverage to nano materials'
Rebecca Smith, School of Chemical Sciences: 'Sampling under supervision'

Read more about the event here.

List of Participants

List of 2026 Research on Walls Participants:

Aine Egan (IOE), Angela Cummins (IOE), Anh Nguyen (BS), Arash Babamiri Naamrudi (FEC),Aravind Kannoth Anilkumar (FSH), Aris Melloni (FSH), Asma Yaqoob (FHSS), Audrey McCann (IOE), Carroll Keoghan (IOE), Ciara FaganBarrett (IOE), Ciarán Collins (IOE), Ciaran Cooling (FSH), Claire Brennan (IOE), Clairiz Nel (FSH), Dean O'Reilly (FSH), Eileen McCaughey (IOE), Esther Monu (BS), Ethel Matarutse (FSH), Eva Gurley (FSH), Fiona Budds (IOE), Fiona Hackett (FSH), Gemma Davis (FSH), Georga Dowling (IOE), Hannah Dennehy (IOE), Havilah Ajiboye (FSH), Helena Trench (IOE), Himanshu Vashisht (FEC), Ian Kiernan (FEC), Ioan Suhov (FHSS), Jane Gaffey (FSH), Jennifer McGuirk (IOE), Justine Meiller-Fay (FSH), Liisa Anna Kivioja (FEC), Lorna Doherty (FSH), Maeve Murray (FSH), Marie Byrne (IOE), Matthew McCartney (FEC), Megan Griffiths (IOE), Michael-Philippe Bosonnet (BS), Mingchen Xie (FSH), Muhammad H. Al Omoush (FEC), Muhammad Shafiq Azid (FHSS), Neil Mc Ardle (IOE), Niamh Reilly (BS), Niamh Rock (FSH), Niamh Boylan (IOE), Philip Daly (FEC), Rebecca Smith (FSH), Robbie Irwin (IOE), Róisín O'Connor (IOE), Samuel Cole (FHSS), Sara Mengato (FHSS), Stephen Brennan (IOE), Therese Lundin (FHSS), Tracey Maree (IOE), Tracy McElheron (IOE), and Yingru Zhou (FSH).

Abbreviations used for Faculties:

IOE – DCU Institute of Education

BS – DCU Business School

FEC – Faculty of Engineering and Computing

FSH – Faculty of Science and Health

FHSS – Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Details

Competition Rules: This competition is open to all registered research students in all years of study. The competition challenges research students to capture their research in a single photographic image and the creativity of the image is at the discretion of each entrant. While we have not specified the image resolution requirements, we would advise that all submissions are captured in as high a resolution as possible.

Previous winners may not apply.

NB: AI generated images, images obtained online or images where original content is altered are not permissible. Please also note that a poster such as those presented at conferences is not suitable for this competition.

In submitting your image and form you are certifying that you are eligible to apply and have read and abide by the following rules:

Entrants must be registered research students in DCU.
Entrants must have taken the photo themselves.
Permission has been granted by anyone featuring in your work.
While retaining the copyright of the individual photo, you are giving permission for your entry to be reproduced by DCU for our website or for promotional material.

Application Process: To be considered for the competition, research students were required to submit:

A photo image* depicting their research
An abstract explaining how the image relates to their research (up to 150 words maximum)

*The photo image has to be taken in landscape format only and submitted as a PDF document. Please familiarise yourself with the competition rules before submission. Failure to comply with the entry requirements to this competition may disqualify your submission.

Scoring Criteria: All entries will be assessed by an expert judging panel, with emphasis on the following criteria:

How well the image depicts the overall research topic.
How well the title and abstract correlates with your image.
Overall composition of the image.

Previous Event

Research on Walls 2024-25

Celebrates the diversity of Postgraduate Research Students in DCU

On 10 October 2024, Professor Sharon O’Brien and the Graduate Studies Office, hosted the second Research on Walls event.

This year’s Research on Walls event managed by the Graduate Studies Office team, took place in the SOLAS room on October 10, with 67 research students rising to the challenge and partaking in this competition. This relatively new event serves as a platform for participants to promote their diverse research projects, undertaken across all five faculties here in DCU. Just under 200 DCU staff, students, colleagues from the Irish University Association (IUA) were in attendance, to enjoy the discussions with the participants, the networking opportunities and to take stock of the impact of the research that is underway by all the participants.

In alignment with Ireland’s "National Framework for Doctoral Education" commitment to support doctoral education and the "Irish Universities Association (IUA) Doctoral Skills Statement", the Research on Walls event supports DCU’s endeavours in developing talented graduates.

The atmosphere during the event was uplifting. All participants were required to take a photo image that best represents their research.

A special thanks goes to the judges of this year’s Research on Walls event; Dr Lisa Keating, Director of Research & Innovation (IUA), Ms Marcella Bannon, Cultural Arts Officer at DCU, and Prof Sharon O’Brien, Dean of Graduate Studies. We would also like to thank all of the 67 participants, and congratulations to the winners, who were:

Evelyn Waters

School of Nursing, Psychotherapy & Community Health

Title: ''In my back yard': Counsellors' and Psychotherapists' experiences of dual and multiple relationships with their clients within their own localities.'

Orla Mooney

School of Psychology

Title: 'Balancing life and health during emerging adulthood'

Aisling Murray Fleming

School of Human Development

Title: 'What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?'

We celebrate the following student participants in 2024-25 event:

Fleur De Lima (DCU BS), Michael-Philippe Bosonnet (DCU BS), Niamh Reilly (DCU BS), Niamh Kavanagh (DCU BS), Penelope Coughlan (DCU BS), Ray Grange (DCU BS), Muhammad Hani Al Omoush (FEC), Sampreet Rangaswamy (FEC), Tara McMullan (FEC), Vayangi Ganepola (FEC), Yvonne Omowunmi-Kayode (FEC), Anastasios Vavalis (FHSS), Aoife Ní Laoire (FHSS), Catríona Cunningham (FHSS), David Chikwaza (FHSS), Flora Abd Rabo (FHSS), Hannah Leonard (FHSS), Katherine Keogh (FHSS), Laura O’Flanagan (FHSS), Louise Hassan (FHSS), Méabh Sloane (FHSS), Michael Mulkerrin (FHSS), Monireh Mokhtarzadeh (FHSS), Niav Fisher (FHSS), Nicola Kealy (FHSS), Orlaith Hickey (FHSS), Somya Dixit (FHSS), Sukanya Shukla (FHSS), Teresa Clifford (FHSS), Bernadette Sheehan Gilroy (FSH), Ciara Tobin (FSH), Dylan Doherty (FSH), Emma O’Hart (FSH), Emma Nolan (FSH), Evelyn Waters (FSH), Justine Meiller-Fay (FSH), Lorna Burke (FSH), Lorna Doherty (FSH), Lorna Crean (FSH), Maeve Murray (FSH), Marianna Zolyomiova (FSH), Niall Ashfield (FSH), Orla Mooney (FSH), Paul Cannon (FSH), Shubhangi Kandwal (FSH), Sifan Yang (FSH), Toby Segasby (FSH), Aisling Murray Fleming (IOE), Alice Maher (IOE), Alison Nulty (IOE), Andrea O’Toole (IOE), Christine H O’Kelly (IOE), Ciaran Collins (IOE), Clare Gormley (IOE), Clare Hogan (IOE), Colette Lyng (IOE), Deirdre Walshe (IOE), Frank Milling (IOE), Helen Concannon (IOE), Kathryn McCarthy (IOE), Lucia Cloonan (IOE), Lucy Crowe (IOE), Margaret Tobin (IOE), Michele Pringle (IOE), Paul Rowe (IOE), Tomás Aylward (IOE), and Tracy McElheron (IOE).