UCD is home to many innovative and unique spaces. One of these unique spaces developed for learning and research is UCD Lyon’s farm. UCD also supports its students through valuable sports scholarships aimed at elite sports men and women who can pursue their sporting dreams while getting their academic qualifications. It’s not just students that are supported on the grounds of UCD, Entrepreneurs are also supported and encouraged through NOVA UCD, a purpose-built, state-of-the-art incubation facility for knowledge-intensive companies. In ‘My Uni Life’ we meet one of the entrepreneurs who was supported by the Nova centre and is now developing a life-changing app.
Meet Darragh
Darragh Mc Elhinney is in his final year in University College Dublin and is a talented track and field runner. From West Cork, Darragh’s is a 3x National champion, 2x National Indoor champion and a European U20 Championships Bronze medallist.
Darragh hasn’t taken shortcuts in life, he started running when he was young alongside his brother and his passion grew from there. He continues to train and train hard saying ‘I have always trained to a point where it’s hard and honest training, but something that I can always build on.’
Like many of the students and staff in UCD, Darragh’s family truly believe he will go far and travel to support him every chance they can, cheering him on at the side line. Darragh has a strong work ethic when it comes to his studies and, regarding his sport his eyes are firmly fixed on Olympic glory.
Meet Dr. Aviva Cohen
Dr Aviva Cohen is the CEO and co-founder of SeamlessCARE Ltd, a company that received private investment and ongoing support from Enterprise Ireland and NovaUCD. The development of Dr Cohen’s ideas emerged as a result of lived experience and years of research into the real needs of neurodiverse people and those who provide their care.
Dr. Cohen’s journey is deeply rooted in her own life-changing experience. In 2006, her husband Steve survived a stroke that robbed him of speech, mobility, and cognition. This pivotal moment inspired Dr Cohen to channel her expertise and technological skills towards creating a more inclusive world for neurodiverse individuals and their caregivers.
Dr. Cohen and her dedicated team have developed a groundbreaking application that uses artificial intelligence to interpret the emotions of non-verbal people by recording their voice for just a few seconds. Her commitment and technological advancements have proven to be a beacon of inspiration, positively impacting the lives of many. In this series of ‘My Uni Life’ Dr. Cohen meets up with Isabella who is using the technology to communicate with her loving mother Sam.
Meet the students getting hands on and knees deep at Lyons Farm
We meet students, Emily, Rachel and Kayla, who are studying on Lyon’s farm located near Newcastle in Co. Dublin. This space is a 250-hectare farm and is used by the School of Agriculture and Food Science and the School of Veterinary Medicine. Lyon’s farm is a centre of excellence for animal, crop, food, and veterinary sciences in UCD. This unique farm is supporting UCD’s Rising to the Future strategy and is creating a sustainable global society.
Undergraduate students in Agriculture and Food Science and the School of Veterinary Medicine visit the farm regularly as part of their studies. There are also postgraduate students undertaking Research Masters and PhD programmes at Lyon’s farm.
About University College Dublin
University College Dublin (UCD) located in Belfield, Dublin 4 spans across 330 acres and is Ireland’s largest university with over 37,000 students enrolled. UCD is home to over 3,000 staff and faculty members working hard to support, educate and inspire the students from under-graduate students to PhD Researchers.