With society and the economy recovering from the Covid pandemic, Ulster University is developing a new research strategy aimed at driving its research performance and delivering outcomes and impact that changes lives.
"An integral part of the new research strategy is our leadership in a number of City Deal projects in Northern Ireland, " says Pro Vice-Chancellor Research Professor Liam Maguire. "Our City Deal projects present an opportunity to work in close partnership with industry and key stakeholders to apply our academic expertise and research to support innovation and drive economic growth in areas including digital health technology, personalised medicine, cognitive analytics, robotics and automation and virtual production."
Prof Maguire’s personal research interests focus on data analytics and machine learning with particular emphasis on bio-inspired approaches.
“Collaboration with Ulster University colleagues, with other universities, with industry and sector organisations has been a big part of my research,” he points out.
"Our work in this area has led to the establishment of the Cognitive Analytics Research Laboratory, which aims to catalyse collaborative research between industry and academia and ensure that both are equipped to adopt artificial intelligence technology and understand the value to be derived from data."
He is also working with regional partners to establish an Artificial Intelligence Collaboration Centre in Northern Ireland, which aims to position Northern Ireland as a leader on the global artificial intelligence stage.
The university is committed to deploying its world-class research activity and excellence in teaching to solve local, regional and global problems, Maguire adds.
"Our research has impact well beyond the boundaries of our campuses. Our research in safe water is providing clean, affordable and portable water solutions across the globe and we are also developing smart devices for communities in Colombia and Mexico to quickly tell if water is safe to drink.
"Our artificial intelligence research expertise is developing AI technology that could help people communicate following brain injury, bringing innovation to the real world and playing a crucial role in new forms of wearable neurotechnology."
In biosciences, Ulster is a leader in pancreatic cancer research. "Our researchers identified a new therapy that can selectively target pancreatic cancer tumours, and a further strand of this research is focused on this technology alongside radiotherapy, with the potential to make a real difference to pancreatic cancer patients in the future."
Activity also extends to the creative industries. “We are part of a £13 million research and development partnership which is aiming to secure the future of this thriving sector in Northern Ireland and drive the generation of over £6 billion for the local economy.”
The university has also played a prominent role in the battle against Covid-19. “We’ve always pioneered research that improves the lives of our communities and society and addresses global challenges,” he says. “And we continue to do so as we face the biggest public health challenge that most of us have seen in our lifetime to date.
"Substantial activity has been diverted to Covid-19 research. To prevent the spread of the virus, our researchers worked with local and national government to scale up screening and develop new antibody testing."
In addition, Ulster’s geneticists established a Covid-19 diagnostic PCR testing laboratory within Altnagelvin Hospital, and led a fundraising appeal, raising £120,000 to fund the automation of the PCR testing lab.
“Our data scientists are working as part of the local government task force to predict the trajectory of infection,” he adds. “Our researchers were appointed as key advisers on Covid-19 government and industry taskforces. Our researchers are also exploring the impact of Covid-19 on society.
“This includes the development of a health and wellbeing checker, research into the effects of social distancing on our physical and mental health and a rapid response survey developed by our psychologists to examine the mental health and social impacts of Covid-19.”
The pandemic had a direct impact on the university’s research and teaching activity. “We quickly made arrangements to facilitate researchers working from home where that was possible and established protocols, processes and robust risk assessments, which over time supported the gradual, safe return of projects to campus or to field research,” Maguire notes.
“We moved our teaching largely online until the beginning of this academic year, when the Northern Ireland Executive guidance enabled us to prepare for the fuller return to campus and to resume face to face teaching.
Despite moving to a hybrid teaching model during the pandemic, our campus settings will always be the priority. Online learning, regardless of its role and importance during Covid-19 will not replace a full-time educational model at the University’s campuses. Teaching is very much a social activity best delivered in the face to face environment at each of our unique campuses as part of our distinctive role as a regional university.”