Quarterly Newsletter
Issue No 2
🎄Christmas 2025 Edition🎄
October - December 2025
Dear Colleagues,
Dr Enda Howley, Head of School, School of Computer Science
Dr Enda Howley, Head of School, School of Computer Science
As we approach the end of the year, we have the opportunity to take stock after a very busy period for us all. We have seen some great examples of excellence being demonstrated across the School, from research grants awarded, to graduates that are being recognised for excellence arising from the knowledge they gained from our programmes. We are seeing increasing numbers of requests from companies wishing to build relationships with our School, and this is all in the face of huge international instability. Continuing to submit more and more research grants needs to remain our major focus, and ensuring that we have a strong presence across all the research institutes so we are the obvious port of call for all research topics relevant to our School.
This is a very special time of year for many, where we get the chance to spend time with parents and family. For children in particular, it's where our fondest of memories are forged, and the excitement of Santa is always a feature.
Regardless of your traditions, beliefs, or where you call home, I wish you all Nollaig Shona Daoibh!
Regards,
Enda
Good Luck, Des
As we head towards the end of semester, we wish to congratulate Dr Des Chambers, who will be retiring at the end of December after a distinguished career of service in the School of Computer Science.
Wishing Des the Best of Luck in all his future endeavours.
New Members
A Warm Welcome to our new School and School Board members:
- Junlin Lu, Research Associate. Supervisor: Dr Karl Mason.
- Abdul Jabbar Saeed Tipu, Postdoctoral Researcher. Supervisors: Prof Mike Madden and Dr Ihsan Ullah.
- Saahil Khanna, Research Assistant. Supervisors: Prof Michael Madden and Dr Ihsan Ullah.
- Muhammad Ammarul Hassan, Postdoctoral Researcher. Supervisor: Dr Joseph Lemley.
- Muhammad Umair, Postdoctoral Researcher. Supervisor: Dr Mamoona Asghar.
Seasons Achievements
PDip in Academic Practice
Congratulations to School of Computer Science academics Dr Frank Glavin, Dr Mamoona Asghar and Dr Bharathi Raja Chakravarthi who recently graduated with a Postgraduate Diploma in Academic Practice.
Pictured left is Frank receiving his certificate with Dr Jan Smith and Dr Fiona Concannon from the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CELT) after the ceremony in November 2025 👏
Generation Google Scholarship
Congratulations to our 3rd Year BCT student, Leah Farrelly, who was awarded a 'Generation Google Scholarship for Women in Computer Science'.
The scholarship recognises academic excellence, leadership, and a commitment to supporting women in technology. The award was presented by Dr Jessica McCarthy, Vice President of Engineering at Google💡
Congratulations Junlin!
Congratulations to Dr Junlin Lu, who is pictured centre with his PhD certificate in Artificial Intelligence, alongside School of Computer Science lecturers, Dr Patrick Mannion (pictured left) and Dr Karl Mason (pictured right).
Junlin has officially joined our School as a Postdoctoral Researcher as of 1 October 2025.
Welcome Junlin ✨
Congratulations Lorenz!
The School of Computer Science is delighted to celebrate the exceptional achievement of Lorenz Krause, a 2025 graduate of our Masters in Data Analytics programme, who has been awarded the prestigious 'Best Student Paper' at the 33rd International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Science (AICS 2025).
The conference was held on 1 and 2 December 2025, at the Hyatt Centric Liberties Hotel in Dublin, Ireland. Lorenz was recognized for his outstanding paper, 'Gaze and Language in Action: Multimodal Interfaces for Cognitive Assistance', co-authored by MSc AI student, Michael Rice, and his supervisor, Dr Waqar Shahid Qureshi.
Well done Lorenz, Michael and Waqar 🎉
Huawei Ireland Hackathon
Congratulations to Yanzhi Wang (First year PhD student supervised by School of Computer Science lecturer Dr Nazre Batool), Chi Zhang (Second year MSc Software Design & Development student), and Yibing Mu (First year MSc Software Design & Development student) who won Third Place and a €1000 prize in the 'Spend Less and Do More: An LLM Efficiency Challenge' Hackathon at the Huawei Ireland Tech Arena, November 2025 in Dublin.
They attributed their success to an effective combination of technical skills, creativity, and teamwork throughout the competition 🏅
EDI Table Quiz Winners!
The annual EDI Table Quiz took place in the Aula Maxima on Wednesday 8 October 2025.
The event was MC'd by former president of the University, Iognáid Ó Muircheartaigh (‘Iggy’).
Huge congratulations to the aptly named, 'Natural Intelligence', a team consisting of all Computer Science staff - Michael Schukat, John McCrae, Enda Howley and Thérèse McIntyre (pictured front l to r)🏆
Many thanks to Joe O'Connell, Senior Technical Officer at the School of Computer Science (pictured far right), who curated the questions for the quiz as well as providing technical support on the day.
Recent PhD Vivas
PhD Viva successfully defended on 9 September 2025.
PhD Viva successfully defended on 9 September 2025.
PhD Viva successfully defended on 20 October 2025.
PhD Viva successfully defended on 20 October 2025.
PhD Viva successfully defended on 4 November 2025.
PhD Viva successfully defended on 4 November 2025.
PhD Viva successfully defended on 7 November 2025.
PhD Viva successfully defended on 7 November 2025.
Research
Research Spotlight
Dr Muhammad Umair is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics at the University of Galway. His current work examines practical approaches to using lightweight AI models for deepfake detection and Neural Packet Inspection (NPI), with a strong focus on real-time performance, privacy, and scalable deployment. His wider research background covers machine learning, deep learning, computational intelligence, cybersecurity, and energy analytics.
Before joining Insight, Muhammad spent many years in academia as an Associate Professor of Computer Science, supervising postgraduate students and contributing to projects in applied AI, optimisation, and anomaly detection. He has published across several areas of artificial intelligence, computer vision, and intelligent systems.
Muhammad is working on the Insight Platform funding on a project titled: 'Neural Packet Inspection for Network-Level Detection of AI-Generated Media'.
For more information on Dr Umair's work, follow the link: Muhammad Umair - Insight
ONEHEALTH Project
The successful launch of project ONEHEALTH, which is supported by PEACEPLUS, a programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB), has received funding of €9,852,752 and will be led by Catalyst, in partnership with Atlantic Technology University (ATU), Queen’s University Belfast (QUB), Health Innovation Research Alliance Northern Ireland (HIRANI), Tyndall National Institute Cork and the University of Galway.
Aiming to address some of the most critical public health challenges over the next four years, ONEHEALTH is a cross-border life and health sciences partnership that will use pioneering artificial intelligence and digital health approaches to tackle pressing health and agrifood challenges by recognising the vital connections between human, animal, and environmental health. This holistic approach to connecting data intelligence, academic expertise and local industries’ know-how, in a concerted joint effort, is an incredibly exciting opportunity that will be unique at this scale.
As part of the University of Galway team, Dr Priyanka Verma, Lecturer at the School of Computer Science, will lead this transformative project under the mentorship of Prof John Breslin, School of Engineering.
For more information -
Funding
3 research grants were funded in recent months, all of which were collaborations with Prof Michael Madden and the School of Medicine, University of Galway. Dr Bairbre McNicholas in Medicine is the lead PI since they involve collaboration with the University Hospital, and two have funding from HRB and HSE. Most of the staffing from these grants are in the School of Computer Science, University of Galway:
1. 'ICUSafenotes': ML and AI for analysis of ICU data and medical notes, part of the ARC Hub for HealthTech, 2025-2027. Funding for this project comes in at a total of €396,000 over 2 years whiched started on 1 Nov 2025. The Lead Applicant is Dr Bairbre McNicholas. Co-Applicant: Prof Michael Madden. This will fund a Database Engineer in the School of Medicine (24 months) and a Research Fellow in the School of Computer Science (24 months).
2. 'IrelandICUdb - Optimizing outcomes from weaning from invasive mechanical ventilation in Ireland' is a project funded by the Health Research Board (HRB) as a Secondary Data Analysis Project (SDAP), reference SDAP-2025-021. The goal is to take data collected in Intensive Care in Galway University Hospitals to create a fully anonymised, standardised database called IrelandICUdb, that can be used by the research community. They will then perform machine learning and dashboard development. Lead PI is Dr Bairbre McNicholas. Co-PI: Prof Michael Madden. Co-applicants are Prof Andrew Simpkin (School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, University of Galway), Prof John Laffey (School of Medicine, University of Galway), and other external collaborators. Funding is €350,000 over 42 months, which started on 12 Dec 2025. This will fund a Database Engineer (12 months, School of Computer Science), a Postdoctoral Data Scientist (30 months, jointly between The School of Computer Science and the School of Maths), and a Research Nurse (0.1 FTE, 30 months, Galway University Hospital).
3. 'SMART-FLOW: Harnessing Multimodal Data and Machine Learning to Optimize Fluid Management in Intensive Care' is a project funded by the HSE Spark Innovation Programme. The proposal is for an innovative machine learning framework that integrates both numeric clinical data and unstructured nursing and physician notes, utilizing natural language processing to uncover critical insights. The Lead PI is Dr Bairbre McNicholas. Collaborator: Prof Michael Madden. Funding is €140,000 over 18 months for a Postdoctoral Machine Learning Researcher (18 months, jointly between the School of Computer Science and the School of Medicine) and a Research Nurse (0.1 FTE, 12 months, Galway University Hospital).
2 further research grants were funded with School of Computer Science academics and researchers heading up these projects:
1. PI: Dr Stanislava Antonijevic-Elliott. Co-PI: Ihsan Ullah.
Dr Ihsan Ullah (School of Computer Science, University of Galway) with Dr Stanislava Antonijevic-Elliott's (School of Health Sciences, University of Galway) funding application: 'AISLA - Towards reducing Speech and Language Therapy waiting lists: Forming an International Interdisciplinary Network to Unite Efforts in Creating AI Assisted Transcription and Scoring for Existing Language Assessments for Monolingual and Multilingual School-age Children' has been successful. €10,000 is being funded from Research Ireland under the New Foundation Scheme. The funding will start in December 2025 and run for a year including a networking event at the University of Galway to discuss incorporating AI into existing language assessments in several languages and online meetings over the year. This will lead to the planning of further national and international funding applications.
2. PI: Dr Ihsan Ullah. Co-PI: Prof Edward Curry, Dr John McCrea and Mr Andy Donald. Contributor: Dr Talha Iqbal.
Funding was recently secured for an industry co-funded project entitled 'Framework for Transparency in Agentic AI Systems,' supported through the Insight Targeted Co-Funding Scheme in collaboration with Genesys. It will run for 18 months, from November 2025 to April 2027, with a total funding value of €509,000. This collaboration strengthens our industry engagement and addresses a key challenge in developing trustworthy and transparent agentic AI systems.
Lá na nGradam
Awards Day 2025
Congratulations to the Undergraduate and Postgraduate awardees who attended the School of Computer Science Awards Day - 'Lá na nGradam' - which was held on 20 November 2025.
Many thanks to Dr Enda Howley, Head of School, School of Computer Science, for hosting the event, and Dr Aaron Golden, Vice-Dean for Research & Innovation, College of Science and Engineering, for presenting the awards and offering such lovely closing remarks.
Thanks also are due to the Programme Directors and Academic Supervisors for all their guidance to these incredible students.
Lastly, many thanks to the admin team for organising the event which ran incredibly smoothly despite a busy conferring period in the University.
Events
Itag Cyber Research Conference Ireland 2025
The 𝟒𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐲𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐈𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 took place on 1 December 2025, hosted by the School of Computer Science and Itag in the ILAS building, University of Galway. The event brought together leading experts nationwide, researchers, industry professionals, and innovators to explore current challenges and future directions in cybersecurity.
School of Computer Science academics as well as industry experts shared the podium, offering their insights on a whole host of topics including digital engineering, diversity in cybersecurity and emerging research themes.
A huge thank you is due to Dr Mamoona Asghar and Dr Enda Howley who were the Conference Chairs in what was a hugely successful event.
Thanks also to the Computer Science academics involved in the Technical Programme Committee and those chairing the paper and poster presentations as well as the admin team for their support.
The Artificial Intelligence Association of Ireland (AIAI), together with the ADAPT Centre and the Insight Research Ireland Centre for Data Analytics is delighted to announce that Ireland has been selected to host the 32nd European Conference on Artificial Intelligence (ECAI 2029) - Europe’s most prestigious gathering of AI researchers and innovators. The conference will be held at The Convention Centre Dublin (CCD) from 20-24 October 2029, bringing more than 1,400 delegates from across Europe and beyond to the Irish capital. The event will feature cutting-edge research presentations, keynote lectures, tutorials, workshops, exhibitions, and industry sessions from the world’s leading AI experts.
Prof Michael Madden is the Chair of AIAI and Professor of Computer Science at the University of Galway.
An 'ice-breaker' evening for our 1st year BSc in Computer Science and Information Technology students took place on Thursday 2 October 2025, in the back room of SULT.
Many thanks to all students and staff who could attend on the day and Geraldine Healy of the admin team for organising the event.
Many thanks to our school academics as well as our student and PhD helpers who represented the School of Computer Science at the Undergraduate Open Day on 3 & 4 October 2025, as well as the PG Open Evening on 11 November 2025.
Watch our robot dog, 'Scratch', keep the students entertained at the UG Open Day:
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7382348468364779520
Prof Michael Madden delivered a tailored workshop to the Professional Services Staff of College of Science and Engineering, University of Galway, on Artificial Intelligence in Professional Services on 14 October 2025.
A range of AI tools were showcased which could help us in our work, and Prof Madden advised on how to use these in a secure manner, as well as priming us to be mindful of the risks associated with data privacy and the careless use of AI.
Huawei Ireland Research Centre visited the University of Galway on 16 October 2025 which was hosted by the Careers Centre.
Huawei speakers included Dr David Lynch and Dr Stefano Mauceri, former colleagues of Dr James McDermott, lecturer at the School of Computer Science, University of Galway. A large number of CS students were in attendance.
Dr Ihsan Ullah was invited as a member of the Academic Panel Discussion at the CyberVehiCare Launch Event, hosted by the University of Wolverhampton on 27 October 2025. The Theme was ‘Shaping the Future of Transportation: AI, Cybersecurity & Green Communication’.
The panel consisted of academics from a wide range of universities around the world, from the King Saud University, KSA, to the University of East London. This panel brought together world-leading researchers to explore the intersection of AI, cybersecurity, and sustainable communication in shaping the future of intelligent transportation.
The School of Computer Science were proud to support another fantastic Empathy Jam Galway 2025 on 1 November at the Genesys office.
A big thank you to our School of Computer Science Lecturer, Karen Young, as well as local enterprenuer, Diarmaid Ó Fátharta, and Mairéad Hogan, Lecturer at Cairnes Business School, University of Galway, for brilliantly running an event packed with energy, connection, creativity, and innovation ✨
Many thanks to Dr Enda Barrett, Dr James McDermott, and our PhD facilitators who represented the School of Computer Science at the Galway Science and Technology Festival on 9 November 2025 which took place at the O’Donoghue Theatre, University of Galway.
This event helps inspire young people to develop an interest in science and technology and consider these fields for their future studies.
A number of University of Galway staff attended the recent ENLIGHT 5th Year General Meeting, hosted by the Comenius University Bratislava on 2 December - 4 December 2025. The Head of School of Computer Science, Dr Enda Howley, addressed a plenary session of the conference with his own reflections on ENLIGHT @ 5 and the value is has to the alliance of 10 universities through its scope for transformative impacts on individuals, and their trajectory of learning and career development.
The University of Galway 'Lighting of the Christmas Tree' took place on 3 December 2025. Big shout out to School Operations Officer Thérèse McIntyre who helped spread the festive cheer as part of the University’s choir🎄
The School of Computer Science Christmas party took place on 16 December at Kirby's Restaurant on Cross Street.
A huge thank you to Kirby's staff for accommodating us as well as School Operations Officer Thérèse McIntyre for organising the event.
There was a great turnout and it was a lovely way to wrap up the Semester with so many familiar faces in attendance 🎅🏼
Upcoming CS Events
|
Date and time |
Event |
|---|---|
|
29 January 2026 |
Postgraduate Open Day (12pm - 2pm & 4pm-6pm) |
|
21 March 2026 |
Unergraduate Open Day We will be representing BCT at the Councourse this year and BA IT at the Bailey Allen Hall. For more information: Open Days - University of Galway |
|
27 April 2026 |
School GRC Research Students Public presentations followed by GRC meetings on 28 & 29 April 2026. |
|
June 2026 (Date TBC) |
AI4Debunk The School of Computer Science is proud to announce a major international Horizon EU project meeting, to be held in June 2026. There is an anticipated 30 leading researchers from across the EU for this collaborative event of AI4Debunk project. Dr Jamal Nasir is PI from the University of Galway. |
Thank you for reading and have a wonderful Christmas!
Quarterly Newsletter
Issue No.5
🌲Christmas 2025 Edition🌲