Japanese
Delegation Visit University
for
International Ceramic
Research Meeting
Professor
Stuart Hampshire hosted a visit by Japanese delegates for the final meeting
on International Ceramic Research at the University recently.
Pictured left were Dr. Akihiko Tsuge (Director, Fine Ceramics Research
Association, FCRA, Tokyo); Dr. Shuzo Kanzaki (Agency for Industrial Science
& Technology and Director, Synergy Materials Centre, Nagoya); Professor
Stuart Hampshire, Director, Materials Ireland Research Centre; and Dr.
Shin-ichi Hirano.
Professor Serge Riviere
Professor Serge Riviere's latest book was launched in the Wood Room, Plassy House on Friday last month by Ms Claudia Schmitz, First Secretary for Political, Cultural and Press Affairs, of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Dublin.
The book entitled The Library of a Prussian Princess: Catalogue of the Non-Music Sections of the Amalien-Bibliothek (Berlin: Berlin Verlag, Arno Spitz GMbH, 2002), was jointly written by Dr Annett Vollmer, a researcher at the Centre for Enlightenment Studies, Potsdam, Germany, and Professor Marc Serge Riviere, Professor of French at UL. In her address, the First Secretary reinforced the importance of such joint research projects between research centres in Germany and the University of Limerick.
Princess Anna Amalia (1723-1786), youngest sister of Frederick the Great, the subject of the book, was a fine musician, a fine linguist who wrote and spoke French, English and German fluently, a wild spirit with a joie de vivre, who had a penchant for court divertissements and young men, before she became the Abbesse of Quedlinburg in 1756. The book, based on primary research in Berlin and Paris Archives, contains the first biography of the Princess Anna Amalia (1723-1786), an in-depth analysis of what the Princess read in French, English and German and a comparison of her private library with the much more extensive, yet more linguistically restricted, libraries of Frederick the Great now housed at Sans Souci, Charlottenburg and elsewhere in Berlin.
New Postgraduate Study Opportunities in Clinical Therapies now offered at UL
Celebrating the
new postgraduate study opportunities in clinical therapies now offered
at the University of Limerick are: Professor Kevin Ryan, Vice President,
UL, Dr. Jane Edwards, Project Team Leader, Clinical Therapies Development
Unit and Dr Alan Donnelly, Head, Physical Education & Sports Science Department,
UL.
Two new postgraduate courses will be offered at the University from June next year. A Master of Science degree in Occupational Therapy and a Master of Science degree in Speech and Language Therapy are intended to commence in the summer semester with students attending full-time for six semesters in total. These programmes will offer entry-level qualifications to practice. The courses have been carefully designed around the requirements for professional accreditation and have sought the support of the relevant professional bodies as to their implementation.
While there are currently no fast-track options for postgraduate study in Occupational Therapy and Speech and Language Therapy available for graduates in Ireland, courses of this type have been offered in the UK, Canada, the USA and Australia for some time. UL have examined many of the offerings in these other countries in order to be able to design an effective and successful programme here.
The Bacon report published in 2001 highlighted the need for an increase in the number of clinical professionals over the next 15 years. "The University of Limerick has responded to this recommendation by proposing that fast track programmes be offered to ensure that clinical services receive an influx of qualified practitioners over the next few years. We are intending to graduate 25 qualified practitioners annually in each of the fields of Occupational Therapy and Speech and Language Therapy. The first cohorts will graduate in mid 2005. This will contribute significantly to the expansion of service provision in these essential fields," said Dr. Jane Edwards, Project Director, Clinical Therapies Development Unit. She added "given the university context, it is anticipated that staff in each programme will generate and contribute to research knowledge in the clinical therapies in Ireland."
This venture is a new and exciting prospect for the University. The recent commitment to nursing studies in the University of Limerick, the highly successful music therapy postgraduate programme and the new undergraduate physiotherapy degree starting this semester provide a fertile surround for studies in the postgraduate clinical therapy programmes. Realisation of the potential for interdisciplinary study and research will be a key factor in the future success of these programmes. Dr. Jane Edwards, is also the Course Director for the two year full-time MA in Music Therapy at the University.
While music therapy is of course different to these other fields of clinical therapy, professional practice is undertaken in similar contexts such as special schools, hospitals and aged care services and some of the theoretical models employed have similar origins. Dr. Edwards has responsibility to build expertise in these fields through recruitment of key consultants and staff to run the programmes and to guide the courses through the accreditation process. "It is an exciting time to be involved in development of these courses - who knows what new and exciting opportunities these programmes will bring to the University of Limerick in the next few years", she said.
World Leader in Software Engineering joins UL
Minister Opens Dromroe Village
New Postgraduate Study Opportunities in Clinical Therapies
Graduates Celebrate Academic Success
Launch
of Centre for Historical Research
Japanese Visit University for International Ceramic Research Meeting
UL Announcement of Molex Chair
Introduction to University Programme
