Trevor Vaugh, Assistant Professor in the Maynooth University Department of Design Innovation will present a new documentary called Science To The Rescue on RTE One on the 10th of November. Over the course of an hour, Trevor will travel around Ireland to meet brilliant research teams as they compete to win €4m in funding from Science Foundation Ireland as part of their Future Innovator Prize.
Few people need convincing that the world requires a whole lot of fixing right now. Beyond the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, there are monumental times ahead, from climate change to broader societal challenges.
It’s clear that our most likely saviour will be science. We’ve already witnessed vaccine innovation in a race against time, but parallel to this are the big, bold disruptive ideas being brought to life in our universities, hospitals, farms, and even back gardens.
In order to help catapult Irish innovation to the world stage, and effect change globally, Science Foundation Ireland launched the Future Innovator Prize which made €4m available across two challenges - AI for Societal Good and Zero Emissions - ensuring the competition offered Irish science the money to match its ambition.
According to Vaugh “This is not just a documentary about world-class research happening in Ireland, this is about brilliant, passionate teams, collaborating at pace, attempting, to take on some truly pressing challenges. The Challenge-based format of the competition ensured that the projects were purpose-driven, creative, agile and designed with, not for citizens - this is the Human-Centred Design approach in action, so it is exciting to see it have real impact. It’s easy to be pessimistic about the future, but the vision of SFI and the quality of these projects, offers reason to be optimistic and reassurance that our scientists, researchers, innovators and wider society can, when asked, mobilise to do extraordinary things”
Science to The Rescue will air on the 10th of November of RTE One at 10:40
Further information, click here and here.