In the News..

University of Galway has been awarded the Smarter Travel Mark by the National Transport Authority during Bike Week 2025. The award recognises the University’s significant progress in promoting sustainable travel initiatives on campus. University staff and students accepted the award at an event during Bike Week 2025. Dr Richard Manton, Director of Sustainability, University of Galway, said: “We are very pleased to have achieved the NTA Smarter Travel Mark. This mark celebrates the collective effort of staff, students, and partners working towards a healthier and more sustainable future. Particular credit is due to the University’s Buildings and Estates Office for making the campus a more friendly place for walking, cycling and wheeling.” University of Galway marked Bike Week 2025 with a range of on campus events promoting cycling, community and sustainability across campus. Activities included a Bike Maintenance Talk and Demo with An Mheitheal Rothar offering staff and students practical advice on keeping their bikes in top shape. The University also hosted a Coffee Morning / Connect Café at Moffett’s, where participants enjoyed inspiring conversations with Professor Eoghan Clifford, School of Engineering and Marianne McNally, Human Resources, University of Galway on the role of cycling and active travel in sustainable living. The University also encouraged participation in the broader National Bike Week and continues to champion sustainable travel as an SDG Ambassador and Ireland’s top university for sustainability. Ends

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless, T.D. has formally launched the new Pharmacy programme (MPharm) at University of Galway to provide up to 75 new student places a year. The new degree marks a significant milestone for healthcare education and is being funded as part of Government investment in the expansion of higher education healthcare programmes. It is the first Master of Pharmacy programme in the West of Ireland. MInister Lawless formally launched the MPharm during a visit to University of Galway. Applications for the MPharm are now open through the CAO, with the first intake beginning in September 2025 with 45 places available. In subsequent years, the potential student intake will be 75 places a year. Formally launching the opening of applications, Minister Lawless T.D. said: “This new Master of Pharmacy programme at University of Galway represents a landmark development for the west of Ireland, for students, and for the future of healthcare education in this country. “It shows how Government investment in higher education is expanding opportunities for students and addressing workforce needs in our health service. By creating up to 75 new places a year, we are not only enhancing regional access to pharmacy education but also ensuring that communities across Ireland will benefit from a new generation of highly trained, innovative and patient-centred pharmacists. “I want to commend University of Galway for their leadership and commitment to shaping the healthcare workforce of the future.” Interim President of University of Galway, Professor Peter McHugh, said: “The launch of the MPharm programme is a major milestone for the University, for the West of Ireland and for healthcare education nationally. By offering this unique programme in University of Galway, through research-led and transformative teaching and learning healthcare, we are contributing to Government initiatives which are addressing the need for a highly skilled workforce that will have a lasting impact on patient care. We look forward to welcoming the first students in September.” The MPharm degree is an integrated five-year programme which involves students beginning their studies as undergraduates and qualifying with a Masters. The programme will equip graduates with the clinical, scientific and professional skills required for a modern healthcare environment. It is one part of an expansion of healthcare education at University of Galway and a key element of efforts by the University’s College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences to address critical healthcare workforce shortages in Ireland, in line with its Strategic Plan 2022-25. University of Galway is planning for the commencement of a Graduate Entry Medicine programme in 2026. It offers a four-year accelerated pathway into Medicine for graduates, allowing them to build on their prior academic achievements to become qualified medical professionals, with a focus on preparing them for careers in rural and remote medicine. Tony Canavan, Regional Executive Officer in HSE West and North West, said: “We are delighted to welcome the first new pharmacy programme in the West of Ireland. This is a vital step toward strengthening our healthcare system. Equipping future pharmacists with the skills and support they need while helping address critical workforce shortages across both hospital and community settings. Programmes like the MPharm will enable more efficient and accessible care for our patients in the West and North West." Dr Martina Ni Chúlain, Director of Strategic Development in University of Galway’s College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, said: “We are delighted to deliver the first Pharmacy programme in the West of Ireland. By equipping students with advanced skills, including prescribing, we are preparing a generation of pharmacists ready to take on evolving roles in multidisciplinary teams and deliver care closer to patients. It also positions the University as a catalyst for future growth in the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries in the region, supporting innovation, job creation and economic development aligned with the strengths of the West.” Ends

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science James Lawless T.D. has launched University of Galway’s Strategic Plan 2025-2030. The document, entitled Of Galway, For the World, sets out the priorities for the University’s development over the course of the next five years, with a renewed focus on being a research-intensive globally connected higher education institution. During the lifetime of the Strategic Plan, the University will invest in new systems and spaces to better support teaching and research excellence. Among those are the construction of the new Library and Learning Commons in the centre of the campus and the development of a new Student Success Centre that will engage students in new ways of learning and support their progression, success, health and wellbeing throughout their university journey.  Further initiatives will be undertaken including a Future Talent Programme that will invest to attract new talent in research, teaching and professional services to Galway, develop current staff, and grow a PhD cohort through targeted programmes. Other initiatives include the new Research Process Improvement Project - a multi-faceted programme that improves the research journey and experience to maximise impact, and an ambitious Technology-Enablement Programme - a significant investment in Information and communication technology (ICT) operating models and the successful delivery of digital infrastructure projects, which will be critical to the University's success in the coming years. The Strategic Plan was launched at a special event on campus with Minister Lawless where innovative and impactful research was showcased. Minister Lawless, said: “The launch of University of Galway's Strategic Plan 2025-2030 Of Galway, For the World is truly an exciting time. There are many new developments and the sense of ambition and innovation on campus is tangible. “University of Galway has a proven track record of embedding creativity and excellence in providing a diverse range of programmes and putting the student experience at the centre of teaching and learning. The new Strategic Plan is the next step on that journey." Chair of Údarás na hOllscoile, Dr Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, said: “I would like to sincerely thank our university community and partners and all of those who engaged with us during the consultation process to develop the University’s Strategic Plan 2025-2030. We are excited to share the outcome of this work and look forward to the next chapter of the University’s strategic journey.” Professor Peter McHugh, Interim President of University of Galway, said: “This is a very exciting time for our university as we celebrate 180 years of university scholarship, research and education in Galway at a time of profound change in the world. “With so much uncertainty and complexity in global matters, yet so many new and innovative ideas and new technologies, there is a wealth of opportunities and challenges for us to grasp. Our Strategic Plan 2025-30 Of Galway, For the World captures that ambition and will enable our University community to have significant impact in helping to address the needs of society, building on our long and proud history of achievement.” The Strategic Plan 2025-2030 will focus on the University’s core mission to nurture talent and generate knowledge for the world. This mission will be guided by the University’s existing values of Excellence, Respect, Openness, Sustainability, and Belonging - a new value which students asked for. The document sets out areas of strategic priorities: Distinctive Research Impact; Education for the Future; and Effective and Sustainable Organisation that Empowers our People. The Strategic Plan identifies four research pillars in which University of Galway will make a distinctive impact in the years ahead: Innovation for Health; Creativity, Culture & Society; Sustainable & Resilient Environments: Earth & Ocean; and Decisive Data & Transformative AI. The title of the Strategic Plan, Of Galway, For the World, was inspired by the distinctiveness of the University and its city and region, as well as the global impact the university community makes from this unique place. Read the full Strategic Plan 2025-2030 here: www.universityofgalway.ie/strategy2030 Ends