DAY 314/315/316

Jul 12, 13 & 14

1) Rounding up the second half of the week was the inaugural Student Innovation Challenge, which took place in the Exam Hall yesterday. Registration began at 8.30am, and we were there all the way till 9.30pm! The morning session involved the six professors giving an overview of their research challenge (cancer, AIDS, exercise, ACL, epilepsy, respiratory disease). Then everyone had a chance to pitch a solution, after which we formed our own groups.

2) Initially there were over 20 groups, and then by merging groups with similar ideas we reduced this to just 13 groups. My group chose to tackle "exercise" challenge, which required a method to improve physical activity among adolescent girls, especially in the 12-16 year range. Our proposal was to come up with an app that combined social media with geotracking, while incorporating gaming elements such as rewards and "streaks" such as the ones used in Snapchat.

3) We felt that the app would benefit by utilising existing technology (GPS, pedometer). Also, the idea that someone could just organise a walking event, and invite all their friends to join them - after which they'd be rewarded by points, "titles", and be able to redeem discount vouchers from collaborating shops/ sports centres - was a simple solution. It was definitely a win-win solution; the participants would benefit from the exercise, while the stores would be able to rope in more customers, as well as advertise their role in helping curb Ireland's obesity issue.

4) We had only 3 minutes to pitch our idea to the esteemed panel of judges. Then it was a 2 minute Q and A session. After all the teams had presented, it was time for the results to be announced. In the end, our team didn't win, but we were one of only two teams given an Honourable Mention. After a long day slogging and brainstorming ideas, I think we did better than expected. Hopefully, this event would be held again the following year, and hopefully for less than a full day too! Anyway, nothing much has happened today, so I'll end my blog update here. Looking forward to enjoying the weekend... Thanks very much for visiting, and have a lovely weekend ahead. Cheerios! :D

Our dynamic team: Go Stepstreaks!

All decked out for the occasion! :)

Group photo with friends from various places

(l-r: Me, Judge, Flora, Melvin, Joshua)

Disclaimer: I am not responsible for that

Brainstorming session begins - imbibing of copious amounts of coffee soon to come

At least they kept us very well fed ^^

What a way to finish the night...

Dinner at Burrito & Blues

Burrito Bowl

DAY 279

Jun 7

1) Today was the second day of our Skills Workshop Programme. Most of my friends start their various research projects tomorrow, but as for me, I'm starting next Monday because my Principal Investigator is in France for a conference.

2) So our day started with a lecture on Clinical Study Design, by Dr. Lisa Mellon. Next, Ms Deidre Hyland gave a speech entitled "Introduction to Clinical Research". After a short break, it was the main event of the day: the announcement of the RCSI Student Innovation Challenge. Professor Leonie Young, Dr. Emer Reeves, Dr. Sam Anya, Dr. Oran Kennedy, Dr. Helen French, and Dr. Tobias Engel came up to stage to talk about their respective fields of research, and ultimately each of them stated their problem for us students to come up with a solution. This is part of the challenge, and we will be broken up into groups on the competition day itself (June 13) to be given a chance to present our discussion to a panel of judges.

3) Before lunch, Dr. Sara ONeill gave a brief talk on the RSS Programme thus far. Then it was off to lunch, and I had mine at AK Henry's. Our next three speakers: Dr. Tomas Carroll, Ms Rachel Lynch, and Dr. Derick Mitchell were invited to talk on Public Patient Involvement and Research. Finally, we had our last workshop for the day, Patient-Centred Research: Logistical and Ethical Issues by Ms. Louise Keating.

4) Today we made some new friends from Hoshi University, Japan. Erika and Shiori are exchange students who will be spending their summer doing research here. This is part of the partnership that RCSI enjoys with Hoshi University (Japan) and Soochow University (China). For those who know me best, can probably guess that I will jump at the opportunity to do an exchange programme in Japan haha. Unfortunately, the programme is not open to first year students so I couldn't apply last year. But this year (next academic year) I definitely intend to do so :D

5) It has been an exciting two days of lectures and workshops, and it has opened my eyes to the world of research. I hope to begin research as soon as possible, and aspire to contribute in any small but meaningful way that I can. That's basically all for today, and thanks for reading as always. Have a great day, cheers!

ようこそアイルランドへ ~~

(Welcome to Ireland ^^)

My €3.50 baguette at AK Henry's ^^

Returned from lunch to see this

A close up of what it said

Shiori and Erika from Hoshi University