International Women's Day: Women in research in Ireland

Kathryn Schoenrock, Marine Ecologist, NUIG

I am a Marine Ecologist in the Department of Zoology, NUI Galway, but originally from California, USA. I moved to Ireland because I am interested in marine forests- specifically the multiple ways seaweed can structure coastal marine communities as a food source and habitat as well as protective these coastlines. I have currently been working in Irish kelp forests for two and a half years, and I’m looking forward to two more on our recently funding EPA-Ireland research project. Irish marine systems are a unique habitat in the NE Atlantic and it’s been very exciting (in all meanings of the word) to work here!

Tania Malik, Postdoctoral researcher, UCD

I am Tania Malik originally from Pakistan. I came to Ireland for pursuing PhD in heterogeneous computing . For that, I Won IRCSET (Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology, Ireland) and IBM EPS scholarship during May 2012 and joined UCD. During the last year of my PhD, I got a job offer and worked as Research software Engineer in DCU. That year was really tough for me as I was blessed with baby girl during that time and running job and PhD in parallel with a motherhood.

However, I completed my PhD on time in 2016 and before the end of that job contract I immediately got a Postdoc opportunity in UCD. Currently, I am working as Post-doctoral Research Fellow level 1 on the SFI funded project “Meeting the Future Challenges of Heterogeneous and Extreme-Scale Parallel Computing”. The project aims to address the challenging issues of parallel computing on modern heterogeneous and hybrid compute nodes, complex large-scale heterogeneous clusters, and extreme- scale infrastructures.

It’s been more then 3 years now that I am on hosting agreement. I like Ireland because of its welcoming environment for foreigners. For me Ireland is my second home. I like the multicultural diverse environment of UCD too. Being the only female in the HCL lab at UCD and now a mother of two under 5, I always encourage female students to become part of computer science studies in general and HPC community in particular because generally in Computer Science, there are far less females and often female students tend to have higher dropout rates than male students.

Also, being an immigrant women coming from a developing country and living as a ethnic minority in Ireland, I can better understand the challenges faced by the people of similar backgrounds hence, I always pro-actively contribute to educational outreach activities for international students in UCD. I also believe in knowledge transfer, it gives me the sense of purpose and helps to grow.

Dr Gabriela Martinez, Centre for Human Rights and Citizenship Education, DCU

I recently joined the Centre for Human Rights and Citizenship Education at DCU Institute of Education as a postdoctoral researcher exploring global citizenship, youth activism, and climate change education, in particular, the use of digital technologies in expanding these fields. Originally from Mexico, I hold a PhD in Education and a Master’s Degree in Educational Research from the University of Cambridge. I am a member of the National System of Researchers in Mexico, certified by the Council of Science and Technology and before joining DCU she was a postdoctoral fellow at the Centro Brasileiro de Analise e Planejamento in São Paulo, Brazil. I have been affiliated with the Centre for Governance and Human Rights of the University of Cambridge, and also the Centre for Socio-legal Studies of the University of Oxford, where I collaborated in the UNESCO-funded project “Countering Online Hate Speech.”

As an educational consultant, I work alongside organisations to assess their educational and training needs in order to develop their programmes accordingly. I am the author of textbooks and educational materials on issues of citizenship, democracy and human rights that have sold more than 1,000,000 copies in Mexico over the last school years.

Sabrina Dekker, Irish Climate Policy Evaluation, DCU

I hold a PhD from University College Dublin’s School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy, a Master of Public Affairs from Sciences Po Paris, a Masters in Public Policy from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore and a BA from the University of British Columbia.

In July 2018 I joined DCU as a postdoctoral researcher for the Irish Climate Policy Evaluation project under a hosting agreement supported by the IUA. Prior to this I was a Climate Change Researcher with Codema; developing the Climate Change Action Plans for the four Dublin local authorities. I has experience in renewable energy, community and economic development, environmental policy, and public health. I enjoys researching climate policy and contributing to Ireland's transition to a low carbon future.