Change-Makers Club returns on Tuesday, 3 February
Sligo and Letterkenny lecturers are guest speakers
Atlantic Technological University’s Change-Makers Club will host its first online meeting of the year on Tuesday, 3 February, at 1pm on Microsoft Teams, with ATU lecturers Kenneth Monaghan and Una Carthy announced as the club’s guest speakers.
In his short talk, ‘Reflections on Recovery: When Looking in the Mirror Changes Everything’, Dr Kenneth Monaghan will introduce the concept of 'Mirror therapy'—a deceptively simple but powerful neurorehabilitation technique that uses visual feedback to stimulate neuroplasticity after stroke.
Dr Kenneth Monaghan
Kenneth, a lecturer in the Department of Health & Nutritional Science on the ATU Sligo campus, will briefly explain how mirror therapy works; why it engages the brain’s motor networks; and how it can help “trick” the brain into relearning movement when physical function is limited.
To bring the science to life, Kenneth will share the story of a stroke survivor who regained meaningful arm function six months post-stroke using mirror therapy. He will also discuss how our Neuroplasticity Research Group at ATU Sligo is developing innovative, web-based mirror therapy devices to support home-based stroke recovery, extending rehabilitation beyond the clinic.
Finally, he will reference how this work inspired the title of his new book Lights, Mirrors, Action, including Chapter 15, ‘Seven Years of Good Luck’—a reflection on persistence, plasticity, and the unexpected power of mirrors.
Dr Una Carthy
‘Smarttalk Learning Pathway for German’ is the title of Dr Úna Carthy’s talk. The government’s Languages Connect Strategy has prioritised language education as having a major role to play in Ireland’s future prosperity. Both the HEA and Expert Group have highlighted foreign language upskilling as being an important factor in Ireland’s ability to trade internationally.
Nonetheless, empirical research has shown that there is a perceived lack of traditional curricular space for language provision in the TU sector. There is clearly an onus on the ATU to create new virtual learning spaces which will transcend both geographic and time constraints and bring language learning into the 21st century.
A lecturer in the Faculty of Business at ATU Letterkenny, Úna explains that this collaborative project has harnessed new technologies to create an online pathway for learning languages, with a particular emphasis on building oral competencies.
The project is aligned with two national strategies and enables ATU to create an innovative teaching and learning space for languages. The customised learning pathway widens access to language provision across all disciplines and could motivate third-level learners to acquire linguistic and intercultural skills, thus enabling the government to reach its targets for upskilling in foreign language competence.
If you would like more information, or if you wish to register with The Change-Makers Club for the meeting, contact stephen.glennon@atu.ie or donal.loftus@atu.ie.
Draw for FREE hoodie for those attending on the day.
For ATU staff only.
