UCC researcher receives prestigious award for work with neurodiverse students

A University College Cork (UCC) researcher has received the Dr Garret Fitzgerald Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Higher Education Studies for a project on enhancing the learning experience of neurodiverse students in third-level STEM education.

Dr Niamh O’Mahony, a UCC Chemistry graduate has received the award for her project ‘One Size Does Not Fit All’, which aims to create a more inclusive and accessible educational infrastructure to suit the neurodiverse mind.

The scope of this one-year study is developing teaching and learning techniques for dyslexic students, equipping them with tools and skills to facilitate their learning and tackling the working world post-education.

Dr O’Mahony will carry out the research under the mentorship of Dr Eric Moore at the School of Chemistry at UCC.

She said that the project has been a passion of hers for several years and that she is excited to develop skills and techniques to support neurodiverse students in tertiary education.

“As a neurodiverse person who navigated the university landscape as an undergraduate and postgraduate student, I know first-hand where practices can adapt and develop for the better, enabling all students to fulfill their potential.

“Simple changes to current teaching practices will enhance personal learning, positively impacting typical and atypical learners alike.”