Dr Eimear O'Connor is a Research Development Consultant in the Graduate School. Eimear supports postgraduate students throughout their academic journey.
Background
With experience gained from Master's, PhD and Postdoctoral work, Eimear is able to identify areas where researchers may need additional support. She has experience in lecturing and training individuals in a variety of settings, and has used these skills to create and present appropriate resources for researchers.
Eimear has also worked in private, public and charity sectors in research and project management roles, and is able to use her vital experience outside academia to demonstrate to researchers their tranderfable skills and how to adapt research approaches to suit different settings.
Find out more about Eimear's career on her LinkedIn profile
Current roles and responsibilities
Eimear is currently based in the Graduate School and helps postgraduate students to develop and implement their research skills, including through resources and workshops on topics such as research design, time management, analysing data, communicating with impact, and academic writing. Eimear also hosts a MS Team that has approximately 300 postgraduate students, which facilitates resource sharing and engagement between members, and which offers a weekly informal “drop-in” session.
Eimear is also involved in the Graduate Gabble podcast and Research Culture at the Graduate School, both of which provide opportunities for researchers to present their research and engage in the research community.
Overall, Eimear is able to support postgraduate researchers due to her good understanding of research across different disciplines and of the current and future opportunities that researchers can avail of.
Contribution to specific research initiative or project
Eimear has created a 'Communicating with impact' series of workshops to support the dissemination of research. These workshops include: How to Identify Appropriate Academic Conferences and What to Expect as a Delegate; How to Create and Present an Academic Poster; How to Organise and Facilitate a Conference; How to Effectively Present and Communicate Your Work; and How to Network and Collaborate Effectively. Researchers also have the opportunity to practice their presentation skills and receive feedback.
Eimear runs these workshops throughout the semester so that researchers can attend at a time that aligns with their presentation schedule. The sessions have proven very popular, with high attendance and engagement and the feedback has been positive. Attendees have reported that this series has helped motivate them to present their research, know how to communicate in different environments, and appreciate the necessity of networking and collaborating in research.