Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) is a university-level education institution in the south-east of Ireland of 10,000 students and 1,000 staff. WIT is a leading research-intensive Institute with approximately 208 Research postgraduate students, and 149 PhD students. Undergraduate education, postgraduate masters and PhD training, research, innovation and community engagement form a dynamic continuum of activity.
WIT has 208 Research postgraduate students, and 149 PhD students. WIT is home to almost 800 international students from over 70 countries and places great emphasis on the internationalisation of the Irish student experience. Over the last 10 years Waterford Institute has successfully attracted over €141 million in research funding (e.g. PRTLI, SFI and EU frameworks Programme FP4 to FP7 and most recently H2020). WIT areas of R&D expertise include ICT and health sciences research. Researchers in WIT have substantial experience in coordinating projects and securing funding in these areas at national and EU level. As a result of its work on collaborative research projects, WIT has built extensive alliances with leading industrial and academic partners across Europe.
WIT has considerable experience in co-oridinating and leading previous European projects relating to occupational and health related stress over the years. As an example of excellence relevant to this field, in the year 2019/2020 WIT was awarded the followin,g as consortiuum leader:
Erasmus Plus Knowledge Exchange Student Stress e-Mobile Management (SSTeMM) is developing an end-user accessible digital mobile plarform of targeted work based education, competency training and in vivo selfrelfection learning opportunities to equip nursing students and mentoring workers to address occupational stressors (2019-2021). Total funding: €297,000
Horizon 2020 Digital transformation in Health and Care a Federated Artificial Intelligence solution for moniToring mental Health status after cancer treatment (FAITH)- FAITH aims to apply the latest Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data analytics techniques to better model and predict disease/treatment trajectories of cancer patients, with the goal of improving their quality of life and aftercare. FAITH will apply federated machine learning, which makes it possible to build machine learning systems without direct access to personal treatment data. Devices private to the patient will run their own personalised AI models, via the project’s ‘AI Angel’ application, while a global AI model aggregates the individual model learnings). FAITH’s ‘AI Angel’ will remotely analyse depression markers, predicting negative trends in their disease trajectory, giving their healthcare providers advanced warnings to allow for timely intervention. These markers are treated under several distinct categories: Activity, Outlook, Sleep, and Appetite, in accordance with the 3M strategy for population health: Monitor–Measure–Manage. Total funding: €4,831,233.75
WIT will organise a desk review of health issues referenced to the assessment of a Work Life Flow index. WIT will help pilot the e-learning content with some local end users and will fine tuning the content in response to feedback based on this pilot. WIT will then pilot the integrated WLF solution in Ireland with three partner organisations.