As our postgraduate research students live and work in an increasingly digital and information-driven age, the ability to write and communicate in a variety of styles appropriate to a range of audiences becomes increasingly important.

The Graduate Studies Office organised this year's MTU Postgraduate Research Writing Competition. Its aim was to provide postgraduate research students from all disciplines across the University with an opportunity to develop their writing skills and communicate their research to society.

Students were asked to submit a written article of no more than 500 words. The writing to take on any form, but the piece to be original, solely the work of the author and not published anywhere else in any format.  A judging panel, drawn from across the University, assessed the entries on the basis of three judging criteria: content, clarity and creativity

The winners of the 2023 MTU Postgraduate Research Writing Competition were:

• In 1st place, the winning entry was titled ‘‘Extra! Extra! A New Contender Enters the Ring! Staphylococcus aureus vs Bacteriocins’ by Ellen Twomey, a PhD candidate in the Department of Biological Sciences 
• In 2nd place, with an entry titled ‘An investigation into the provision of trauma awareness training in the Irish Early Childhood Education & Care (ECEC) profession’ Catherine Sheehan, a PhD candidate in the Department of Sport, Leisure and Childhood Studies.
• In 3rd place, ‘Spotify for Genetic Engineering’ by Daniel Keaney, a PhD candidate in the Department of Biological Sciences

Read all entries to the 2023 competition below in ‘A snapshot of Postgraduate Research’