Two Donegal academics have landed prestigious Fulbright Awards which will see them spend a year in the USA.
The accolades have gone to Dr Caroline McGroary from Donegal town and Réaltín Mc Elhinney from Carndonagh.
Dr Caroline McGroary.
Dr. Caroline McGroary receives a Fulbright-TechImpact award and will spend a year at Boston College. There, she will conduct research exploring the extent to which organisations and individuals understand the cyber risks which they are exposed to, and whether they are adequately protected against these risks.
Dr. McGroary is a Chartered Accountant and Assistant Professor of Accounting at DCU Business School (DCUBS). She joined DCUBS in 2010 after qualifying as a Chartered Accountant with Deloitte. Since 2013, she has worked in the DCU campus in Saudi Arabia where she has been part of a university collaboration centered around the education of Saudi women.
As a Fulbright TechImpact Scholar, she will be part of the Cybersecurity Policy and Governance Masters programme at Boston College and will conduct research exploring the extent to which organisations and individuals understand the cyber risks which they are exposed to, and whether they are adequately protected against these risks. It is intended that this research will help in the development of cybersecurity education programmes for non-experts.
Réaltín McElhinney.
Meanwhile, Ms McElhinney will spend her year at the College of Our Lady of the Elms, Chicopee, Massachusetts
She achieved a first-class honours degree in Irish with Management Studies from Ulster University Magee in 2020. Réaltín has had a passion for the promotion of the Irish language since her early education in Gaelscoil Cois Feabhail. In 2019, she was a founding member and elected secretary of Glór Inis Eoghain, a newly formed committee to promote the Irish language in the peninsula. She is currently completing a Masters in Irish Language Translation, Interpreting and Professional Language Skills at Ulster University Magee. As a Fulbright FLTA, she will teach the Irish Language and take classes at College of Our Lady of the Elms, Chicopee, Massachusetts.
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney, USA Ambassador, Daniel Mulhall and Chargé D’Affaires, Alexandra McKnight will be addressing the awardees via pre-recorded messages at an online awards ceremony next Thursday.
Chair of the Board of the Fulbright Commission in Ireland, Professor Diane Negra said the Commission Board congratulates the awardees travelling to the U.S. in the coming year.
“It is exciting to consider the role they will play in the resumption and reinvigoration of academic and cultural activities.”
Executive Director of the Fulbright Commission in Ireland, Dr Dara FitzGerald said the programme is really about people.
“The resilience of our Fulbright awardees and alumni this year has been wonderful. The impacts of our partners’ and sponsors’ support, flexibility and vision are heartening, especially in challenging times as the world recovers from a difficult year. We thank our partners, the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Embassy in Dublin, the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Irish Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.”
