Ireland
PhD student on the EU funded Life Farm4more project led by UCD. Qualified Bachelor of Science in Animal and Crop Production - UCD. Travelled to Austria from UCD Lyons farm to execute key experiments for the project on multiple occasions. Used literature review to identify gaps in the research to develop a hypothesis and design experiments based on this. Authored protocols, developed excel sheet formulae, assigned roles to colleagues prior to trial initiation and wrote up reports post-trial. Developed presentation skills at annual EU life forums, internal meetings and presenting results to project stakeholders. Analysing, interpreting, and communicating data generated from various experiments and trials in Ireland and Austria and reporting to my supervisors. Communicating with European project partners in a cross functional team. Confident in written and verbal communication skills gained through liaising with project stakeholders and team members both in person and online. Developed positive working relationships with people at multiple levels within academia and industry. Reviewed, analyzed, and managed data using statistical software such as Excel, SPSS, SAS and Lumivero to draw conclusions. Developed new sampling and experimental protocols to showcase innovative sampling techniques and analytical technologies. Enhanced management and teamwork skills when communicating and delegating tasks to colleagues during large scale experiments in UCD Lyons Farm and Austria. Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office, word, PowerPoint, and excel. Knowledge of internet security combined with data integrity awareness.
I worked part-time for Coffey Group as a surveyor and maintenance man on the UCD student campus. This involved surveying and doing an inventory on vacated apartments during the Summer and Christmas holiday periods. I completed maintenance work if needed to damaged apartments. I worked as part of a large team and I gained great team working and analytical skills. I was the team leader in our particular group of 5 surveyors. Organisation and planning skills were also essential as we needed to have all of the vacated apartments in our allocation ready for occupation in Semester 2. I learned invaluable communication skills as group leader a role that was given to me by the Facilities Engineer. Teamwork skills were important as I had to be able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of others on the team. Organisation and planning were two key skills as when we went to a particular apartment block, we had to make sure that we had adequate resources with us e.g. mattress protectors, duvets, pillows, shower curtains, cleaning equipment, fittings, tools, etc. I learned a lot of new practical skills during this part time job as I had to fix problems such as broken bed bases, study chairs, kitchen cupboards and replace light bulbs, etc. I really enjoyed this part-time job.
For this placement I was given a lot of responsibility on Derek's farm while he managed the farm's shop in the local town. I was left in charge of mixing feed rations for pigs, sheep and beef cattle before feeding them all every morning. I also was left to manage the 400 turkeys purchased by Derek for the Christmas Market. My problem solving skills were greatly enhanced throughout this placement as I often had to use my initiative and I had to figure out my own solutions to various problems such as: fencing issues, setting up a new enclosed area for pigs on some recently purchased land, spreading farm slurry, moving livestock to new paddocks for fresh grass, etc. As a result, I felt that I matured a lot and my self confidence grew as my employer left me with so much responsibility and trusted me to get the jobs done on a daily basis. . During this placement, I again experienced what it is like to work under pressure as I was responsible for sorting out groups of cattle for the annual herd test on my first day. I learned new technical skills during this placement as I was taught how to operate the rolling machine used to roll the barley for the rations I blended to feed the animals every morning. At the end of my placement due to my hard work, commitment, flexibility as well as good time-keeping skills Derek offered me a part-time job . I took as a great compliment.
This experience allowed me to gain more experience in what it is like to study for a PhD in tillage. The student I worked with is currently doing a PhD on Oat Genetics and Agronomy. The research and analytical skills that I gained during my placement with Teagasc, Athenry in May 2018 were of benefit to me during this placement but I also developed new skills in crop research. I gained a lot of self confidence as the PhD student, Cathal McCabe, allowed me to work on my own in the lab some days. I was responsible for analysing and recording results based on the different experiments being completed. Examples of experiments I undertook include: threshing different samples of oat spikelets, separating primary and secondary grains, counting the amount of grains from each spikelet using a specialised 1,000 seed counter machine, recording bushel weights using the special lab equipment and taking grain samples in the cab of the combine harvester that were freshly harvested. Some of these duties were performed under pressure e.g. filling mini bags of freshly harvested grain for each experimental plot as I sat in the cab on the combine harvester. Attention to detail was extremely important during this placement.
INZAC trial research. This placement was also part of my Professional Work Experience last year. This placement allowed me to gain an insight into the work involved in studying for a PhD. During this placement I shadowed a current PhD student. I was responsible for a variety of important tasks which made a big impact on trial and experimental results. For example, I was responsible for grass measuring, dry matter calculations in the lab, faecal counts and collection, recording essential data under pressure, uploading data on excel, etc. My teamwork and interpersonal skills were enhanced as I had to work as part of a team during particular tasks. I worked alongside students from France and also with Farm Technicians. While working with the PhD student I acquired a new I.T skill using a program called Pasture Base- Pasture Base had a particular mathematical formula that converted the grass measuring results I inputted from various fields to graphs eg bar charts.