For over 15 years PESS have collaborated with South African researchers at Stellenbosch University in sports sciences, coaching science, and adapted physical activity teaching and research.
We have been fortunate to avail of Erasmus+ mobility funding to enable Stellenbosch colleagues to visit UL several times, and for myself and PESS colleagues to reciprocally exchange and visit South Africa. We have published research together on golf biomechanics, quiet eye skilled performers, sports related concussion burden, and have delivered classes for our respective taught students.
In October 2024 the IRIS Irish Rugby Injury Surveillance research group spent a week in the Cape Town and Stellenbosch regions busily delivering talks, meeting with university research colleagues, and making plans with sport organisations for further rugby science research studies. I was fortunate to receive €26,000 to enable a large cohort of 7 staff and two PhD researchers to travel with two main aims: 1.Deliver teaching on rugby science and injury epidemiology to South African colleagues at Stellenbosch University (SU) and its regions, and 2.Develop and advance plans for future research studies with Stellenbosch University, University of Cape Town, and the South African Rugby Union. The travelling group included Professor Tom Comyns, Dr Roisin Cahalan, Dr Helen Purtill, Professor Giles Warrington, Lauren Guilfoyle and Kilian Bibby. Over the 10 days we planned future EU MSCA Doctoral Networks funding, learnt how SU’s Maties MaRooN Passport system helps track athlete illness, planned World Rugby tackle height law behaviour research studies, and reviewed the UL-SU student co-op placement arrangement.
International multidisciplinary collaboration is key in academia and the October exchange has been the catalyst in recent months for similar joint studies for IRIS with Bangor University, Auckland University of Technology NZ and NZ Rugby.
Prof Ian Kenny is Professor in Biomechanics in the Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences at the University of Limerick. Prof Kenny is co-Principal Investigator for IRIS and co-director of the Sport and Human Performance Research Centre. Ian’s research interests include the biomechanics of sports injury and sports medicine, sport and human performance, and musculoskeletal modelling and computer simulation of movement.
Contact Prof Kenny via email at ian.kenny@ul.ie or view his research profile on ResearchGate
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