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PhD Bursary - Irish Rugby Injury Surveillance
Location: University of Limerick, Ireland
Deadline: 17.00 Irish time (GMT) 28th of March 2025
Interview date: May 2025
Start date: Summer 2025
Duration: Four years full-time (structured PhD)
Description:
Applications are invited for a PhD bursary funded by the Irish Rugby Football Union to start in the summer of 2025. The project will be based in the Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences at the University of Limerick. The successful candidate will be supervised by Prof. Tom Comyns, Prof. Ian Kenny, and Dr Helen Purtill from the University of Limerick, in collaboration with the Irish Rugby Football Union Medical Department. The aims of the PhD will be:
The research will involve working with schools and medical teams to survey and measure the incidence, nature, severity and prevention of injury within the youth game, and conduct on-going monitoring of injury trends. The research will profile tackle related injuries in schools rugby and the impact of various tackle-related strategies on the injury profile of this cohort. Data analytics related to the profile of such injuries will be a focus of this PhD research programme.
With over 18,000 students and 2,000 members of staff, the University of Limerick (UL) is an energetic, research led and enterprising institution with a proud record in innovation and excellence in education, research and scholarship. The dynamic, entrepreneurial and pioneering values which drive UL’s mission and strategy ensure that we capitalise on local, national and international engagement and connectivity. The reference to UL as ‘Ireland’s Sporting Campus’ is very much as a consequence of the University’s strategy to create a world class sporting infrastructure. The building infrastructure is complimented by leading research facilities and staff from all aspects of sport and exercise sciences, the Sport and Human Performance Research Centre (SHPRC), and clinicians from UL’s Health Research Institute (HRI). Sport and Exercise Sciences within UL is ranked in the World’s top 50 by academic discipline.
Requirements:
For informal enquiries about the project, please contact
Prof. Tom Comyns tom.comyns@ul.ie or Prof. Ian Kenny ian.kenny@ul.ie
Application:
To apply, please send applications directly to the following e-mail address:
rugby.surveillance@ul.ie
The application must comprise two documents:
General information about the Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, the
University of Limerick and the IRIS project can be found at https://www.ul.ie/pess/research , https://www.ul.ie/ and https://www.ul.ie/shprc/research-the...y-surveillance respectively
Bursary Package:
€27k+ package per annum inclusive of tax-free stipend of euro€18,000 per annum, plus tuition fees at the EU rate, plus travel allowance, conference support, consumables, and laptop computer. International (non-EU) students may apply but will need to self-finance the balance of the non-EU fees. Funded by the Irish Rugby Football Union.
See https://www.ul.ie/media/52945/download?inline for international EHS PhD fees information
Location: University of Limerick, Ireland
Deadline: 17.00 Irish time (GMT) 28th of March 2025
Interview date: May 2025
Start date: Summer 2025
Duration: Four years full-time (structured PhD)
Description:
Applications are invited for a PhD bursary funded by the Irish Rugby Football Union to start in the summer of 2025. The project will be based in the Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences at the University of Limerick. The successful candidate will be supervised by Prof. Tom Comyns, Prof. Ian Kenny, and Dr Helen Purtill from the University of Limerick, in collaboration with the Irish Rugby Football Union Medical Department. The aims of the PhD will be:
- Support the research programme team to maintain implementation of their injury surveillance system (IRISweb) for the schools’ game in Ireland which allows for the collection, tracking and trend analysis of injury patterns (incidence, nature and severity), in order to identify possible injury casual factors and prevention strategies.
- Expand the injury surveillance system (IRISweb) within the school cohort in Ireland.
- To enhance the health and welfare of Rugby Union players across the schools’ game in Ireland by providing information on injury patterns that can impact on IRFU policy regarding injury prevention measures and by researching tackle-related injuries and on the impact of tackle-related strategies on the injury profile of Irish school players.
The research will involve working with schools and medical teams to survey and measure the incidence, nature, severity and prevention of injury within the youth game, and conduct on-going monitoring of injury trends. The research will profile tackle related injuries in schools rugby and the impact of various tackle-related strategies on the injury profile of this cohort. Data analytics related to the profile of such injuries will be a focus of this PhD research programme.
With over 18,000 students and 2,000 members of staff, the University of Limerick (UL) is an energetic, research led and enterprising institution with a proud record in innovation and excellence in education, research and scholarship. The dynamic, entrepreneurial and pioneering values which drive UL’s mission and strategy ensure that we capitalise on local, national and international engagement and connectivity. The reference to UL as ‘Ireland’s Sporting Campus’ is very much as a consequence of the University’s strategy to create a world class sporting infrastructure. The building infrastructure is complimented by leading research facilities and staff from all aspects of sport and exercise sciences, the Sport and Human Performance Research Centre (SHPRC), and clinicians from UL’s Health Research Institute (HRI). Sport and Exercise Sciences within UL is ranked in the World’s top 50 by academic discipline.
Requirements:
- Students will normally need to hold at least a 2:1 degree (or equivalent) in Sports Science, Physiotherapy, Data Analytics or a related discipline. A relevant Master’s degree will be an advantage, as will experience in completion of a major research project.
- Proven research experience and involvement in the Rugby industry will be an advantage.
- The PhD candidate will be required to travel independently to Rugby schools both locally and country-wide.
- The candidate must possess excellent written, verbal and presentation skills for both specialist and non-specialist audiences; excellent interpersonal skills; ability and experience in collaborating effectively in teams; familiarity with advanced statistics; an ability to work independently and with initiative at a high level of self-motivation; high level attentiveness to detail.
- This position is subject to Garda vetting and foreign police clearance.
For informal enquiries about the project, please contact
Prof. Tom Comyns tom.comyns@ul.ie or Prof. Ian Kenny ian.kenny@ul.ie
Application:
To apply, please send applications directly to the following e-mail address:
rugby.surveillance@ul.ie
The application must comprise two documents:
- One-page cover letter briefly outlining applicant suitability and motivation for the PhD research topic, and education, employment and research experience.
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) including names and contact details of at least two referees.
General information about the Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, the
University of Limerick and the IRIS project can be found at https://www.ul.ie/pess/research , https://www.ul.ie/ and https://www.ul.ie/shprc/research-the...y-surveillance respectively
Bursary Package:
€27k+ package per annum inclusive of tax-free stipend of euro€18,000 per annum, plus tuition fees at the EU rate, plus travel allowance, conference support, consumables, and laptop computer. International (non-EU) students may apply but will need to self-finance the balance of the non-EU fees. Funded by the Irish Rugby Football Union.
See https://www.ul.ie/media/52945/download?inline for international EHS PhD fees information