Mayo researcher presented with Lero Research Award

TEN research projects are to benefit from a €1.3 million investment by Lero, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Software, based at University of Limerick.

Among the award recipients is Aghamore's Kieran Conboy, Professor of Information Systems at University of Galway.

Announcing the research awards, Lero director Professor Lionel Briand said the array of research topics selected for support shows how software is integral to every aspect of the world we inhabit.

The awards will allow the 10 exceptional Lero researchers across Ireland to hire postdoctoral researchers for two years to take on some really important work.

Explained Professor Conboy: “From large organisations such as Google, Apple and Microsoft, to national and European policy makers, everyone is trying to address the issue of responsible technology, developing policies, controls and laws for the regulation of technology. These efforts attempt to address everything from technology induced stress, phone addiction, social media bullying, bias, discrimination, and disinformation.

“To truly consider and cater for the responsible aspects of a technology takes time. Unfortunately, modern software engineering methods such as agile and continuous development (collectively used by more than 92% of developers worldwide) advocate high speed development. Development teams take part in ‘sprints’ and are measured by their ‘velocity’ and ‘time to market’.

“Developers are under pressure to continuously deliver some form of working software and are measured and rewarded based on speed of delivery. This emphasis on speed does not match the need for deep, thoughtful, and intricate design required to be responsible.

“The project supported by this award will critically analyse traditional research and development methods, tools and metrics, and will develop new and adapted ones for the design and evaluation of responsible technology. New practices and methods that developer can use to ensure an adequate balance between the need for speed and the need to be responsible will be examined.”

Other award recipient projects include researching the use of AI to accurately and swiftly delineate brain tumours.