Student Prizes

ESAI Student Prize Competition 2026

Growing from strength to strength over the years, the ESAI runs a student competition at Environ. It is a great opportunity for students to gain recognition for their presentation skills. This year we had €3,000 in prizes to award for the best student presentations at the Environ Colloquium.

Prize winners were announced at the close of conference ceremony taking place after lunch at Environ 2026 on April 29th. Along with their award each winner was invited to submit an article on their research project to the ESAI Website and the ESAI Newsletter, and receive publicity from their sponsor.

Environ 2026 Prize Winners;

ESAI Best Oral Presentation (€500) sponsored by Environmental Sciences Association of Ireland. Sakshi Anand, Maynooth University for her oral presentation, Mapping the Bioeconomy Education Landscape in Ireland: Identifying Gaps and Building Skills for a Circular Bioeconomy Transition. Read more on Sakshi’s research here.

ESAI Best Poster Presentation (€250) sponsored by Environmental Sciences Association of Ireland. Kofi Dua Agyei, Dundalk Institute of Technology for their presentation, Does NbS Performance Drive Investment? Stakeholder Perceptions and Financing Mechanisms for Freshwater Restoration. Read more on Kofi’s research here.

Best Wastes & Resources Management Presentation (€250 & 12 month CIWM student membership) sponsored by Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM). Muhammad Inam Bari, MTU Kerry, for their presentation, Water Table Position Mapping in an Irish Blanket Bog Site Using Vegetation Metrics and Hydrological Monitoring. Read more on their research here.

Best Water Related Presentation (€250) sponsored by Centre for Freshwater and Environmental Studies DkIT (CFES). Prosper Kebaya, UCD for their presentation, Erosion-driven soil carbon dynamics in a headwater agricultural catchment dominated by microtopography. Read more on his research here.

Best Biodiversity Presentation (€250) sponsored by Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM). Ragna Hoogenboom, UCD for her presentation, The Effect of Elevated CO2 and Temperature on the Carbon Sequestration Potential of Saltmarsh Grasses Puccinellia maritima and Spartina anglica. Read more on her research here.

Best Social Engagement Presentation (€250) in honour of Michael Ewing sponsored by the Irish Environmental Network. Jamie Murray, Maynooth Unniversity for their presentation, BioCultúr - Proposing the need for a biocultural bioeconomy. Read more on his presentation here.

Best Natural History Presentation (€250) sponsored by Irish Naturalists’ Journal. Alejandra Vieyra-Ramirez, SETU, for their presentation, Ecological linkages between nematode and plant diversity in an Irish built environment: lessons on soil health. Read more on her presentation here.

Best Analytical Chemistry Poster (€250) sponsored by Eurachem Ireland. Rebecca Smith DCU. For their poster,  Engaging Citizen Scientists in PMT/vPvM Chemical Monitoring: A Community-Based Training and Sampling Approach. Read more on her presentation here.

CREDIT Best Renewable and Sustainable Energy Presentation (€250) sponsored by Centre for Renewables and Energy DkIT. Zak Hawthorne, DKIT for their presentation, Comprehensive modelling methodology for a Wells turbine through computational fluid dynamics. Read more on his research here.

Best Sustainable Food or Sustainability presentation (€250)  sponsored by Clarkes fresh fruit. Lilian Atira, SETU, for their presentation, Effects of recycling derived fertilisers versus conventional fertilisers on soil nematode communities in Irish wheat field trials. Read more on her research here.

Richard Fitzgerald Memorial Prize Best Aquatic Environment Poster (€250) sponsored by Eirinn Innovation. Mitch Wosinski, DCU, for their poster, Non-Invasive Marine Species Detection: Rapid, Field-Deployable eDNA Assays using CRISPR-Cas Technology in the MariBiome Project. Read more on their research here.

Micheal Ewing

Michael was always an environmentalist but he was much more than that. He lived sustainably and organically before it was a movement, and he made friends and built communities wherever he went. In 2008, he was asked by the Irish Environmental Network to help build their network and in 2010 to build the IEN’s advocacy arm, the Environmental Pillar, and the fifth national Social Partner.
Michael was also a member of the National Economic and Social Council and served as a member of the National Climate Dialogue Advisory Committee, the National Advisory Group for the Public Participation Networks and chair of the Green Party Policy Council. His passion for peace and nuclear disarmament led him to work with CND Ireland and meet with communities throughout the country to promote its ideals. After he obtained a masters degree in Environmental Science from Sligo ATU in 2003, he worked on a research project on the Aarhus Convention. From this work, allied with his facilitation skills, he became involved in the Irish Environmental Network.
His core skill was as a facilitator with an ability to unite and bring people along. Regularly working 18 hour days, he assisted the members of the IEN and the Pillar to work together and to trust each other so that the environmental movement had a unified voice on environmental matters. This legacy carries on today and the Environmental Pillar regularly meets with ministers and officials and nominates people to various bodies. 
It is impossible to sum up how important Michael was to the environmental community in Ireland and to the IEN and Environmental Pillar. Without him IEN would not be where they are today. He will be a huge loss, but his legacy in helping to build a vibrant environmental network and movement and his contribution to sustainable development, social inclusion and local democracy will live on He was and will remain a keystone of the environmental movement in Ireland. Michael is sadly missed.