University College Cork (UCC)
University College Cork (UCC) is an internationally competitive, research-led university that plays a key role in the development of Ireland’s knowledge-based economy. Our institutional research strategy focuses on creating and supporting world-leading clusters of researchers, building on the research strengths of the University, world-class university, was founded in 1845 and combines a rich tradition of teaching, research and scholarship.
UCC is unrivalled in the quality of its academic programmes. Its courses are internationally recognised and some approximately 24,000 students take its undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. International students are part of a dynamic, multi-cultural community of scholars, academics and professionals. UCC enjoys a global reputation which draws 3,400 students from over 104 countries across the world. The university offers a research-led curriculum that attracts the highest calibre of Irish and international students.
Meet the Team
Noel Woods
Dr Woods is a Senior Lecturer in Economics at University College Cork. He graduated with a Ph.D. in Economics in 2005 and a Master’s Degree in Teaching and Learning in UCC in 2010. In 2007, Dr Woods received the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and a Staff Recognition Award for Enhancing the Student Experience in 2014. Dr Woods research interests include health economics, agricultural economics and teaching and learning in Higher Education. He has over 50 peer-reviewed publications. He has been involved as Principal Investigator and co-investigator in several high profile HRB funded projects. From May 2015-19, he was Ireland Principal Investigator for the ADVOCATE 6 country consortium that was awarded a €6 million Horizon 20/20 grant from the EU to develop oral health policies for the next decade. In October 2018, Dr Woods, as UCC lead investigator, was awarded an €80,000 Irish AID Grant in collaboration with Vietnam National University of Agriculture and the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Vietnam, to build capacity on economic evaluation of investment projects in Vietnam. Dr Woods has been involved on several outreach programs, serving in 2010, as economic advisor to the Ministry of Health, Malaysia in developing viable options on financing oral healthcare for Malaysians. In 2016, he was a member of the advisory board for GlaxoSmithKline, UK, in developing oral health policies. From 2017-2019 was a member of the lreland’s Oral Health Policy Academic Reference Group commissioned to develop the National Oral Health Policy – Smile agus Slainte (2019).
Monirul Islam
Dr. Monirul Islam is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Centre for Policy Studies, University College Cork. He is a dentist and holds a master's degree in public health; he completed his PhD in Preventive Dentistry at Okayama University, Japan. In addition to his role with the PRUDENT project, Dr Islam is actively involved in several international collaborations, including projects funded by the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) that target health promotion and health system strengthening in LMICs. Dr Islam’s research interests span preventive dentistry, global oral health, and health systems research, with a particular focus on how health workforce planning and public health strategies can reduce inequalities in access to oral health services.