Two PhDs in the field of agriculture have been conferred by South East Technological University (SETU) at its Wexford campus.

Lucie Cases and Tapiwa Zengeza successfully completed Doctor of Philosophy degrees and joined thousands of other SETU students in graduation celebrations across the region in the past weeks.

Lucie (who was not present at the ceremony) is from France, and completed her PhD thesis titled Developing Protein Rich Crops for Ireland, under the supervision of Dr John Carroll of SETU and the co-supervision of Dr Sheila Alves of Teagasc.

Her studies were funded by the Department of Agriculture.

Tawipa, who hails from Zimbabwe, came to Ireland in 2022.

Under the supervision of Dr John Carroll and co-supervisors Dr Atikur Rahman of Teagasc and Dr Tony Woodcock of SETU, he carried out his research with South East Regional Development research funding.

His PhD thesis is titled, Identifying and Quantifying Limitations to Oat Yield under Irish Conditions.

Dedicated students

Prof Harriet Dunbar-Morris, chief academic officer and deputy president of SETU, who presided over the conferring ceremony in Wexford said: 

“It’s a real privilege to see our dedicated students receive their Doctor of Philosophy awards and to know that their research has proven so important.

"It’s also a major milestone for the Summerhill Road campus in Wexford to confer two PhD students; no doubt they have very bright futures ahead.”

Dr John Carroll concurred: “Lucie and Tapiwa have excelled in their areas of research and have provided extremely beneficial insights to agricultural policy, science and farming in Ireland.

"I was delighted to lead their supervision and follow the progress of their PhDs, which they worked on so diligently throughout their time at SETU.”