CIT biomedical engineering graduate, James Fogarty, has won the Best Medical Engineering Undergraduate Project competition at the Healthcare Technologies Student and Early Career Awards 2015 Finals. James was the only Irish student shortlisted for the Finals which took place in London last month. James’ final year biomedical engineering project on “Design and Development of an Assistive Technology Music System for Sufferers of Cerebral Palsy - Music-ability” was supervised by Lecturer, Sally Bryan, and carried out in conjunction with the SoundOut organisation. The project was highly commended in the Engineering and Mechanical Sciences category of The Undergraduate Awards 2014 and was ranked in the top 10% of submissions to the 2014 programme which received 4,792 submissions from undergraduate students around the world. James has now commenced a graduate internship in Abbott Vascular in Clonmel and is planning to continue developing the Musicability system, which can be adapted for other users. Irish engineers are at the forefront of developing new assistive music making technologies. These technologies, which are being developed and embraced by the next generation of budding engineers, not only enable these musicians to compose and perform independently, but also in an inclusive environment with other musicians. CIT is one of six local funders of Music Generation Cork City, which is part of Music Generation, Ireland’s national music education programme. Two CIT engineering students designed and developed new assistive music technologies to help facilitate music making for the SoundOUT programme. James Fogarty and Nicola O’Mahony worked closely with the SoundOUT team, and the young musicians involved, developing specific technologies which would best suit the musicians’ needs. SoundOUT is a Cork based initiative which runs ongoing music education programmes in schools and community settings in partnership with Music Generation Cork City. Its vision is that adults, children and young people, with and without disabilities, have access to inclusive and progressive music-making and learning opportunities. Assistive music technology is used within all SoundOUT activities to ensure access for all abilities to meaningful music making. Further details on the design, development and testing of Musicability are available to view here.