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Maynooth University Inventor Trevor Vaugh and seven-year old James Smyth, RTÉ The Big Life Fix
The Big Life Fixer
Trevor Vaugh arrived to our screens on The Big Life Fix last year, bringing “a little humancentred design” to real life situations, and impressing viewers with his down-to-earth practicality and ease in front of the camera. Little surprise that the lecturer in Design Innovation at MU has become RTE’s go-to inventor in its programming schedule, also appearing in Home School Hub, and on The Business, on RTÉ Radio 1, detailing the history of PPE. The Big Life Fix made for compelling viewing, offering up a mix of designers, engineers, cutting-edge technology, and plenty of personality. But it also provided insight into the range of obstacles facing people with disabilities – among them seven-year-old James Smyth, who lost both legs due to a rare spinal condition, Caudal Regression Syndrome. Trevor, who heads up the Maynooth University Innovation Lab (Mi:lab), was tasked with finding a creative, effective and tailormade solution to James’ mobility needs. “When you see James’ garden, which goes for hundreds of metres, it struck me that a seven-year-old boy should be able to run through that garden and have a lot of fun,” Trevor explained. The solution needed to be safe, flexible and easy to manoeuvre on his sloped garden in Raphoe, Co Donegal. And importantly for a
seven-year-old boy, it needed to look snazzy to use around friends and family. “It had to be something that other kids would be jealous of. It couldn’t look like it was a disability toy -- it had to be cool and James is fascinated by dinosaurs,” said Trevor. After weeks of working, re-working and testing, he came up trumps. Enter the ‘Dino kart’ -- a nifty all-terrain green dinosaur with handheld controls that could be easily mastered. “We wanted to give James a big expression so it’s got these huge dinosaur roars that you can hear from the end of his garden.” The Big Life Fix was broadcast in March and April during lockdown – a tonic for our times. For this inventor, seeing design innovation brought to life was personally rewarding. “Working with such awe-inspiring people and trying to make their lives just a little easier has been the most challenging and humbling experience of my life.”
My Uni Life: a unique journey A
five-part RTÉ series has shone a light on students helping to change the face of higher education. My Uni Life followed the lives of seven students at various stages of their university journey, including MU computer science student, Alpha Ike.
From the challenges of disability and social stereotyping to later stage college life, the students represent seven of more than 5,000 students whose desire to succeed is supported each year by the
Access and Disability programmes run by Irish universities. The series provides an insight into their personal challenges over a 12-month period, as they navigate the current Covid-19 pandemic while trying to grapple with the move to remote learning. Speaking about his experience of studying while the nation is gripped by a global pandemic, Alpha Ike, a student from Cavan, said: “I think that an interesting aspect of the documentary is the way it transitioned from being about college life to capturing a piece of history for people involved. I was a different person at the start of the process, in a very different world, and I appreciated being part of the story of how people coped in this new world.”
