The Arctic Resilience Journal
From the Classroom to the Arctic Circle
Dr Niamh Shaw at a creativity workshop at DkIT, supporting Entrepreneurship
Sometimes the most unexpected projects come from a simple conversation. One afternoon at Dundalk Institute of Technology, where I teach Engineering Entrepreneurship, Dr. Niamh Shaw — Irish engineer, scientist, writer, performer, and one of Ireland’s leading science communicators — was giving a guest lecture on innovation in space.
She spoke about her upcoming expedition to the Arctic and her idea to bring experiments with her. My mind started ticking: What if we could create something that would let her document the journey, track the science, and capture the human experience in one place?
As I listened, I realised that the Arctic isn’t just a physical challenge — it’s a mental one. “It’s a place where resilience isn’t optional — it’s survival.” That thought became the spark for the Arctic Resilience Journal.
Why resilience? Why now?
Amanda Kearns - Innovation Researcher & Lecturer in Entrepreneurship, supporting young innovators at SciFest, Dundalk Institute of Technology
At the time, I was stumbling through my own season of upheaval — surgery recovery, business challenges, and a PhD that felt endlessly out of reach. Resilience wasn’t a buzzword to me. It was a lifeline.
And then came the question: What if resilience could be something you carried with you? Something you wrote into your day? Something that travelled into the harshest, most unpredictable places on Earth?
That’s how the Arctic Resilience Journal was born.
The Arctic Resilience Journal – created for Dr Niamh Shaw’s Arctic expedition
Designing a journal for the Arctic
With only weeks before Niamh’s departure, I sketched pages at my kitchen table: experiments, daily check-ins, quick wellbeing trackers, and simple prompts to capture small wins, calm moments, or gratitude. No design team, just a laptop and a deadline.
When the first copies arrived, I knew it wasn’t just stationery — it was a resilience tool, built for staying grounded in extreme conditions - something we all need in today’s unpredictable world!
We handed it to Niamh quietly before her expedition, a reminder that ideas don’t have to stay in the classroom; they can travel into the world and make an impact.
Why resilience matters
Dr Shaw with the Penguins on her previous Antarctic expedition
For me, this project was a reminder that creativity and entrepreneurship are inseparable. You never know when an idea will spark, and you never know how something you make will ripple out into the world.
For Niamh, I hope the journal became a small part of her larger Arctic story — “a place to hold moments of resilience, inspiration, and wonder.”
And for our students, it’s a reminder that you don’t have to be the one travelling to the Arctic to contribute to exploration and innovation. Sometimes your role is to equip, to support, to create the tools that help someone else do something extraordinary. And that’s every bit as valuable.
Students & community collaboration
DkIT student experiments
This project was just one piece of a much larger story of collaboration. Students at DkIT contributed experiments that travelled with Niamh — from testing electronic components in extreme conditions to analysing Arctic water samples back in Dundalk. As DkIT News highlighted, this expedition “showcases how STEM education in the North-East can connect directly with global exploration” (read more).
Local pride also ran deep. As the Dundalk Democrat reported, Niamh carried a flag to honour Arctic explorer Leopold McClintock, a fellow Dundalk native who helped solve the mystery of Franklin’s lost expedition (read more). Niamh put it beautifully: “Here I am, retracing Arctic paths, helping others see Earth from new perspectives.”
What’s next
The Arctic Resilience Journal isn’t for sale. It’s not a marketing product. It’s a symbol — of creativity, connection, and the fact that ideas born in small, messy kitchens and crowded classrooms can make their way to the ends of the Earth.
For ARK Health Group, it’s a reminder that our work — whether in gut health, training, or wellness — is part of something bigger. Resilience isn’t just in the Arctic. It’s in all of us.
❄️ Follow Dr. Niamh Shaw’s Arctic journey at niamhshaw.ie and stay tuned for more behind-the-scenes stories of creativity, resilience, and innovation.
L–R: Éadaoin Curran Clarke (Engineer & DkIT Lecturer), Dr Niamh Shaw (explorer & space communicator), Amanda Kearns (Lecturer & PhD researcher), and Mary Ellen Kelledy (Chief of Staff at Overhaul & Programme Director at DkIT). Together at DkIT, connecting innovation, resilience and exploration — from the classroom to the Arctic.
Study Innovation & Entrepreneurship with us at DkIT: https://www.dkit.ie/courses/bsc-hons-in-engineering-entrepreneurship
