Teaching & Learning Conference 2024

Dr Ross Woods | Higher Education Authority | Master of Ceremonies

Dr Ross Woods is Senior Manager at the Higher Education Authority with responsibility for the HEA’s work on the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, Healthy Campus, Mental Health and Wellbeing. From 2019-2023, he led the HEA’s Centre of Excellence for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion’s work on gender equality and other areas of equality, diversity and inclusion, such as race equality and ending sexual violence and harassment in HEIs.

Professor Sir Chris Husbands | British academic, educationist, university leader and public servant | Keynote I

Chris Husbands is a university leader, educationist, academic and public servant with extensive experience in public sector leadership, knighted for services to education in 2018. For eight years, he led Sheffield Hallam University, one of the UK’s largest,  most diverse universities, winning national awards for  teaching quality, enterprise, social mobility and community engagement, whilst reshaping institutional strategy, organisation and performance, and before that led the Institute of Education, University of London, a world-leading specialist research intensive institution rated first in the world in three successive years. He has more than 20 years of board-level and chair experience, leading national policy initiatives in schools, higher education and public policy to drive system-wide improvement, working across the political spectrum nationally and internationally; he has chaired the Teaching Excellence Framework, the Higher Education Statistics Agency and serves of a range of advisory and executive boards. His writing, conference addresses and journalism includes more than 750 outputs and he has lectured and consulted in four continents.

Professor Marie Clarke | University College Dublin | Panel Discussion

Marie Clarke is a Full Professor of Education and Dean of Undergraduate Studies in UCD. Prior to working in UCD she was a teacher in Liberties College, City of Dublin VEC. Joining the UCD School of Education in 1998, she lectured in the areas of curriculum studies, mentoring studies, followership, education history/policy and quantitative research methods. She served as Head of the School of Education from 2007 to 2011. In 2015 she was appointed Dean of Arts and commenced her current pan university role as Dean of Undergraduate Studies in 2017, where she has specific responsibility for overseeing undergraduate educational programmes and is a member of UCD Academic Council Executive Committee. She is leading at university level on the implementation of the Student Feedback System, Academic Advising, Academic Integrity and Ethical Practice, Online Assessment and Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) Standards. She is Chair of the Higher Education Authority Student Engagement and Teaching & Learning (SETL) Committee (2023-27) with responsibility for developing national policy in this area across the higher education sector.

Ronan Cahill | University of Limerick | Panel Discussion

Ronan is from Dromcollogher, County Limerick, a small town on the Limerick/Cork border. Ronan is a graduate of Business Studies with a Major in Accounting and Finance and is in his second term as the President of UL Student Life, which is the Students’ Union in University of Limerick. He is the first President, in over 17 years, to be re-elected in UL.

For the duration of his tenure Ronan and the rest of the officer team will all be working towards the same common goal — to better the lives and experiences of all UL Students. This will involve lobbying to higher authorities at UL and indeed at a national level to make sure that student voices are heard.

Ronan is passionate about representation and is committed to doing do everything in his power to make sure that students’ problems and issues are recognised, acknowledged and acted upon. Observing that UL has people from all different walks of life, Ronan wants to make sure that all students’ voices are heard!

Frances O Connell | Technological University of the Shannon | Panel Discussion | Spotlight Presentation III

Frances is part of the TUS executive management team implementing an inaugural remit in the Technological University Sector. Her management and education experience in Athlone Institute of Technology, Limerick Institute of Technology, in higher education, and in her wider career to date, is informing her role as Vice President for Student Education and Experience in the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) since December 2021.

Her remit includes student affairs & services, library services, teaching and learning, student transition and success, and student societies. A very busy brief that has entailed in-depth strategic planning and reviews in the past three years working to assure the efficiency and effectiveness of these provisions.

Frances has held several senior management positions, which have required her demonstration of a combination of in-depth knowledge and significant organisational, management, and leadership skills over the four decades of her career to-date. She has successfully led large scale teams working on complex transformational projects, both in Ireland and internationally, in the full range of sectors including the civil service, the public service, the private sector, and as a senior management consultant.

Frances is part of many strategic, sectoral initiatives and project bringing positive change in the higher education sector. She is one of the leads on the conceptual design and implementation of a large-scale European funded project (NTUTORR) that is addressing transformational change in teaching, learning, and assessment in the sector. She is also an active committee member on the HEA Student Engagement and Teaching and Learning Committee.

She is using her knowledge and direct experience as Registrar and Vice President for Academic Affairs during COVID-19 to shape new practices and infrastructural developments that will improve the students’ educational experience in the sector. All of her work is grounded and predicated on ensuring the equity and diversity of access to and participation in higher education for those who seek to avail of the critical opportunity it brings to students, their family, and their community.

Dr Ciaran Dunne | Dublin City University | Panel Discussion

Dr Ciarán Dunne is the first Transversal Skills Director for Dublin City University (DCU), a unique role in higher education both nationally and internationally, focused on designing strategies that develop, integrate, assess and evidence students’ transversal skills in a rigorous and innovative manner. He is also a member of Ireland’s National Skills Council, advising the government on the national skills policy. Prior to taking on this role and following on from his experience working in both the public and private sector, Ciarán was Associate Professor in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in DCU, lecturing across multiple disciplines, including Sociology, Social Entrepreneurship, Creative Thinking, Futures Literacy, Intercultural Studies, and Spanish Language. He is passionate about creativity, and his ‘Talking Creativity’ podcast explores how this innate human capacity can be cultivated both individually and collectively.

Roisín Morris-Drennan | Quality & Qualifications Ireland | Panel Discussion

Roisín is Senior Manager, Research & Innovation at Quality & Qualifications Ireland (QQI). Her work involves system-level research and analysis of trends, activity, policy and practice of relevance to the quality of Irish tertiary education, training, and awards. Roisín also leads QQI’s Rethinking Assessment programme, which seeks to inject fresh impetus in thinking about assessment, support innovation and update QQI’s guidance infrastructure on assessment. She is also currently managing a project on work-integrated learning, involving the production of a typology of work-integrated learning in Ireland and statutory quality assurance guidelines in this space.

Tim Conlon | Higher Education Authority | Panel Discussion | Closing Remarks

Tim Conlon is Head of Policy and Strategic Planning, Teaching & Learning, and System Development & Performance Management at the Higher Education Authority. He has worked at the HEA for over twenty years, holding various posts at the Irish Research Council, HEA Research and Infrastructure, System Development, and in Policy and Planning. Tim has worked on strategic instruments designed to enhance national research output, improve ICT skills provision, and provide for labour market activation. He has carried out research on the nature of relationships between business, enterprise, and academia, as well as on research prioritisation. He has led and conducted quality reviews in broad areas, from architecture education provision and international quality assurance to reviews of arts and medical education provision, as well as the allocation of degree-awarding powers. Tim also oversaw the assessment process that created Ireland’s Technological Universities. He has co-chaired the European Higher Education Area Bologna Process Follow Up (BFUG) Working Group on Learning and Teaching and is currently Co-Chair of the National Open Research Forum (NORF), leading efforts to advance Ireland’s national open research agenda and promote open science practices across the research community.

Colin Lowry | Higher Education Authority | Executive Briefing

Colin Lowry is Senior Manager for Teaching and Learning, Enhancement, and Digital Innovation at the Higher Education Authority. Colin has led the technical implementation of several key projects including the UNESCO Laureate Prize-winning National Resource Hub, OpenCourses.ie for professional development, and the DELTA Award programme for recognising teaching excellence. Before joining the HEA National Forum, Colin worked as a Digital Transformation Consultant, advising organisations across various sectors on strategy, change management, and digital innovation.

Dr Mark Kelly | Higher Education Authority | Executive Briefing

Dr. Mark Kelly is currently on secondment with the Higher Education Authority National Forum as a policy advisor on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Mark is the Head of the ATU Galway-Mayo Centre for Sustainability and a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Building and Civil Engineering.

Dr Sharon McGreevy | Higher Education Authority | Executive Briefing

Dr Sharon McGreevy is currently seconded from Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT) to focus on Professional Development, Recognition, and the Impact of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. Her role will support the continued development of teaching excellence and its recognition across the sector. Sharon formerly lectured in Strategic Human Resource Management and was Programme Chair of the M.Bus (Equality, Diversity & Inclusion) programme at IADT. She was recently awarded academic fellowship of CIPD.

Sharon has previously worked as an academic in both the private (Griffith College, Dublin) and not for profit sectors (NCI) of Higher Education in Ireland. Sharon recently successfully defended her doctorate which explored the changing roles of academics in Irish Institutes of Technology and Technological Universities. Sharon has acted as an external examiner for Human resource management programmes in MTU and DBS for both undergraduate and post graduate programmes. Sharon has recently commenced duties as an external examiner in the Institute of Public Administration for both under-graduate and post-graduate programmes in Strategic human resource management and Diversity, Equality and Inclusion.

Sharon’s current research interests revolve around the sphere of Human Resource Management, Organizational Development, capacity building and equality & diversity in Organisations, Sharon is actively engaged externally in a range of activities such as a panellist for Athena Swan in Ireland. In addition, she is a judge on the HR and Leadership Awards which advances best practice in HR and Equality and Diversity in organisations in Ireland.

Dr James O’Sullivan | Higher Education Authority | Executive Briefing

Dr James O’Sullivan is currently seconded to the HEA, where he is a Teaching & Learning Policy Advisor for Artificial Intelligence. He is Senior Lecturer at the Department of Digital Humanities, University College Cork.

He is currently Lead Researcher on CASCADE, a Horizon Europe MSCA Doctoral Network developed to train early career researchers in cultural and text analytics for identifying and interrogating how meaning is expressed in language across diverse contexts.

He is the author of Towards a Digital Poetics (Palgrave Macmillan 2019) and the editor of The Bloomsbury Handbook to the Digital Humanities (Bloomsbury 2023), Technology in Irish Literature & Culture (Cambridge University Press 2023), Digital Art in Ireland: New Media & Irish Artistic Practice (Anthem Press 2021), Electronic Literature as Digital Humanities: Contexts, Forms, & Practices (Bloomsbury 2021), and Reading Modernism with Machines (Palgrave Macmillan 2016). His research has appeared in a number of international peer-reviewed publications, including Poetics, Digital Scholarship in the Humanities, Digital Humanities Quarterly, the International Journal of Humanities and Arts Computing, and Digital Studies/Le Champ Numérique.

Rebecca Roper | Higher Education Authority | Executive Briefing

Expert Advisor for Teaching and Learning, HEA: Student Success, Project Lead, GenAI Champions Project – funded by N-TUTORR

Rebecca Roper (she/her) is a dedicated leader in enhancing student success in Higher Education through innovative approaches. As an early adopter of Generative AI (GenAI), she spearheaded the GenAI Champions Project, a groundbreaking initiative involving 36 students across seven Irish HEIs, focusing on students with learning differences and disabilities. The project has gained recognition at several conferences for its impact and inclusivity.

With over 20 years of experience teaching across disciplines including Film, the Arts, Business, and Humanities, Rebecca has a distinguished career that includes her tenure as Head of Teaching and Learning at the Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT), Dun Laoghaire, Dublin. Currently, she is seconded to the Higher Educational Authority (HEA) as an Expert Advisor in Student Success, contributing her expertise to national projects and policy.

Rebecca’s influence extends beyond the classroom. She is the visionary behind IADT’s acclaimed ‘First Year Matters’ and ‘Final Year Matters, Moving On’ programs, both designed to support student transitions in higher education. Her professional background as an internationally recognized Casting Director informs her teaching philosophy, having collaborated with prominent filmmakers such as Luc Besson, Christopher Nolan, and Oliver Stone before focusing exclusively on education in 2013. Rebecca’s ongoing contributions include her role as IADT Lead for the National Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) Project in Higher Education (HCI Pillar 3), Path 4 Phase 1, National Academic Integrity Network (NAIN), AISCHE, ECSB and Women in Film.

Professor Hannele Niemi | University of Helsinki | Keynote II

Hannele Niemi is a Professor of Education and Research Director at the University of Helsinki and was nominated as UNESCO Chair (Professor) on Educational Ecosystems for Equity and Quality of Learning 2018-2026.  She has been Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs (2003–2009) and a Dean of the Faculty of Education (2001–2003) at the University of Helsinki. She has been a Visiting Professor at Michigan State University and a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University. She has been rewarded as an honorary doctor or professor at four national or international universities. She has been a Chair of the University Board at the University of Lapland (2018-2023). She has led several large national and international research projects, including AI in Learning (2018-2022). She leads the DAIA project (Digital Academies in South Africa), 2023-2025. She has more than 400 scientific, previewed articles or chapters on education. She is a co-editor (Hannele Niemi, Roy D. Pea, & Yu Lu) of the book AI in Learning: Designing the Future, which was rewarded by Springer Nature in China in 2024 https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-09687-7. Read more about Professor Niemi’s work: https://researchportal.helsinki.fi/en/persons/hannele-niemi

Dr Sharon Flynn | NTUTORR | Spotlight Presentation I

Dr Sharon Flynn is the National Co-ordinator of the NTUTORR programme, working closely with senior academic leaders in seven partner HEIs to transform teaching and learning in the technological higher education sector in Ireland. Dr Flynn has experience working at a national level, leading the Irish Universities Association’s Enhancing Digital Teaching and Learning (EDTL) project between 2019 and 2022. Previously, she was Assistant Director of the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching at the University of Galway between 2006 and 2019. With a PhD in Computing Science from the University of Glasgow, she has more than 30 years’ experience of working in higher education in Ireland.

Niamh Plunkett | Atlantic Technological University | Spotlight Presentation II

Dr. Niamh Plunkett is Head of Teaching & Learning at ATU Sligo. Her role is to manage and develop the strategic planning of, and implementation of academic support programmes offered by the University. Niamh also manages and facilitates the provision of educational developments in the University including the establishment of the T&L Centre in Sligo; the progression of the ATU UDL Centre of Excellence and establishment of the Advance HE – ATU Engage programme, Academic Support Centres including Academic Writing, Maths and Engineering Support Centres.

Prior to her role at ATU Sligo, Niamh was Director of the Centre for Lifelong Learning at St. Angela’s College, Sligo with accountability for the strategic direction and development of the Centre.

Niamh’s undergraduate degree & registration is in Nursing Studies. She also has a Diploma in Management, Masters Degree in Education (Leadership & Management) and Doctorate in Education (Professional Development and Management of Change)”

Maureen Haran | Atlantic Technological University | Spotlight Presentation II

A national UDL leader, Lecturer Maureen Haran, PhD(c), SFHEA, manages the UDL Centre of Excellence at Atlantic Technological University. Maureen works with educational development teams to design and implement inclusive education practices at regional and national levels. She is the programme chair and Lecturer on the Post Graduate Certificate/ MA in UDL. Maureen has worked as an educator in both the Irish and American public education systems for over 19 years and has been an education reformer in working with educational development teams in both countries to design and implement inclusive education practices. She is currently enrolled in Queens University of Belfast undertaking her PhD in the field of inclusive education. Maureen continues to work on inclusive education initiatives by leading on continuous professional development of academic staff and actively works on nationally funded projects on Universal Design for Learning implementation within the third level sector.

Dr Owen Ross | Technological University of the Shannon | Spotlight Presentation III

Dr Owen Ross is the Head of Transitions & Student Success at TUS. With a wealth of experience in higher education, Owen previously held key leadership roles as Head of Department of Business & Management and Head of Department of Humanities at Athlone Institute of Technology. His academic expertise spans management, leadership, and communications, areas in which he has lectured extensively.
Owen’s research focuses on first-year student retention, student engagement, and completion. For his PhD, he conducted a mixed method evaluation that a faculty-wide Student Success Model (SSM) had on his department. His evaluation of the SSM demonstrated a significant impact, with non-progression rates reducing from 36% to 12% over eight academic years.

Currently, Owen oversees institutional strategies to support student transitions and to improve success rates. His work emphasises proactive interventions and data-driven approaches to student engagement, drawing on his deep understanding of retention and persistence issues. He is project lead for TUS’s flagship retention project, TUS Second Shot, which seeks to improve student participation and success rates in the autumn repeat examinations.

Dr Brian Gormley | Technological University Dublin | Spotlight Presentation IV

Brian Gormley is the Head of Sustainability Education in TU Dublin, where he and his team work to advance sustainability in the University, through capacity building, staff development, and education. TU Dublin’s strategic plan sets out that all academic programmes will have sustainability as a learning outcome, and the University was recently recognised as an AASHE Centre for Sustainability across the Curriculum – the first such centre in Europe.

Brian is a voluntary Board member of Green Foundation Ireland, and also of Connecting Cabra, an award-winning local sustainability group.

Orla Daly | University College Dublin | Spotlight Presentation V

Orla is the Technology Enhanced Learning Manager at UCD School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems, where she oversees the strategic integration of digital tools into teaching, curriculum, and the virtual learning environment, ensuring that innovations are grounded in evidence-based pedagogy to enhance student engagement and outcomes.

Liam Fogarty | University College Dublin | Spotlight Presentation V

Liam is a Senior Project Manager with the Educational Technology Services team at UCD IT Services. His work focuses on supporting teaching and learning through the effective use of educational technologies. He is also pursuing a PhD on interdisciplinary teaching and learning in higher education.

Sarah Thelen | University College Cork | Spotlight Presentation VI

Dr Sarah Thelen is a Lecturer in Teaching and Learning Enhancement (Digital Education) in the Centre for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL) at University College Cork (UCC). She coordinates the Certificate in CPD in Digital Education and teaches modules in Digital Education and US history. She also leads workshops for UCC staff on aspects of digital education including GenAI (Generative Artificial Intelligence), assessment strategies, programme coordination and design, student engagement, and learning design in addition to writing and maintaining the Assessment in the Age of AI guide. Sarah has published work in Teaching and Learning Inquiry, New Directions in Teaching and Learning, as well as in edited collections with her current research explores questions of identity, citizenship, sociability and serendipity in online interactions, and the intersections of GenAI, assessment and research.

Professor Denise Rooney | Maynooth University | Spotlight Presentation VII

Prof. Denise Rooney is Head of the Department of Chemistry, and she has previously served as Associate Dean of the Faculty of Science and Engineering in Maynooth University. Prof. Rooney is Project Lead of the Virtual Laboratories in Higher Education HCI Pillar 3 Project. The initiative brings together five Higher Education Institutions: Maynooth University, Technological University of the Shannon: Midwest, Dublin City University, Dundalk Institute of Technology and University College Cork. This collaborative venture, with enterprise partners and education technology providers will involve approximately 4,500 students across the five partner HEI’s over its lifetime. The project is designing a new curriculum to equip the next generation with the enhanced technical and work-readiness skills critical for success in the modern chemical sciences sector.

Dr Justin Tonra | University of Galway | Spotlight Presentation VIII

Justin Tonra is Academic Integrity Officer and Associate Professor of English at the University of Galway. His academic background is in the field of English Literature, where his principal research interests lie at the intersections of literature and technology. His published research comprises work in the fields of digital humanities, book history, textual studies and bibliography, authorship, and poetry of the Romantic period.