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The HEA ESD Self-Evaluation Tool is a voluntary, developmental resource that supports higher education institutions in reviewing and strengthening whole-of-institution Education for Sustainable Development. It helps institutions undertake structured reflection on current strengths, gaps and progression, identify local priorities and plan practical next steps.
The tool is organised around the five ESD to 2030 Priority Action Areas. For each area, it provides developmental descriptors across three broad stages of practice: Emerging, Established and Leading. It is intended to support dialogue, planning and quality enhancement.

This resource sets out five strategic enablers that can support the implementation of Education for Sustainable Development across all areas of a higher education institution:

1. Collaboration and commitment
2. Holistic and transformational practice, scholarship and leadership
3. Capacity-building and professional development
4. Student partnership, engagement and leadership
5. Reciprocal learning communities

The Enablers translate national and international ESD commitments into shared language, strategic direction and practical prompts for higher education. They address curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, campus operations, governance, leadership, professional learning, student partnership, research and reciprocal engagement with communities.

The resource is designed to support institutional reflection, planning and enhancement rather than prescribe a single model. It recognises institutional autonomy, diversity of mission and disciplinary differences.

This overview introduces the Higher Education Authority’s Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Framework for Higher Education: a connected suite of resources supporting whole-of-institution ESD across Irish higher education. It explains the Framework’s purpose, its relationship to national and international ESD priorities, and how its component resources work together to provide strategic direction, sector evidence, structured reflection, thematic insight and opportunities for peer learning.

The Framework connects curriculum, campus operations, governance, research and community engagement. It is intended for institutional leaders, educators, professional staff, students and representative bodies, ESD and sustainability leads, teaching and learning units, quality and enhancement teams, community partners and policy stakeholders.

Title: Gasta Talks – Open Education in Practice
Chaired by: Dr Tom Farrelly (MTU)

Short, high-energy 5-minute lightning talks designed to encourage broad participation and rapid sharing of ideas and experiences.

– Ken McCarthy (SETU)* – Open by Design: A Manifesto for Generative AI in Higher Education
– Angélica Rísquez (UL)* – Why Open Still Matters (Just Differently)
– Susan Horgan (MTU)* – Digital Inclusion in Online Learning
– Carina Ginty (ATU)* – Unlock Your Digital & Green Superpowers: Explore the AREA Discovery Tool
– Michael Costello (MTU)* – Partnership to Practice: Developing OER at MTU

Keynote Title: Opening the Future: Equity, Sustainability, and Promise in Higher Education
Speaker: Dr Robin DeRosa

Dr Robin DeRosa is the Executive Director of the Open Education Network , a global organization based out of the University of Minnesota that facilitates community care and collective action in open education to empower faculty, remove barriers to learning and knowledge-sharing, and enhance student success.

https://robinderosa.net/
https://open.umn.edu/oen

Sectoral panel exploring open education in Irish higher education featuring:

– Dr Pio Fenton*, Vice President People & Culture, Munster Technological University
– Liz Jolly*, University Librarian, University College Cork
– MJ Quill*, Vice President for Postgraduate Affairs, Aontas na Mac Léinn in Éirinn (AMLÉ)
– Dr Eamon Costello*, Associate Professor of Digital Learning, Dublin City University, President of the Irish Learning Technology Association (ILTA)
– Dr Leigh Graves Wolf*, Interim Director Of Teaching & Learning, University College Dublin

Title: Open Education: Supporting Policy and Practice Welcome and Opening
Master of Ceremonies: Dr Gearóid Ó Súilleabháin (Head of Technology Enhanced Learning, Munster Technological University)

*Gearóid Ó Súilleabháin*, Head of Dept. of Technology Enhanced Learning, MTU
*Professor Christine Cross*, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Munster Technological University
*Tim Conlon*, Head of Policy and Strategic Planning, Higher Education Authority.

Keynote Title: Open education in Ireland: capabilities, collectivities, and co-creating just futures

Speaker: Dr Catherine Cronin

Dr Catherine Cronin an independent scholar focused on critical and social justice approaches in digital, open and higher education. Catherine is co-editor of the open-access book Higher Education for Good: Teaching and Learning Futures.

https://catherinecronin.net/

https://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0363

Enhancing Student Engagement and Belonging through Collaborative Partnership is a Higher Education Authority report prepared by a UCD research team led by Professor Barbara Dooley. The resource provides an evidence-informed framework for strengthening student belonging across Irish higher education institutions. Drawing on staff interviews, Healthy Campus survey responses, and analysis of Healthy Campus and NStEP case studies, it identifies practical approaches to improving student engagement, wellbeing and inclusion.

The report frames belonging as a multidimensional and co-constructed experience shaped by social, academic, personal and environmental factors. It highlights that student belonging is affected not only by relationships and participation, but also by structural issues such as housing, commuting, financial pressure, campus spaces, timetable design and access to supports.

The resource is particularly useful for staff and student partners working on Healthy Campus, student success, student engagement, access, inclusion, mental health promotion, orientation, peer support, student partnership and campus development initiatives.

This landscape report provides an overview of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) practice across the higher education sector in Ireland. It draws together publicly available institutional strategies, HEA Performance Framework Agreements 2024–2028, Climate Action Roadmaps and ESD to 2030 progress reports to outline current approaches to embedding ESD.

Structured as a series of institutional case studies, the report highlights how ESD is being addressed across teaching and learning, research, engagement and whole-institution practice, and identifies opportunities for collaboration and shared learning across the sector.

This discussion paper explores how student success in higher education is understood, defined and supported in contemporary Irish and international contexts. It brings together international research, national policy and insights from student focus groups conducted in Ireland in 2025 to examine success beyond traditional metrics such as retention, progression and completion.

The paper presents a holistic and relational view of student success, foregrounding belonging, mattering, agency and wellbeing alongside academic and outcomes-based measures. It situates student success as simultaneously student-defined, institution-enabled and outcomes-oriented, and considers the implications of this framing for teaching, learning, policy and system-level practice.

This report presents findings from the HEA Student Success Survey 2025, capturing how students across Ireland define, experience and achieve success in higher education. Based on responses from over 3,400 students across publicly funded higher education institutions, it provides a national, student-centred perspective on success.

The report explores students’ definitions of success, the supports and enablers that help them thrive, and the barriers that can hinder progress. It highlights the relational and holistic nature of student success, encompassing academic achievement alongside well-being, belonging, personal growth and future readiness.

Leading Change Together: Case Studies from the Teaching & Learning Conference 2025 is a collection of case studies showcasing practice-led examples from the HEA Teaching & Learning Conference 2025, held under the theme “Leading Change Together: Building the Future of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education”. The resource brings together institutional and practitioner contributions spanning topics such as inclusive learning design, education for sustainable development, professional learning, digital innovation and AI in teaching and learning. It illustrates how collaborative practice across Irish higher education is shaping future-focused approaches to enhancing teaching and learning.

This document sets out a detailed, values-led framework to support the ethical adoption of generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) in teaching and learning across Irish higher education. It builds on the HEA Generative AI Policy Framework by translating high-level principles into concrete provisions to guide institutional policy, governance and educational practice.

The principles address five core areas: academic integrity, equity and inclusion, critical engagement and AI literacy, privacy and data governance, and sustainable pedagogy. Together, they provide institutions with a practical reference for navigating the ethical, pedagogical and organisational challenges associated with generative AI, while safeguarding academic standards, student rights and institutional autonomy.

This policy framework provides national guidance for the responsible and values-based use of generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) in teaching and learning within Irish higher education. It is designed to support educators, academic leaders and professional staff in making informed decisions about the adoption and integration of gen AI technologies in educational practice.

The framework focuses specifically on teaching and learning, addressing issues such as academic integrity, assessment design, equity and inclusion, AI literacy, privacy and data governance, and sustainable pedagogy. It sets out five core principles to guide institutional policy development and practice, while allowing for local adaptation and institutional autonomy.

The HEA Education for Sustainable Development Spotlight Series 2025: Case Studies Compendium brings together 115 case studies from higher education institutions across Ireland. It showcases how universities and colleges are integrating sustainability and the UN Sustainable Development Goals into teaching, research, curriculum design, assessment practices and community engagement. It offers a comprehensive picture of national ESD activity and provides an accessible resource for educators and policymakers seeking examples of practice-based innovation.

The report – Generative AI in Higher Education Teaching and Learning: Sectoral Perspectives – was commissioned as part of the Higher Education Authority’s evidence-led approach to policy development.

The report captures the views of staff, students, and leaders across the Irish higher education system on the opportunities and challenges posed by artificial intelligence.

It brings together insights from ten thematic focus groups and a leadership summit, involving over 80 participants from across Ireland’s higher education institutions, alongside student representatives and sectoral stakeholders.

The Higher Education Authority (HEA) is developing a National Professional Recognition Framework for Teaching and Learning to support the recognition of teaching excellence across the sector. The framework builds on the Professional Development Framework (2016) and aims to provide clear, nationally agreed benchmarks for effective teaching practice. It will help inform career development, support institutional processes, and promote a shared understanding of teaching quality in Irish higher education.

This report presents the findings and recommendations of the 2025 Expert Group review of the Irish National Framework for Student Success in Higher Education. Commissioned by the HEA, it explores how the framework and accompanying toolkit have been engaged with across the sector and outlines a renewed vision for student success that is inclusive, strategic, and evidence-informed.

This resource portal is dedicated to providing centralised access to policies, guidelines, and resources for teaching and learning in higher education in the context of generative artificial intelligence. The curated policies and frameworks offer authoritative guidance and practical support to inform and enhance institutional practice.