Our Team
The Convene team represents a diverse range of backgrounds, nationally and internationally, from across education and enterprise.
TU Dublin
Hugh McAtamney
As an Enterprise Partnership Lead, Hugh leads Convene’s efforts to develop new, accredited pathways into industry, with a specific focus on the creative and cultural sector. Before joining the Convene team, Hugh spent eight years as Head of the School of Media at TU Dublin where he cultivated deep links with the screen industry and developed post-graduate programmes in Advanced Production, Creative Leaders, Game Design and an Apprenticeship in CG Technical Art. Prior to that, he also served as Head of Digital Media and was a lecturer in computer science and game design. With more than twenty years of experience in higher education, Hugh began his career as a Virtual Reality researcher Digital Media Centre in the Dublin Institute of Technology. He led the development of Irelands first game design pathway from level 8 to 10 and an apprenticeship in animation, and has managed more than a dozen Springboard-funded programmes, among other industry-ready programmes in the creative computing and media industries.
Enterprise Partnership Lead
Hugh McAtamney
Norah Cussen
Norah has designed innovative approaches to fostering entrepreneurial and innovative mindsets in Higher Education. Norah is an advocate of entrepreneurial and innovative practices across disciplines. She has designed programmes that foster transversal skills to future-proof high education and graduates. Most recently, TU Dublin and UCD Joint Professional Diploma in Transversal Skills and Global Innovation Teams – an immersive internship.
Norah has worked on many research projects, published papers and presented her work at international conferences. Highlights of Norah’s research include her Marie Curie-Sklodowska Research and Innovation Fellowship with European Commission for Horizon 2020 researching Entrepreneurial Diaspora in India and Brazil. Her Doctoral Study developed a model for cultivating entrepreneurial behaviour in underdeveloped communities. Norah is committed to finding new ways to bring business and underserved communities closer together.
Enterprise Partnership Lead
Norah Cussen
Anne Greene
Prof. Anne Greene heads the Pharmaceutical Regulatory Science Team (PRST) in TU Dublin, where she is a senior lecturer and has spearheaded the development of several MSc and BSc Pharmaceutical Programmes since 1996. She has overseen the transition of 2 of them from face-2-face delivery to fully on-line, namely the MSc in Pharmaceutical Validation Technology and the BSc in the Manufacture of Medicinal products. She has supervised several industry based, remote students to PhD awards in areas of Quality Risk Management, Knowledge Management, Operational Excellence and PAT, and PQS.
Prior to embarking on an academic career, Anne worked at a senior level for several years in the pharmaceutical sector in Validation and Technical Management roles. In 2006, Anne took a 1-year sabbatical from DIT to take up the role of Training Director, for the newly established IDA funded National Institute of Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT), based in the UCD campus. Anne has a BSc and PhD in Chemistry from UCD.
Enterprise Partnership Lead
Anne Greene
Brian Murphy
Dr Brian Murphy B.A., Ph.D. [NUI], PGDip (University Teaching and Learning) is a Convene Enterprise Partnership Lead. He earned his doctorate in Modern Irish History from the School of History and Archives, University College Dublin. Prior to taking up his current position in Convene, Brian lectured in the School of Hospitality Management and Tourism in City Campus, Technological University Dublin, predominantly on the Access Foundation Programme and the International Foundation Programme, as well as serving as the School’s Erasmus Coordinator. Brian also previously worked as a Tutor in the Combined Departments of History in UCD.
Brian’s monograph Forgotten Patriot: Douglas Hyde and the Foundation of the Irish Presidency was published in 2016 by the Collins Press. He previously co-edited Brian Lenihan: In Calm and Crisis, the 2014 best-selling book on the public career of the former Minister for Finance. Brian’s latest book, From Whence I Came: The Kennedy Legacy, Ireland and America, co-edited with Professor Donnacha Ó Beacháin, was published in 2021 by the Irish Academic Press.
Brian has extensive public policy and enterprise experience. He worked previously as a speechwriter and policy advisor in the Houses of the Oireachtas and in the Department of the Taoiseach. He also ran his own consultancy company, providing strategic and communications advice to a range of high profile companies. Brian is currently a director of the Kennedy Summer School, New Ross, and a director of the John F. Kennedy Trust. Brian is passionate about sport, especially football, and he was a mentor on the Dublin Institute of Technology Elite Athlete Support Programme.
Enterprise Partnership Lead
Brian Murphy
Kevin O’Rourke
Kevin currently works as the Enterprise Partnership Lead for Convene's Work Package 3 (Curate & Assess) with oversight of the development and creation of enterprise-appropriate learning, accreditation and associated microcredentials. He also currently oversees the Convene Enterprise Fellowship programme. Previously he worked as Head of eLearning Support & Development with the Learning, Teaching & Technology Centre at TU Dublin (City Campus); as Digital Campus Architect; and on secondment with the National Forum where he worked on the national digital roadmap for higher education and an associated sectoral infrastructure review. He holds a PhD in intellectual history from University College London (2000) and BA/MA from UCD. Before joining DIT in May 2002, his professional career spanned advertising and publishing in Dublin, New York and London.
Enterprise Partnership Lead
Kevin O’Rourke
William O’Mahony
Since joining TU Dublin in 2016 as an International and Research Project Officer for the School of Computer Science, William has managed the complete project life-cycle of a range of international mobility projects and programmes within. During this time, William has effectively maintained and established a range of highly effective working relationships with key global partner universities and other stakeholders. Prior to joining TU Dublin, William held a number of Higher Education positions in Melbourne, Australia and London, England.
William has a BA Hons Degree in Business Management Studies & Sport Science from St Mary’s University, London, and recently completed a MSc in Project Management from TU Dublin.
Programme Administrator
William O’Mahony
Kat English
Originally from the UK, Kat spent more than 15 years working in strategic communications and digital marketing in California and New York before joining TU Dublin as the Convene Enterprise Academy Manager. Most recently, she led outreach and strategic partnerships for UCLA’s department of architecture and urban design, overseeing communications and marketing efforts to a diverse range of stakeholders. Prior to that, Kat served as Director of Digital at the Ad Council, the largest producer and distributor of public service advertising in the United States. Before joining the Ad Council, she worked at a strategic communications agency in San Francisco consulting with non-profits across a range of sectors including parks, urban planning, public health, transportation, and education. Kat studied Psychology at the University of Sussex in Brighton, with a year abroad at the University of California in San Diego.
Enterprise Academy Manager
Kat English
Peter Manifold
Since 2015 Peter has worked as an Instructional Designer supporting staff within the Technological University of Dublin to enhance their teaching and learning. He is committed to sound pedagogical design and the utilisation of systematic procedures as a means to bring about more engaging learner experiences.
As part of the Convene team Peter collaborate with Convene Enterprise Fellows, academic staff and enterprise experts to apply learning design and the Curate & Assess approaches to online and blended modules.
Instructional Designer
Peter Manifold
Sorcha Hyland
Sorcha builds, manages and supports the operational and relationship structures for Convene's Enterprise Mentoring Programme. She has over 12 years' experience in international higher education, mentorship programming, project management, grant-writing, volunteer management and community networking. Sorcha’s leadership is culturally-responsive, inclusive, and reflexive, informed by evidence-based practices in Systems Change, Human-Centered Design, Universal Design for Learning and Participatory Action Research (PAR). She has co-authored articles, book chapters and co-chaired workshop presentations (ECER / AERA) on creating rights-based pathways for diverse learners across the life span and from historically marginalised communities. Sorcha is a trained moderator with a multidisciplinary and international background as: assistant director for Kansas State district court Citizen Review Board Programme; administrator/grant editor for the University of Kansas (KU) Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CReSIS) and NASA’s Operation IceBridge; academic associate for KU Special Education Department and research assistant with KU SWIFT, a federal Technical Assistance Center for inclusive education roll-out. Sorcha also co-designed, developed and co-taught a 32-week graduate certificate programme on leadership in special and inclusive education. In the last year, Sorcha created Ireland’s first Young Film Critics programme–now embedded in the Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival; and she continues to volunteer-mentor on multiple youth-led film projects. Sorcha’s commitment to work-based mentoring and situated learning informs all of her teaching, research and service to date. She is a UCD graduate in Film Studies and a RADHARC Scholarship Recipient (2000-2001).
Enterprise Mentoring Programme Lead
Sorcha Hyland
Leslie Shoemaker
Leslie Shoemaker is an American from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who has resided in Ireland since 1992. Her career as a Chartered Counselling Psychologist has taken a variety of professional routes after completing her training in Trinity College Dublin. This includes maintaining a small private practice, co-founding and managing OCD Ireland for twelve years, lecturing in DIT/ Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin) since 2001 and developing and running an award-winning mentoring program, ESTeEM, for female STEM and apprenticeship students in TU Dublin. In 2021 Salesforce provided the funding for the Saer Mentoring program in TU Dublin, and Leslie was the Academic Lead. The purpose of the two-year initiative was to teach mentoring skills to professionals and to assist students from underrepresented groups with their early career mentoring.
Educational Developer
Leslie Shoemaker
Gerard Thomas
Joined Petroconsultants (Ire) Ltd in 1982 as Geological Draftsman. My experience from this gave me the opportunity to set up a small business providing illustrations and a hub for Geologists for an Oil & Gas fields project including a database of Oil & Gas fields. In 2010 I then joined Team Passenger Services at Dublin Airport, responsible for passenger safety and security. Gained valuable experience in working with the public. In 2011 I went back into the Oil & Gas business in Tullow PLC where I was a Data Manager/Analyst looking after all the Seismic Media and all data storage for the company. Tullow closed its Dublin office in 2020 and then joined the HSE as a clerical officer and completed my contract in the Dept. of Foreign affairs.
Assistant Staff Officer
Gerard Thomas
Kevin Delaney
Dr Kevin D. Delaney works as an Educational Developer for Convene where he educates in the areas of Creativity and Human Centred Design and Innovation for Enterprise. In addition he is programme chair of the level 8 Mechanical Engineering Programme and is an active member of the Product Design and Development Research Group within the School of Mechanical and Design Engineering at TU Dublin. He lectures and researches in the areas of Design, Innovation, Knowledge Management and Engineering Education. Previously he spent 10 years in advanced development and design roles in global world class companies in the automotive and connector industries. He is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of Engineers Ireland.
Educational Developer
Kevin Delaney
Convene is a collaboration between Technological University Dublin, UCD Innovation Academy, and enterprise partners working across seven major economic sectors: Tourism, Food & Drink, Creative / Cultural, Social Enterprise, ICT / Fintech, Medtech and Pharma.
UCD Innovation Academy
Suzi Jarvis
Professor Suzi Jarvis graduated from the University of Oxford with a BA in Physics and began her research career by organising her own industry sponsored DPhil (Kodak Ltd) in the Department of Materials, Oxford. This was followed by eight years of international work experience at the Joint Research Centre for Atom Technology; a Government Research Lab in Tsukuba, Japan, working in the area of nanotechnology. Towards the end of her time in Japan she was actively involved in the policy changes and restructuring which occurred across the science and technology sector primarily through her connections with the Science and Technology Office of the British Embassy. On moving to Trinity College Dublin in 2002 she gained experience in establishing major new ventures as one of the founding Principal Investigators of the Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructure and Nanodevices (CRANN); a joint venture with multi-national partner INTEL. During this time she also established a multi-disciplinary team pursuing a number of research areas at the interface between electrical engineering, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and botany.
In 2007 she took up the Chair of Biophysics in the Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research at University College Dublin. Recently her serendipitous discovery of patentable protein structures in a broad range of natural adhesives has opened up the potential for the biomimetic production of new biomedical adhesives (patent US 7,851,434). In 2009 she was involved in the Enterprise Ireland Business Partners Programme along with co-inventor Dr Anika Mostaert. Her group also has particular strengths in the development of novel atomic force microscopy techniques for bionanotechnology, and work closely with industrial collaborator, Asylum Research, an Oxford Instruments Company. Suzi was appointed as Founding Director of the Innovation Academy, UCD in 2010 and has been instrumental in driving the Academy’s development to date.
Convene Lead
Suzi Jarvis
Eleanor Kelly
Eleanor headed regional communications at George Soros’ philanthropy, the Open Society Foundations for nearly ten years in London, working across four continents. Before that she worked on strategic communications campaigns with a London PR firm. Eleanor is overall Convene programme manager and enterprise engagement lead at UCD Innovation Academy.
Strategic Partnerships Lead
Eleanor Kelly
Mairéad Pratschke
Mairead brings over 20 years of experience across education and enterprise, from teaching and publishing in the humanities, to collaborating on the creation of an online sports education start-up, to designing a new blended Executive MBA at Imperial College Business School, to developing Exec Ed programmes for London Business School clients. Mairead is Curate and Assess Work Package Lead from UCD Innovation Academy.
Education Innovation Lead
Mairéad Pratschke
Nikita Chiu
An expert in technology governance, in 2019, the Space Engineering Research Center named Nikita ‘Ad Astra Distinguished Fellow’ in Robotic and Outer Space Governance. And she was chosen as one of the ’20 under 35′ future leaders by Space and Satellite Professionals International, for her work on space sustainability. Nikita is part of Convene’s impact assessment team.
Head of Research and Impact
Nikita Chiu
Colman Farrell
Colman is Head of Programme Development at the Innovation Academy. He has worked with the Academy since 2014, working to grow and scale the Academy’s work, overseeing teaching and learning, and part of the Academy’s leadership team. Colman supports the overall management of Convene from UCD Innovation Academy with a particular focus on teaching and learning
Programme Development
Colman Farrell
Alan Morgan
Alan is an entrepreneurial specialist at UCD Innovation Academy. Before that, he had a 30 year career in sales and purchasing including in Roches Stores. Before joining the Academy he was an Operations Management and Marketing lecturer in Dublin Business School. Alan is part of the Enterprise Faculty Work Package.
Entrepreneurial Specialist
Alan Morgan
Jake Prest
Jake began consulting with secondary-level educators on educational technology. Here he put the expertise he’d gained building web and mobile apps for the likes of NASA and the US Air Force to good use. In April 2021, he heard the call of kindred bellies at the Innovation Academy, rumbling with that same hunger for learning that had set him on his new path.
Jake loves helping the UCD Innovation Academy to navigate our complex, digitally integrated world. He is key to our adoption of educational technology to facilitate remote learning. He’s also ensuring our graduates leave with a thorough grounding in digital transformation, so they can embrace the challenges they face in the future.
Technology Integration
Jake Prest
Maurice Knightly
Maurice has been an entrepreneurial specialist with the Innovation Academy since 2013. Before that, he spent 17 years as operations and trainings director at O Briens Irish Sandwich Bars, playing a key role in supporting this iconic Irish brand to grow almost 300 outlets. Maurice is the Accredited Talent Development Work Package Lead at UCD Innovation Academy.
Entrepreneurial Specialist
Maurice Knightly
William Davis
William co-founded FabLab, one of the first commercial MakerSpaces in the US and was among those chosen to found the Obama administration’s ‘Nation of Makers’. William worked in marketing at World Vision and later spent over a decade at Costco Wholesale, managing product lines worth more than $1 billion. William is the MakerSpace Facilitator, leading Convene’s MakerSpace and forging enterprise partnerships, based at UCD Innovation Academy.
Creative Makers Facilitator
William Davis
Eileen Diskin
A longtime member of the Innovation Academy team, Eileen has moved into this new role, bringing years of experience in creating and delivering programmes and initiatives, most recently a graduate diploma in design thinking for sustainability. Eileen is Global Innovation Team Work Package Lead for UCD Innovation Academy.
Educational Innovation Lead
Eileen Diskin
Thomas Macagno
Thomas brings over 30 years of experience across a diverse range of areas from software and product development in Silicon Valley, to leading sustainability practices in a UK engineering and construction company, to business consultancy on sustainability and most recently as Programme Director for the Sustainability Programmes at Chatham University, Pittsburgh, USA. Thomas is part of Global Innovation Teams and the Enterprise Faculty Work Packages. He will be channelling his sustainability expertise across all of Convene.
Education Innovation Lead
Thomas Macagno
Dorcas Reamonn
Dorcas worked as a Process Engineer for Intel after graduating with an engineering degree and a masters in e-commerce. She has founded various businesses, including an award-winning digital marketing company. Dorcas is part of the Curate and Assess Work Package.
Facilitation Specialist
Dorcas Reamonn
David Johnson
David was co-founder of the Data Science Campus, the data science and artificial intelligence research and development centre for the UK government. He’s a startup founder with over a decade’s experience in telecommunications including Google, BT and Comcast. David is responsible for finance, staffing and other operational support for Convene from UCD Innovation Academy.
Operational Innovation
David Johnson
Convene Fellowships offer educators from TU Dublin and UCD the space, time, and resources to explore innovation and creativity in their work, and collaborate with enterprise to anticipate, understand, and deliver priority and emerging skills.
TU Dublin Enterprise Fellows
Lorraine Carmody
Lorraine Carmody is 2021 Convene Fellow and Lecturer/Educational Developer at the TU Dublin Department of Computing.
Convene Fellow
Lorraine Carmody
Deirdre Ryan
Dr Deirdre Ryan is a 2021 Convene Fellow and lecturer in the field of intercultural studies & Cultural Intelligence (CQ) at TU Dublin. Her research areas lie in the field of internationalisation of the Curriculum, CQ, Transversal Skills and Continuous Professional Development in Higher Education.
Convene Fellow
Deirdre Ryan
Mariia Perelygina
Dr Mariia Perelygina is a 2021 Convene Fellow and lecturer in the School of Hospitality and Tourism at TU Dublin. Her research areas lie in the field of travel ecosystems, business models, digitalization and cross-cultural management.
Convene Fellow
Mariia Perelygina
Graham O’Neill
Dr. Graham O'Neill is a 2021 Convene Fellow and Assistant Lecturer at the School of Food Sciences and Environmental Health at TU Dublin.
Convene Fellow
Graham O’Neill
Andrea Curley
Andrea Curley is a 2021 Convene Fellow and a lecturer at the School of Computer Science (City Campus). Her research lies in the area of developing ethics within the computer science curriculum.
Convene Fellow
Andrea Curley
Elaine Foley
Dr Elaine Foley is a Convene Research Fellow. Prior to joining the Convene team Elaine worked as a research fellow at the Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment at Aston University, Birmingham, for almost ten years, where she was involved in the development and management of the clinical neurophysiology and neuroimaging service. She is interested in translational research which has real-world impact. A large part of her research focus to date has been on the application of advanced neuroimaging methods to the investigation of neurological disorders such as epilepsy. She has considerable teaching and research supervision experience at undergraduate and postgraduate level, and is committed to impact-driven research and teaching. She has taught on modules including Advanced Methods in Cognitive Neuroscience, Research Methods and Advanced Statistics. Working together with members of the Convene team, alongside other academic and enterprise partners, Elaine will assess and evaluate the impact of the Convene project on the regional innovation and skills ecosystem. She holds a PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience from Aston University, Birmingham, an MSc in Cognitive Science from University College Dublin and a BA/BAI in Engineering & Maths from Trinity College Dublin.
Research Fellow
Elaine Foley
Sylvia Healy
Sylvia has lectured in microbiology in TU Dublin’s Tallaght campus for 17 years and is the lead investigator for a postgraduate research project on probiotics. Prior to her academic career, Sylvia worked in the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector for almost a decade. In addition to her current role as a Convene Enterprise Fellow, she is also undertaking a Doctorate in Education in which she is researching the role of public health education in infectious disease mitigation. For her fellowship, Sylvia’s is developing a cross-disciplinary programme for people with intellectual disabilities.
Convene Enterprise Fellow
Sylvia Healy
Ciara Walsh
Ciara has lectured in the School of Food Science & Environmental Health for over seven years in food regulatory affairs, food safety, and microbiology. She is currently the work placement coordinator on the BSc in Culinary Sc. and Food Innovation for both the food, and brewing and distilling streams. Prior to this, Ciara worked in regulation and policy in the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) for seven years, and frequently participated in working groups in the European Commission and OECD. Her primary degree is in Food Sc. (hons) from UCC and she completed her PhD in Food Microbiology from UU, Jordanstown. Ciara is also a previous UCD Newman Scholar and worked as a postdoctoral research scientist in molecular biology for three years; including a secondment to the USDA in California. For her fellowship, Ciara is developing stackable postgraduate programmes in brewing and distilling.
Convene Enterprise Fellow
Ciara Walsh
Seán McHugh
Seán has been a lecturer in the Department of Computing at TU Dublin’s Tallaght Campus for more than 20 years. He has taught across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, particularly in the areas of database technologies and machine learning. Seán has a special interest in industry engagement and has pioneered the development of internship programmes for both the undergraduate and postgraduate Computing programmes. Seán's fellowship ideas is an on-campus internship; an innovative flexible and inclusive pathway to traditional work placements. For his fellowship, Seán is developing an On-Campus Internship as an innovative, flexible, and inclusive pathway to traditional work placements.
Convene Enterprise Fellow
Seán McHugh
Deirdre Kennedy
Deirdre is a lecturer/practitioner, with a background in multimedia practice, environmental activism and community arts. Informed by 21 years’ lecturing and practice in Tallaght and by prior experience working in Wet Paint Arts, coordinating projects such as the Tribal Project, the Big Bang and Inside Out, Deirdre is currently undertaking research investigating socially engaged creative practice in a higher education and community settings. A co-founder of Future Makers Collective, her collaborations with local, national and international partners have always enriched her teaching and practice. For her fellowship, Deirdre is working to increase student engagement through socially engaged practice in the creative, cultural, and social enterprise sectors.
Convene Enterprise Fellow
Deirdre Kennedy
UCD Innovation Fellows
Wolfgang Marx
Dr Wolfgang Marx is a 2021 UCD Innovation Fellow based at the UCD Innovation Academy. Dr Marx is also an Associate Professor in Historical Musicology and a member of the UCD Humanities Institute where he leads the Research Strand “Death, Burial and the Afterlife”. His main research interests are the representation of death in music, György Ligeti, post-truth and music, and the theory of musical genres.
UCD Innovation Fellow
Wolfgang Marx
Sophia Meeres
Sophia Meeres is a 2021 UCD Innovation Fellow based at the UCD Innovation Academy. She is also a lecturer at UCD School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy.
UCD Innovation Fellow
Sophia Meeres
Kate Frazer
Dr Kate Frazer is a 2021 UCD Innovation Fellow based at the UCD Innovation Academy. She is the Director of Graduate Research and Head of Subject Public Health and Community Nursing at UCD
School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems.
UCD Innovation Fellow
Kate Frazer
Bernd Justin Jutte
Dr Bernd Justin Jutte is a 2021 UCD Innovation Fellow based at the UCD Innovation Academy. Dr Jutte is also an Assistant Professor in Intellectual Property Law at the UCD Sutherland School of Law.
UCD Innovation Fellow
Bernd Justin Jutte
UCD Innovation Fellow
Jean-Christophe Jacquier
UCD Innovation Fellow
Jacob Eisenberg
Carla Perrotta
Dr Carla Perrotta is a 2021 UCD Innovation Fellow based at the UCD Innovation Academy. Dr Perrotta is an Assistant Professor at the School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sport Science at University College Dublin
UCD Innovation Fellow
Carla Perrotta
UCD Innovation Fellow
Deirdre McGillicuddy
Joe Houghton
Joe Houghton is a 2021 UCD Innovation Fellow based at the UCD Innovation Academy. He is also an Assistant Professor of Project Management, UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School.
UCD Innovation Fellow
Joe Houghton
Sandra Aungier
Dr Sandra Aungier is a 2021 UCD Innovation Fellow based at the UCD Innovation Academy. Dr Aungier is a special lecturer in the School of Veterinary Medicine, UCD. Sandra graduated from UCD with a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine degree followed by a Masters and PhD in Bovine Medicine. She spent twenty five years running her Dublin based small animal veterinary hospital. She served as a director on the inaugural board of the Dublin Animal Emergency Centre and helped organise its move to its present premises in UCD. Currently, Sandra teaches on both the veterinary nursing and veterinary medicine programmes.
UCD Innovation Fellow
Sandra Aungier
Michaela Davis
Dr. Michaela Davis is a a 2021 UCD Innovation Fellow based at the UCD Innovation Academy. Dr. Davis is also a lecturer, Radiography and Diagnostic Imaging at the UCD School of Medicine.