UCD In Conversation: A Virtual Series

UCD: In Conversation is an interview series featuring conversations with world-class academic and alumni leaders.

Hosted on Zoom on Thursday evening, these lively, virtual discussions will focus on critical global challenges and offer insights for uncertain times.

The series will reflect UCD’s Strategy 2020-2024 ‘Rising to the Future’ which identifies four strategic themes to focus UCD’s contribution to global challenges. These thematic pillars will carry through the conversation topics: Creating a Sustainable Global Society, Transforming through Digital Technology, Building a Healthy World, and Empowering Humanity.

UCD alumni are invited to tune in from home and submit questions for a Q&A session at the end of each interview. Our community of over 288,000 alumni is more connected than ever and there is no better time for us to rise to the future and inspire transformational change.

Dr. Tony Bates, Founder and former CEO of Jigsaw and Adjunct Professor of Psychology at UCD, and Dr. Sarah Fortune, Senior Lecturer in Psychological Medicine at the University of Otago, Dunedin will appear in conversation with Professor Eilis Hennessy of the UCD School of Psychology.

Dr Deirdre McGillicuddy, Assistant Professor in the UCD School of Education in conversation with Gary Broderick, Director SAOL (Women’s Recovery and Education Project) and Dr Hilda Loughran, Associate Professor in the UCD School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice, exploring the transformative power of community engaged learning.

Dr Ebun Joseph, preeminent leader, race relations consultant, Career Development Specialist, and module coordinator for UCD’s Black Studies module (Ireland’s first) in conversation with Dr Alice Feldman, UCD School of Sociology, Convenor of the UCD MA Race, Migration and Decolonial Studies, (a first in Ireland and Europe).

Dr. Cara Augustenborg, Environmental Scientist, Climate Change Champion, Broadcaster and Environmental Policy Fellow at the UCD School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy, will appear in conversation with Dr. Lisa Ryan, Assistant Professor and Lecturer in Energy Economics at the UCD School of Economics.

Sir Ciarán Devane, Chairman of the Health Service Executive (HSE) and Chief Executive of the British Council, will appear in conversation with Professor Orla Feely, Vice President for Research, Innovation and Impact and Professor of Electronic Engineering at University College Dublin.

Dr Colin Keogh, co-founder of Open Source Ventilator and the Rapid Foundation and engineer at UCD’s School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, will appear in conversation with Colman Farrell, Head of Programme Development at the UCD Innovation Academy.

Author Colm Tóibín and UCD Creative Fellow will appear in conversation with Professor Margaret Kelleher, Professor of Anglo-Irish Literature and Drama in the UCD School of English, Drama and Film in a powerful conversation on the past, present, and future of art and crisis.

Can philosophy help us during a global pandemic? Join us to discuss how philosophy can help us live well in the face of radical uncertainty and spiralling self-doubt. Dr. Emma Farrell, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, UCD School of Education and Dr. Áine Mahon, Assistant Professor in Philosophy of Education, UCD School of Education will appear in conversation with Dr. Shane Bergin, Physicist and Assistant Professor in Science Education, UCD School of Education.

UCD alumna, Caroline Casey, award-winning social entrepreneur and founder of the Valuable 500, will appear in conversation with Martina Fitzgerald, political journalist, author and fellow UCD alumna. 

UCD alumnus, David Kavanagh PhD, Director of Clinical Partnerships at Genomics Medicine Ireland (GMI) will appear in conversation with Professor William Gallagher, Director of the UCD Conway Institute of Biomolecular & Biomedical Research, to give us front line details about how understanding our genes can help us in the battle with chronic disease and COVID-19.