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.
Is this the most important election in US history?
Thursday, 29 October at 7:00 pm (IST) via Zoom
Join us on Thursday, 29 October at 7.00pm for a special episode as we mark the upcoming US presidential election. Arguably this is the most important American election since 1945, and possibly since before the US Civil War. There will be implications not only for the White House and Congress, but also on the fate of US democracy and the entire country’s values.
Our guests Professor Liam Kennedy, UCD Clinton Institute and Professor Scott Lucas Professor of American Studies, University of Birmingham will weigh in on this topic in a conversation chaired by columnist & broadcaster Sarah Carey.
Emma Donoghue and Sarah Moss
Thursday 24 September at 7:00 pm (IST) via Zoom
Emma Donoghue, award-winning novelist, playwright and screenwriter, will appear in conversation with Professor Sarah Moss, an award-winning novelist and literary scholar, who has just begun her tenure as Assistant Professor of Creative Writing in the UCD School of English, Drama and Film.
Fireside Chat with the Class of 1960 & 1970
Thursday 17 September at 7:00 pm (IST) via Zoom
Join us on Thursday, 17 September at 7.00pm for a special episode as we mark the Golden and Diamond Jubilee Reunions for the Classes of 1970 & 1960, which can’t take place in person this year. Take a trip down memory lane with Doireann Ní Bhriain in a fireside chat with Úna Claffey, Mary Finley Geoghegan, Bride Rosney, and Colman Pearce from the classes of 1970 and 1960 . Hear from David Andrews, Mícheáil Ó’Muircheartaigh and others on their memories of UCD. Who knows what tales will surface!
The Role of the Arts in Restorative Justice
Thursday 3 September at 7:00 pm (IST) via Zoom
Join us on Thursday, 3 September as we bring together Dr Marie Keenan, Associate Professor, School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice; Ailbhe Griffith and award- winning filmmaker Alan Gilsenan for a fascinating conversation about Restorative Justice and the Role of The Arts.
MoLI – a museum of the past, a laboratory for the future
Thursday 13 August at 7:00 pm (IST) via Zoom
Simon O’Connor, Director of MoLI, the Museum of Literature Ireland was joined in conversation with Dr Lucy Collins, Associate Professor in the UCD School of English, Drama and Film. Simon and Lucy discussed the immersive exhibitions on view at MoLI, including the exhibition on writer Nuala O’Faolain and the contemporary commissions gallery featuring a new film work by Alan Gilsenan. They also took a look at notable pieces in UCD’s Special Collections library.
COVID-19, Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing in a Crisis—A Practical Discussion
Thursday 30 July at 7:00 pm (IST) via Zoom
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.
The Transformative Power of Community Engaged Learning
Thursday 16 July at 7:00 pm (IST) via Zoom
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.
So What Next: Becoming Anti-Racist
Thursday 2 July at 7:00 pm (IST) via Zoom
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).
The Climate Emergency & COVID-19
Thursday 18 June at 7:00 pm (IST) via Zoom
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.
Leadership in a Time of Crisis
Thursday 11 June at 7:00 pm (IST) via Zoom
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.
Crisis Driven Innovation: Adaptability Through Technology
Thursday 28 May at 7:00 pm (IST) via Zoom
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.
COVID-19’s Impact on Creative Spaces
Thursday 21 May at 7:30 pm (IST) via YouTube Live to launch the UCD Festival @Home
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.
The Philosophy of Wellbeing
Thursday 14 May at 7:00 pm (IST) via Zoom
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.
It’s Normal To Be Different
Thursday 7 May at 7:00pm (IST) via Zoom
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.
Our Genes and the Fight Against Chronic Disease & COVID-19
Thursday 30 April at 7:30pm (IST) via Zoom
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.
