Education Matters Virtual Summit 2025
Early Childhood
All Change? Realising ALL children’s right to early childhood education and
care as a public good and public responsibility.
Professor Mathias Urban
Desmond Chair of Early Childhood
Education, Early Childhood Research Centre,
Dublin City University
Aishling Silke
Assistant Professor,
Dublin City University
Georga Dowling
Maynooth University
Primary
Session 1 | Teaching, Trust and Inclusion: Navigating the Changing Primary School Landscape
Catriona O'Reilly
Chair of Board of Directors, IPPN
Máirin Ní Chéileachair
Director of Education,
Equality, Research, and
Learning, INTO
Dr Brian Barron
Principal, Portlaw NS,
Co Waterford
Derval McDonagh
CEO, Inclusion Ireland
Session 2 | Primary Voices: Teachers and Children Shaping Curriculum Change
Professor Teresa O'Doherty
President Marino Institute of Education
Damian Fitzgerald
Principal, Cushinstown NS,
County Wexford
Maja Haals Brosnan
Marino Institute of Education
Caroline McGarry
Lecturer in Education SETU
Second Level
Shaping Tomorrow’s Schools: Innovation, Leadership and Sustainability in Post-Primary Education
Dr Ann Marcus-Quinn
Associate Professor in Technical Communication and E-learning,
University of Limerick
Dr Majella Dempsey
Associate Professor,
Maynooth University
Ryan Gallagher
Lecturer in Science Education,
University College Cork
moderator
Dr Sharon Coffey
Principal, Grennan College, Kilkenny;
Member of the Steering Committee for the Instructional Leadership Programme
Lizzy Noone
Education Officer,
WorldWise Global Schools
Further Education & Training
Session 1 | No Learner Left Behind: Voice, Access and Inclusion in FET
Nessa White
Executive Director for Transformation,
SOLAS
Dr Lindsay Malone
Director of Further Education and Training,
WWETB
Dr Bernie Grummell
Professor,
Maynooth University
Session 2 | Connected Learning: Advancing FET through Collaboration and Innovation
Pat Maunsell
Education Consultant/Trainer
Dr Declan Blackett
Regional Tertiary Manager, NTO, LCETB
Dr Sarah O’Toole
Regional Tertiary Manager, NTO, TUS
Dr Joe Collins
Director of Further Education and Training, ETBI
Mary Walsh O’Shea
Adult Education Officer, WWETB
Higher Education
The Future University: Pathways through Technology, Work, and
Belonging
Professor Veronica Campbell
President, SETU
Professor Tony Hall
Professor of Education,
University of Galway, and Director of Educational
Design Research, Designing Futures
Dr Sarah Sartori
Higher Education Strategic Project Lead,
SETU
Professor Jason Last
Dean of Students,
University College Dublin
Brian Mulligan
Consultant,
Education Futures
Research
Education, Equity and the Digital Divide: Insights from Emerging Research
Professor Rachel Msetfi
Vice President Research and Innovation,
Maynooth University
Dr Josephine Bleach
Director, Early Learning Initiative,
NCI
Ms Barbara Mulvihill
National Coordinator,
T-REX
Dr Finbar Horgan
Education Officer, PhD Candidate,
DCU
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