Digital Education Conference 2025 at SETU

Kirra is an internationally recognised leader in online safety, celebrated for her emotionally intelligent, ethically grounded approach to building safer, more human digital futures. With deep expertise in systems thinking, digital wellbeing, and child rights, she advises global platforms, governments, and organisations on designing environments that are not just secure but empowering by design.

A strategic thinker and clear communicator, Kirra thrives in complexity. She bridges the gap between policy, practice, and technology with clarity and purpose, bringing critical insight to trauma-informed design, AI ethics, youth safety, and digital trust. Her work consistently centres the most vulnerable, delivering inclusive solutions that create meaningful, lasting impact. With decades of leadership across technology, governance, and online safety, she helps leaders bridge the critical gap between digital systems and the people they serve, before it becomes their greatest risk.

Australian-born and based in Italy, Kirra works globally across the UK, EU, Australia, the US, and New Zealand partnering with organisations that understand one thing clearly: protecting people online is protecting the future.

Kirra Prendergast
Human Digital Risk Management Across Smart Education in the Age of Digital Chaos

Professor Patrick Prendergast has experience in all aspects of universities. He was President/Provost of Trinity College Dublin from 2011 to 2021. Prior to that he held a number of key senior management roles in Trinity, including Chief Academic Officer (Vice-Provost & Deputy President) and Dean of Graduate Studies. He conducted engineering research at the highest international level as Professor of Bio-Engineering and founding Director of the Trinity Centre for Bio-Engineering, publishing over 250 papers on mechanobiology and medical device design. He has international experience of working at the TU Delft/Erasmus University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, the University Polytechnic of Catalonia, the Polish Academy of Sciences, and as a Governing Board member of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) from 2012 to 2020. Currently he is Research Professor in Trinity College Dublin. Research Web page at https://www.tcd.ie/research/profiles/?profile=pprender

Professor Patrick Prendergast
Chair of SETU Governing Body

David Denieffe is the Senior Vice President Operations of South East Technological University (SETU). With a career spanning over 35 years, he has held senior leadership roles that have shaped higher education strategy and operations. His leadership in quality assurance is internationally recognised, having chaired more than 100 programme and institutional reviews worldwide. At SETU, he plays a pivotal role in steering the university’s operational framework, ensuring alignment with academic goals and regional development. He leads in shaping and delivering a student experience that reinforces a culture of inclusion and belonging.

David Denieffe Chair
Student V Lecturer Debate on ‘I’m not cheating I’m accelerating my intelligence’

Gary Burnett is a Professor in Digital Creativity in the School of Design and Creative Arts at Loughborough University. He is an experienced lecturer who teaches and conducts research in Human Factors and Human-Computer Interaction. Gary’s research interests concern the human-centred design of disruptive technologies in complex contexts, including novel information and automation systems within future vehicles – and most recently, the impact of virtual/augmented reality and holograms in the Higher Education sector. Throughout his career, Gary has received over £20M in funding from industry, UK government, EU and charities – and has published over 300 peer-reviewed papers, with greater than 6000 citations in total. Gary currently contributes to the influential work of the JISC steering committee for Extended Reality in the UK, is an elected member of Innovate UK’s Immersive Tech Network Accessibility working group, and is Associate Editor for the international journal, ‘Virtual Worlds’.

Professor Gary Burnett
Ready Student One: Will immersive learning transform education?

Professor Vincent Cunnane became the inaugural President of Technological University of the Shannon on the 1st October 2021. Previously Professor Cunnane was President of LIT which he joined in September 2016 from IT Sligo, and where he had been President since 2014.

He was formerly Chief Executive Officer of Shannon Development until its merger with the Shannon Airport Authority to form the Shannon Group (2008-2013). Prior to that, he was Vice President of Research at the University Limerick, where he also lectured and researched (1990-2008).

Professor Cunnane is an internationally renowned researcher in the field of physical electrochemistry. He was Chair of the Governing Council of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) for 10 years and was previously a member of the board of the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research & Training (NIBRT). He is currently Chair of the Technological University Association (TUA) and was Chair of its predecessor organisation, THEA during the period when all four TUs outside of Dublin were formed. He is Chair of the President’s Council of the Regional University Network – European University (RUN EU).

Professor Vincent Cunnane
President, Technological University of the Shannon (TUS)

Professor Cusack is a multidisciplinary scientist with experience in senior leadership roles in universities in the UK. In 2021, she was appointed MTU’s inaugural President. She is guiding MTU through one of the largest transformation programmes in the Irish third-level sector, merging six campuses across Cork and Kerry into a new university.

Professor Maggie Cusack was appointed as the inaugural President of MTU on January 1st, 2021, by the then Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris TD. Professor Cusack has a BSc in Cell Biology, a PhD on the thaumatin protein and is still active in research on biominerals. Professor Cusack has held multiple leadership roles, including Associate Dean for the Faculty of Physical Sciences Graduate School, International Lead for the College of Science & Engineering, and Head of School of Geographical & Earth Sciences at the University of Glasgow; and Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the University of Stirling. She has served as Chair of the Learned Societies Group and was a member of the Scottish Government STEM Strategy Advisory Group; the Royal Society Partnership Grants Committee; and the Carnegie Trust PhD committee.

Professor Cusack has been the recipient of several awards, including the Saltire Society’s Scottish Science Award and the Schlumberger Medal. In 2011, she was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) and subsequently served a term as its Vice-President (Physical Sciences).

Professor Maggie Cusack
Munster Technological University (MTU)

Professor Veronica Campbell is a Pharmacology graduate of the University of Edinburgh and was awarded her PhD from the University of London. In 1998 she joined the School of Medicine at Trinity College Dublin, where she built a strong reputation in cell biology, pharmacology and tissue engineering research, alongside extensive experience in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching. Throughout her career at Trinity College Dublin, Prof. Campbell held several senior leadership roles, including as Bursar & Director of Strategic Innovation.

Professor Campbell served on the Board of the Atlantic Institute, based in Oxford University, and was the Chairperson of the Global Brain Health Institute of Trinity College and the University of California San Francisco, funded by Atlantic Philanthropies. She is a former President of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland (Biomedical Sciences Section).

In July 2022, Professor Campbell was appointed inaugural President of South East Technological University (SETU). Since taking up this role, she has spearheaded the University’s strategic ambitions to drive educational and economic development in the south east of Ireland, positioning SETU as a catalyst for innovation and excellence.

Professor Veronica Campbell
President, South East Technological University (SETU)

Dr Orla Flynn was appointed inaugural President of Atlantic Technological University in April 2022, having served two years as President of Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology. Prior to this Dr Flynn was Vice President for External Affairs at Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) for six years, and previous academic leadership roles in CIT included Head of CIT Crawford College of Art & Design and Head of School of Humanities.

Dr Flynn commenced her academic career as a Lecturer in Computer Science, holding undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications in Mathematical Physics and Computer Science from University College Cork, an MA in Management in Education from Waterford Institute of Technology, and a PhD from the Kemmy Business School at the University of Limerick. She is a current Director on the Boards of HEANet and the Technological Universities Association and has previously held Director positions on both Cork and Galway Chambers of Commerce.

Dr Flynn is a proud Deise woman, with roots in Lismore and Cappoquin.

Dr. Orla Flynn
President, Atlantic Technological University (ATU)

Title: From Seafloor to Smartphone: Digital Mapping, Marine Robotics, and Citizen Science for Coastal Literacy

Digital education and citizen engagement is rapidly evolving, driven by advances in robotics, geospatial mapping, and mobile platforms that connect communities. This keynote presents an integrated approach to coastal citizen science and outreach, showcasing how drones, ROVs, AI-enhanced perception, and the mobile app are transforming how we observe, teach, and engage with coastal and underwater ecosystems. Examples include seabed and shoreline mapping, underwater imaging for cultural-heritage sites, and community-driven reporting of marine plastics. These technologies not only generate high-quality environmental datasets but also support new pedagogical models, immersive visualisation, digital storytelling, and experiential learning. The talk will show how straightforward digital tools and real mapping data can support teaching, learning, and community understanding of the coast.

Professor Gerard Dooly is a lecturer in Robotics and Automation at the University of Limerick and Director of the Centre for Robotics & Intelligent Systems (www.CRIS.ie). He has over 20 years of experience developing advanced robotics and sensing platforms at UL. Gerard is the nominated responsible person for all UAS operations within the University and holds an Irish Aviation Authority license to operate fixed-wing and multirotor systems up to 75 kg MTOW. He is Principal Investigator on multiple research projects, including two European-funded and four nationally funded grants. His research spans real-time 3D reconstruction, SLAM, machine vision and machine learning, optical sensing, structural health monitoring, and automated survey and intervention systems.

Professor Gerard Dooly
Director, Centre for Robotics & Intelligent Systems Associate Professor, School of Engineering University of Limerick, Ireland