Overview
In this symposium, our first in Ireland for a number of years, we’ll be focusing on the role of academic leaders in delivering the excellent higher education system that students want, and employers and the wider society need.
The Irish Higher Education sector is facing a complex intersection of challenges and opportunities in an increasingly dynamic landscape. Environmental emergencies and sustainability imperatives demand institutional responses, while rapid technological advances - particularly in AI and automation - are fundamentally reshaping what and how we teach. These changes occur against a backdrop of significant demographic shifts and growing demand for higher education in the knowledge economy, creating opportunities for innovation in educational delivery and global partnerships. However, universities must carefully navigate these expansions while addressing mounting concerns around mental health, equity, and inclusion.
Success requires university leaders to balance strategic adaptation with their core educational mission, while fostering resilient and supportive communities for students and staff.
Event Information
Date: 28 May 2025
Place: Maynooth University, Ireland
Symposium aims
- Provide an open and supportive environment for leaders in the Irish Higher Education sector within which to share challenges and discuss solutions
- Enable the testing of new thinking and bold, disruptive or emergent ideas
- Connect with fellow leaders
- Share thinking and ideas about applied academic leadership aligned with the themes outlined below
Themes
- Reflective professional perspectives
- Developing knowledge and understanding for effective leadership
- Horizon scanning and 21st Century Curriculum: Exploring the macro challenges that are impacting society and how they will inform the Irish Higher Education portfolio
Who should attend?
This symposium is targeted at those who have a role leading learning and teaching. This includes those responsible for strategic planning and institutional leaders as well as those responsible for informing and implementing strategy such as Deans and Heads of School.
Programme
We are excited to announce a fantastic line-up of over 20 speakers from leading institutions across Ireland, with additional distinguished presenters joining soon.
Download the programme
Leading Educational Change in Irish HE Symposium 2025
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Keynote speaker
Keynote abstract
This keynote presentation will discuss the evolution towards entrepreneurial universities and the role of the university ecosystem. It will introduce the Open Innovation 2.0 paradigm, a new digital innovation methodology, and present a case study from Ireland's HSE Digital Academy, showcasing collaboration among multiple higher education institutions to drive health transformation.
A brief overview of the National Masters in Digital Health Transformation will illustrate how new technologies, innovative thinking, and novel organizational methods can transform a nation's health system. The presentation will conclude with a discussion on how technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality are changing education.
Facilitators
Our senior consultants will be joined by expert keynotes and panellists to share the latest thinking and enhancements in inclusive practice and belonging.
Panellists
Dr Sharon McGreevy
Teaching and Learning Policy Advisor
,
National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, Higher Education Authority
Sponsors
Explorance empowers higher education institutions with next-generation feedback analytics to accelerate the insight-to-action cycle. As a collaborative partner, Explorance aligns with institutions that embrace a feedback culture, where open and courageous conversations are encouraged to drive purpose, impact, and growth.
In an AI-driven world where feedback is a critical tool that can lead to improved decision-making, Explorance stands by the philosophy of "Feedback for the brave.” Committed to amplifying the voices of students, staff, and faculty, Explorance tailors its solutions for institutions to advance vital initiatives through student and employee feedback: Teaching Effectiveness, Learning Excellence, Student Experience, Staff Engagement.
Founded in 2003, Explorance is headquartered in Montreal, Canada. Working with over 750 organizations around the world, including 30% of the QS-Top 100, some of Explorance’s customers include University of Pennsylvania, University of Louisville, University of California, Berkley, University of Toronto, National University of Singapore, University of Manchester, NASA, Kraft Heinz, and Microsoft.
As a proud sponsor of the Leading Educational Change in Irish HE Symposium 2025, evasys is dedicated to empowering academic leaders to drive transformational learning and teaching.
Let the HE experts at evasys revolutionise how your institution leverages student feedback to inform strategic change. As the leading provider of student evaluation and insight solutions to the HE sector, with over 60 partner institutions across the UK and Ireland and more than 1,000 worldwide, we understand the unique challenges and opportunities facing Irish Higher Education.
evasys provides a holistic, integrated, end-to-end survey process that delivers not just data, but actionable insights crucial for academic leadership. This is significantly enhanced by our partnership with Student Voice AI, a system specifically designed for the UK and Irish higher education sector, trained on relevant HE data including NSS, PTES, and PRES.
Student Voice AI goes beyond standard analysis, providing deep categorisation and disaggregating free-text comments into detailed, nuanced insights. Seamlessly integrated with evasys, it offers a complete view of student feedback, combining qualitative and quantitative data to provide the strategic intelligence academic leaders need to enhance teaching quality, refine curricula, and foster truly transformational learning experiences.
Our dedicated UK and Ireland team, comprising senior managers with over 60 years' collective experience working within universities, provides expert implementation and ongoing support. Working exclusively with HE institutions in the UK and Ireland ensures a sector-specific focus that directly supports institutions in achieving their strategic goals.
Widely integrated with other education technology systems, evasys provides instant feedback reports for course and module leaders, alongside extensive, strategic insights and management information for academic managers, facilitating data-driven decision-making at all levels.
Discover how a central, digital system can enhance student engagement and retention, improve module and course leader engagement, and provide the strategic clarity needed for leading educational change.