I am an Entrepreneurial Specialist and facilitator at the UCD Innovation Academy. I am passionate about education and eager to work on developing a new way of learning through the concept of Entrepreneurial Pedagogical Methods.
I am currently working as the Programme Director at the Innovation Academy for the Prof. Cert/Diploma for Creativity & Innovation in Education. I believe that everyone requires an Entrepreneurial Mind-set to overcome the challenges and to capitalise on the opportunities to succeed in work and life in the 21st Century. An entrepreneurial mind-set is one that combines the ability to identify and create ideas of value (social, cultural or economic) with the ability to learn through intentional iteration (learning from mistakes) and the ability to engage others through empathy, teamwork and effective communication skills.

I have been working in academia since 2012, lecturing at a number of Irish business colleges including Dublin Business School where I worked as the Course Director for Marketing for 3 years.  Prior to moving into academia, I accumulated over 20 years of entrepreneurial & intrapreneurship experience across the retail, services and distribution industry where I held senior supply chain manager and leadership roles. I hold an MBA from Liverpool John Moores University and I am currently studying for a Doctorate in Education at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David.

I heard about EPALE through a colleague but only recently accessed the platform on April 30th 2020. It may be too early to tell, but I feel that EPALE would be valuable.

This emergency situation brought on by the Covid19 pandemic has fundamentally changed my daily life.

I now work from home working on the development and the delivery of my programmes which were previously delivered in the classroom – classic entrepreneurial pivoting..!

Amidst the crisis I continue to learn new things, like how to use new technology and how to get used to a new way of teaching, through a various different video conferencing platforms.

To date I have implemented many new and innovative solutions. I have found new ways of interacting with my students in the virtual world. The difference between distance learning and classroom-style lessons is significant. The distance learning environment demands a lot more planning and preparation from the teacher.

My experience with e-learning, online teaching and virtual mobility has been positive, albeit with a steep learning curve.

I have no doubt that this experience will change the provision of adult learning moving forward.

From my experience, my pupils are responding and adapting remarkedly well to the changes as we all work through this together!

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