My broad area of research is organisation studies and in particular what are often termed 'soft skills' – challenging to teach, learn and then meaningfully deploy in the workplace. I am really looking forward to being involved in the Fellowship theme of 'Embedding Employability in the Curriculum through Work-Integrated Learning' and to exploring with a diverse range of colleagues how we might creatively inquire into this area and make a meaningful difference to the theme.

In the classroom, I engage students at all stages using assessments that emphasise a broad spectrum of competencies, including musical practice, ethnographic research, and professional communication. In overseeing the BA Humanities programme, I developed our third-year internship programme, which empowers students to recognise the skills that they have gained through reflection, and to be able to tell stories about their own mastery and value.

Currently, I am the Vice Principal for Teaching and Learning in the UCD College of Engineering and Architecture, and previously have been Programme Director for the dual masters degree programme between Columbia University and UCD (2020-2022) and School Head of Teaching and Learning (2018-2022). In 2021, I was appointed as Faculty Partner in the University for all Faculty Partnership Programme, and completed the UCD Professional Diploma in University Teaching and Learning.

My teaching philosophy highlights my commitment to engaged and participatory research and my research is applied, collaborative and designed to contribute to knowledge about practice learning. I am looking forward to engaging in the cross-disciplinary opportunities that the Fellowship offers and developing productive working relationships with colleagues on this Fellowship programme.

I am also the UCD lead on START, an Erasmus + project looking at the transition from secondary to tertiary education. I was fortunate to be awarded both a University Teaching and Learning Award and a Values in Action award for my partnership work with students. I eagerly anticipate the opportunity to forge new and meaningful partnerships with my students and colleagues as part of this Fellowship programme.

I received a University Teaching Excellence Award (2020) for scholarship in embedding student-led research in teaching and for my contribution to interprofessional education across health-care professional college programmes. I completed the Professional Diploma in University Teaching and Learning (2018) and was awarded the Universal Design Badge for Teaching and Learning (2022).

Inclusion has also been central to the SATLE-funded project I have been leading on pedagogical responses to generative AI in the arts and humanities. Our student partners have been actively involved in the project from the outset and I have learned firsthand the unique power and impact of their voices. I am delighted that the Fellowship in Teaching & Academic Development will give me the opportunity to better understand how to build and maintain inclusive student partnerships to promote engagement and improve learning.

My modules and programmes are grounded in systems thinking, emphasising the real-world application and implications for professional practice of key concepts such as person-centredness, person-centred care, person-centred cultures, human flourishing, collaborative practice, innovation and distributed leadership. For the period of this fellowship, I will be collaborating with colleagues focusing on the theme of Engagement through Partnership: Students as Partners in Teaching & Learning. Students are our primary stakeholders and all stakeholders should be meaningfully involved from the outset in the design of any service or product. This approach to curriculum and pedagogy emphasises authentic collaboration between students and educators in curriculum design and development as well as in teaching, learning and assessment processes.