Meet the UCD Careers Network Team based on the Belfield campus.

Dr David Foster

Director of Career Development & Skills

David is responsible for the strategic and operational development of UCD Careers Network (Belfield and Blackrock campuses). David regularly contributes to institutional working groups in areas such as the student and educational experience and represents UCD on the Universitas 21 Employability Group.

An elected Director of the Association of Higher Education Careers Services, David is active also in other groups such as the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services, an international organisation. Academically and professionally qualified, David holds a BSc (Hons) in Psychology & Linguistics, a Graduate Diploma in Career Guidance, a MSc in Guidance and Counselling and a PhD examining Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy and Vocationalism in Undergraduate Students. David also holds a level 9 Professional Recognition Award in Leadership and Management from the City & Guilds Institute of London.

 Tel: +353 1 716 7678

 Email: david.foster@ucd.ie

Sophie Carey

Deputy Director

Sophie joined as Deputy Director, UCD Careers Network in June 2021. She deputises for the Director, manages a team of Career & Skills Consultants, and oversees projects across a range of areas relevant to careers. Prior to this, she spent two and a half years as MBA Director, running the MBA programme in the Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business. Additionally, she managed a team of careers professionals in the Smurfit Business School as Senior Manager responsible for building stakeholder relationships with employers and providing careers advice to postgraduate business students.

Her prior experience includes working as a Careers Consultant in UCD working with Arts, Humanities, Law and Social Sciences students, and she spent a large part of her career working in human resources in the banking sector across a variety of roles from recruitment, project management and internal communications.

She has a Master of Business Studies (HR) as well as a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Studies and a BA in English and History of Art from UCD. Sophie was appointed Executive Director of the Association of Higher Education Careers Services in 2016 – 2018. She is also a member of the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services.

Email: sophie.carey@ucd.ie

Hannah Lamont

Front Office Team Lead

As Front Office Team Lead, Hannah manages a team of four Executive Assistants and one Senior Executive Assistant. Her core role is to effectively coordinate all operations and responsibilities of the Careers Network Front Office Team. Hannah also manages numerous projects, oversees an extensive programme of On-Campus & Virtual Employer Events, and manages the UCD Recruitment Fairs annually.

Hannah holds a BA in Media Arts with French from TU Dublin, an MA in Cultural Policy & Arts Management from UCD, and a Professional Diploma in Project Management from the UCD Professional Academy.

Email: hannah.lamont@ucd.ie 

Kevin R De Groote

Surveys and Data Analyst

Kevin joined the Careers Network team in September 2021 as the Surveys and Data Analyst and works closely with Marita, the Data & Operations Manager. As Surveys and Data Analyst Kevin serves as the gatekeeper for the Careers Networks’ data so stakeholders (internal and external) can understand the data and use it to make strategic business decisions. Along with preparing, processing, and analysing the data, Kevin also builds dynamic and interactive dashboards (Tableau) to make the data accessible to colleagues (and stakeholders) in order to help the Careers Network continue to improve and innovate their services in line with the latest data and aligned with the needs of students.

The Career Registration Survey and the Graduate Outcomes Survey are among the data related projects Kevin works on. The former explores students’ career readiness, work experience and sectors of interest and helps to inform initiatives to meet student career development needs; the latter tracks graduates' early career development, providing visibility to potential career paths for current students.

Kevin holds a BA in Classics & Geography (UCD), an MA in Maritime Archaeology (University of Bristol) and a PhD in Archaeology (UCD).

Email: kevin.degroote1@ucd.ie  

Leona Barry

Tel: +353 1 716 7596

Edel Caraway

Career & Skills Consultant

Edel works with students of the UCD College of Science to enable and empower them to make the right career choices and to enhance their employability skills. Her work with students ranges from design and delivery of embedded career development within the College of Science curriculum, design delivery and assessment of credit-bearing modules, facilitation of workshops on all aspects of career management and skill development and one-to-one guidance and support. Edel is also the Team Lead for the STEM Team which includes the Colleges of Science, Engineering and Architecture, Health Sciences, Agriculture and Veterinary Science. 

Edel holds a Master’s in Education (Guidance and Counselling) from Trinity College Dublin, and a Graduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning.  She also holds a Graduate Diploma in Accountancy and Finance (ACCA), Graduate Diploma in Business Studies (Marketing) and a BA in Pure Economics. Edel is a certified MBTI practitioner and holds accreditation from the British Psychological Society to administer A and B psychometric inventories. .Edel is a qualified member of the Association of Higher Education Careers Services (AHECS)), the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS) and the Institute of Guidance Counsellors (IGC).

Tel: +353 1 716 7559

Email: edel.caraway@ucd.ie

Michelle Coen

Career & Skills Consultant

As the Career & Skills Consultant for the College of Arts & Humanities, Michelle teaches ‘Career Readiness for Arts & Humanities’ modules, facilitates workshops and coaches on a variety of career related topics.

Michelle holds a Bachelor of Social Science Degree from UCD as well as a Postgraduate Higher Diploma in Human Resource Management. She also holds a Diploma in Coaching, as well as a Diploma in Media & Communications and a Certificate in Training and Development. Michelle is a member of the Association of Higher Education Careers Services, the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services and MBA Career Services and Employer Alliance (MBA CSEA).

Tel: +353 1 716 7562

Email: michelle.coen@ucd.ie

Mark Cumisky

Career & Skills Consultant

As the Career & Skills Consultant for the College of Health and Agricultural Sciences, Mark works with students, academics, and employers to develop meaningful and fulfilling career pathways that add value to individuals and organisations.

Mark was manager of the Career Development Centre at the University of Otago in New Zealand (2005-2010). In 2017 he completed an MA in Career Education, Information, and Guidance in Higher Education at the University of Warwick. He has been Chair of The University Careers Advisers' Association of New Zealand and Secretary of the Association of Graduate Career Services in Ireland (now the Association of Higher Education Careers Services). He is also a member of the Association of Graduate Career Advisory Services and the National Association of Colleges and Employers (US).

Tel: +353 1 716 7679

Email: mark.cumisky@ucd.ie

Leonie Phipps

Career & Skills Consultant

As Career & Skills Consultant for the Undergraduate School of Business, Innovation Academy and Access & Lifelong Learning, Leonie provides one to one coaching and guidance as well as delivering careers and skills workshops for her caseload.

Leonie holds a Masters Degree in Human Resource Management from Dublin Business School and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in French and German from Maynooth University. Leonie is a member of the Higher Career Education Services, the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Tel: +353 1 716 7514

Email: leonie.phipps@ucd.ie

Nicola Fortune

Career & Skills Consultant

As the Career & Skills Consultant for the College of Engineering & Architecture, Nicola works with employers, faculty and staff to develop opportunities for students, and to support them both individually and in groups on their career journey.

Nicola has an MSc in Cyberpsychology and a PgDip in Guidance and Counselling and is a member of the Association of Higher Education Careers Services and the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services.

Tel: +353 1 716 7579

Email: nicola.fortune@ucd.ie

Ann McCarry

Career Consultant

 Ann is a member of the Association of Higher Education Careers Service and the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services 

Tel: +353 1 716 7597

Email: ann.mccarry@ucd.ie

Georgina Dwyer

Senior Communications and Marketing Assistant

Georgina has recently joined the team from UCD Sport and has nearly 15 years expereince working with the students in UCD. 

Georgina is a gradaute of UCD with a BSc in Sport and Exercise Management. She also has a Masters in Marketing, a Higher Diploma in Digital Marketing and Social Media and a Diploma in PR. 

Georgina manages the marketing and communications for the unit as well as the busy soical media platforms for the careers network. Georgina also manages a team of Career Ambassadors, who assist  in promoting our services across Campus. 

Email: georgina.dwyer@ucd.ie

Alessia Talarico

Careers Network Assistant

Alessia coordinates Employer Events and works closely with the Team Lead on the event management of the annual UCD Careers Network Recruitment Fairs. She also looks after other Employer Initiatives & Programmes such as the Skills For Working Life, Set For Success Skills Programme, and Social Impact Week.

Email: alessia.talarico@ucd.ie  

Mark Jackson

Careers Network Assistant

Mark is part of the front office team and assists with office administration. He also supports with the various projects of the UCD Careers Network, such as the Career Fairs finance portfolio and editing video content for use on the MyCareer website. As part of his role, he is also involved in solving queries for students, staff and employers, and helps to review job vacancies on MyCareer.

Email: mark.jackson@ucd.ie  

Caroline Pierce

Business Development Manager

Caroline joined the UCD Careers Network team as Business Development Manager in April 2023. She develops strategic engagement with employers for UCD graduates and builds knowledge of labour market trends within the Careers Network team. A trained interpreter and diplomat, Caroline has over 10 years’ experience as a manager in private and public sectors. specialising in communications and developing strategic partnerships. She holds a BA in Arts from Trinity College Dublin and an MA in Interpreting & Translation from the University of Bath, UK.

 Please contact caroline.pierce@ucd.ie 

Oonagh Sweeney

University Internships Manager

Oonagh is responsible for overseeing Academic Internships across the University and supporting the implementation of the Academic Internships Framework and related Work Placement Policy. Academic internships play an important role in the relationship between the University and employers of graduates, specifically around the talent pipeline and student progression.

She also provides specialist advice and consultancy around the internships experience to Internships Managers, faculty, and employers in line with international best practice. 

Oonagh also manages and chairs the UCD Internship Managers Forum, ensuring sharing of best practice, continuous quality improvement and the professional development of internship managers.

Oonagh has a Bachelor of Business Studies- Marketing  (Cork Institute of Technology) a Master’s in Business (UCD), a HDip in Advanced Management Performance (UCD)  and has undertaken a Mini MBA (QUB) and was most recently part of the UCD Aurora Women’s Leadership Programme.  Oonagh is a member of the Association of Higher Education Careers Services and the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services.

Tel: +353 1 716 7572

Email: oonagh.sweeney@ucd.ie

Research Careers Manager

Kinkini Chatterjee is currently the Research Careers Manager in
UCD. She is responsible for developing services that support
Postdoctoral researcher’s career development both inside and out
of the Academy. This includes providing one-to-one career coaching,
facilitating workshops on job seeking strategies and career-plans for
funding applications as well as hosting academia-to-industry
networking events with employers and alumni Postdocs. 

Prior to this, Kinkini offered one to one coaching and guidance to
undergraduate and postgraduate students on exploring different
career options, CVs, cover letters, interviews as a Career and Skills

Consultant at UCD Careers Network.

Kinkini has a BA in Sociology and a MSc in Human Resource
Management from The University of Sheffield. Kinkini is a member
of the Association of Higher Education Careers Service and
the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services

Alanna O'Sullivan

Research Careers Manager

Currently on Leave

Alanna O'Sullivan is currently the Research Careers Manager in UCD. She is responsible for developing services that support Postdoctoral researcher’s career development both inside and out of the Academy. This includes providing one-to-one career coaching, facilitating workshops on job seeking strategies and career-plans for funding applications as well as hosting academia-to-industry networking events with PhD employers and alumni Postdocs. 

Prior to joining the Careers Network, Alanna was in UCD HR People and Organisational Development supporting Postdoctoral researchers’ training and development.

Alanna holds a Masters in Occupational Psychology from the University of Nottingham and a BA in Psychology from UCD. Alanna is a certified MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Indicator) practitioner and holds accreditation from the British Psychological Society to administer A and B psychometric inventories. She is currently undertaking a Diploma in Executive and Leadership Coaching, accredited by the Association for Coaching.

 Email: alanna.osullivan@ucd.ie 

Tara Hughes

Careers and Skills Consultant for Graduate Researchers

Tel: +353 1 716 7507

Email: Tara.Hughes@ucd.ie