2023-2024
Dr Deirdre Stritch is a postgraduate research fellow with the UCD School of Education. She is conducting research on academic integrity, assessment identity and ethical practice in support of the development of a framework for academic integrity and online assessment at UCD.
Until September 2021, she held a number of roles with Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI), including Programme Manager for Academic Integrity Initiatives. She has significant research and policy development experience in the education and training space through her roles with QQI, the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland, the Higher Education Authority (HEA) and the Royal Irish Academy, as well as through her independent consultancy work. She has represented Ireland in a number of international fora, including the Council of Europe; the European Commission; the European Network for Quality Assurance (ENQA); and the European Network for Academic Integrity (ENAI). She has participated in national steering groups dealing with, inter alia, the internationalisation of Irish education; developing new regulatory structures for international learners accessing Irish education and has contributed to the development of legislation - the Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) Act, 2019. She was responsible for the implementation of new legislation prohibiting the facilitation of cheating which was introduced at the end of 2019. She continues to provide research and advisory services on academic integrity to both QQI and higher education institutions.
2022-2024
Dr Magdelina Kitanova BA, MA, MSc, PhD is a Post-doctoral Research Fellow at UCD. Prior to joining UCD, Magdelina completed a PhD in Politics at the University of Southampton, UK, being awarded an Economic and Social Research Council studentship for her research. Her PhD thesis argued that political institutions significantly matter in shaping levels of youth political participation in the EU. Magdelina has completed more than 7 years combined of research, both quantitative and qualitative. She was also a Lecturer in Research skills in Politics and Political Systems at the University of Southampton. Magdelina has experience as a data analyst at the European Commission. Magdelina has previously presented her research at numerous conferences and has been involved in interdisciplinary projects in Bulgaria, UK, Australia, Iceland, Germany, and Italy.
2022-2024
Dr Ellen Regan B.Ed, M.Ed, PhD is a Post-doctoral Research Fellow at UCD. Ellen received her doctorate from UCD School of Education in 2020. Her thesis was concerned with Irish women who worked as missionaries and volunteers in education and health settings overseas. The research was an in-depth exploration of Ireland’s historical relationship with the Developing World and the place women held in that historiography. Ellen supervises Masters students in UCD and also lectures on issues related to the Irish education system. Ellen has an eighteen-year teaching career with teaching and training experience in Ireland, India, Haiti and Malawi. She has facilitated Development Education workshops for university students and carried out consultancy, leadership and teaching roles in India, Haiti and Malawi. Ellen is a primary school teacher who has taught all class levels in a variety of school settings.
2017-2024
Dr Ruth Ferris is a lecturer, researcher and project manager in the UCD School of Education. Her research interests include mentoring policies and practice in initial teacher training, the history of education, leadership and learning with regard to global development and the Sustainable Development Goals. She was a member of the UCD research team in the development of the Irish National Teacher Induction Pilot Project which laid the foundations for the current national system of induction for primary and post primary teachers, reporting directly to the Department of Education and Skills. Teaching history in second level schools, student voice and mentoring in an educational context are all areas in which she has delivered formal training to teaching professionals.
2019-2021
Dr Mags Liddy is a UCD Newman Fellow and a Postdoctoral Researcher working on the PINNAcle - Access to Higher Education for Women in India and Pakistan project.
Mags completed her Phd Studies in 2016 graduating from the University of Limerick. She is a highly experienced researcher having worked in a number of research settings including Irish Development Education Association, Gentian Research and as a Social and Education Researcher with the University of Limerick.
2016-2018
Dr Linda Hui Yang was a Postdoctoral Researcher in the UCD School of Education working on the Internationalisation of Irish Higher Education project during the period 2016-18.
Linda has a PhD degree in Intercultural Studies from Durham University. She holds a M.A. degree in English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics from King’s College London and a B.A. degree in English Studies from Beijing Language and Culture University. She is an experienced intercultural researcher and trainer and has more than 15 years of teaching and training experience in Ireland, U.K. and China. Her research interests include Intercultural education; Internationalisation of Higher Education; Student mobility and development; Faculty and staff mobility and development and Academic and social acculturation.