Dr Sandra Collins is University Librarian at University College Dublin. Originally a mathematician, she has worked in digital innovation and cultural heritage over 25 years in the public and private sectors. She was previously the Director of the National Library of Ireland, the founding Director of the Digital Repository of Ireland in the Royal Irish Academy, Scientific Programme Manager in Science Foundation Ireland, Master Engineer & Researcher in Ericsson Telecommunications, and Mathematics lecturer in Dublin City University. She received her PhD in nonlinear fluid dynamics from UCD in 1996.
She is a member of the Board of Governors and Guardians of the National Gallery of Ireland, the Chairperson of the Irish Government’s Advisory Committee on the Representation of Women and Women’s Stories in the National Cultural Institutions and the National Collections, a Board member of the Consortium of National and University Libraries (CONUL), and a Board member of the European Research Data Alliance (RDA). She has previously served on the Boards of the Irish Manuscripts Commission, the Chester Beatty Library, HEAnet, and MoLI, Museum of Literature Ireland, as well as the Irish Government’s Expert Advisory Group on Commemorations, the Government’s Open Data Governance Board, the Government’s Advisory Forum for ‘Creating our Future’, and the Council of the National Cultural Institutions.
She has been recognised as a female role model and one of the Top 100 Women in STEM, and received awards for Research, Innovation and Impact, and 4 Irish eGovernment Awards. She has been appointed to multiple European Commission Expert Advisory Groups including FAIR data and Research Infrastructures.
Finola Quigg is the current Vice President for Education at Ulster University Students’ Union for this academic year. Last year she was the Vice President for Sport and Well-being at UUSU and as a student, she studied Law with Irish at Magee.
In her role she works closely with the Student Voice Team and student representatives to ensure the quality and improvement of the educational experience at Ulster University.https://www.uusu.org/student-voice/your-reps/student-officers/vp-education/
Tá Stiofán Carson ag obair in Turas in oirthear Bhéal Feirste le bliain anuas. Bhunaigh Linda Ervine Turas sa bhliain 2012 agus is é Turas an t-aon ionad Gaeilge atá suite i gceantar aontachtach. Tá breis is 500 duine ag freastal ar ranganna in Turas achan seachtain. Is comhordaitheoir forbartha acmhainní é in Turas agus mar chuid den obair sin, bíonn sé ag cur leis an obair a dhéantar in Turas, go speisialta leis an leabharlann agus an spás sóisialta a thugann deis do na fhoghlaimeoirí a bheith ag foghlaim le chéile.
Thosaigh Stiofán ag foghlaim Gaeilge in 2015 nuair a bhí sé ag déanamh staidéar ar an Bhitheolaíocht leighis in Ollscoil na Ríona. Chríochnaigh sé a chéim sa Ghaeilge sa bhliain in Ollscoil Uladh sa bhliain 2024.
Stiofán Carson has been working in Turas in east Belfast for a year now. Linda Ervine founded Turas in the year 2012 and Turas is the only Irish language center located in a unionist area. Over 500 people are attending classes in Turas every week. He is a capacility development coordinator in Turas and as part of that work, he develops the work being carried out in Turas, especially within the library and the social space that gives the learners the opportunity to learn together.
Stiofán started learning Irish in 2015 when he was studying Medical Biology in Queen’s University, Belfast. He completed his degree in Irish in Ulster University in 2024.
Tony Ageh is a visionary leader who straddles the traditional and digital worlds. He is a creative strategist who has dedicated his career to making information free and universally accessible. With more than 30 years of experience in media and culture, he served as Controller of Archive Development at the BBC before becoming the New York Public Library’s Chief Digital Officer until 2023.
He is a renowned champion of innovation, leading the team that developed the iconic BBC iPlayer. At NYPL, his twin objectives were to lead the digital transformation of the institution, and to ensure its vast collections were freely accessible to the widest possible audience. His particular focus was on the impact of e-books and the associated businesses that were changing, and in many ways undermining, the traditional roles and relationships of libraries and librarians.
Prior to the BBC he held a number of groundbreaking roles including Head of Creative Development at The Guardian, Creative Director of Wired magazine and Publisher of local information service, UpMyStreet.com. An influential pioneer, his passion lies in continually finding new ways to democratise access to knowledge and to bridge cultural divides through the thoughtful and considered use of technology.”
Dr. Pauline McBride is a researcher and a Scottish solicitor. Her current research with Northumbria University relates to ethical review to support responsible AI in policing. She is an affiliate researcher with the VUB (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) where, as part of the COHUBICOL (Counting as a Human Being in the Era of Computational Law) project, she carried out research on the implications of the use of AI in law. She has extensive teaching experience in fields relating to law and technology at the University of Glasgow and Queen’s University Belfast and taught on Queen’s innovative Law and Technology Masters programme.
Pauline is a member of the Technology Committee of the Law Society of Scotland, an expert on the Future Committee of the Council of the Bars and Law Societies of Europe and a member of the Scottish Law and Innovation Network. She has collaborated to produce guidance for the use of generative AI by law firms, delivered guest lectures in the course AI for the Arts and Humanities and, with Masha Medvedeva won the best presentation award at the Natural Legal Language Processing workshop for the presentation of their paper ‘Legal Judgment Prediction: If You Are Going to Do It, Do It Right’. She delivered a presentation on AI in National Libraries at the Conference of Directors of National Libraries (CDNL) in 2023.
University College Dublin
niamh.fortune@ucd.ie
Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean.
A small river named Duden flows by their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia. It is a paradisematic country.