EU-CONEXUS represented at Digital Education Conference 2025 hosted at South East Technological University

In just three annual editions, SETU’s Digital Education Conference has become a staple in the academic events calendar. Running over two days, the 2025 edition (DEC 25) involved a selection of keynote speakers, poster presentations, paper presentations and workshops.

EU-CONEXUS was strongly represented throughout the schedule. On day one, Siobhán Rudden, Institutional Co-ordinator, showcased the alliance during the sponsor spotlight. Highlighting the opportunities available through EU-CONEXUS, she delivered a whistlestop tour for staff and students. Afterwards, Dr Helen Murphy, Executive Lead for EU-CONEXUS and Head of Faculty of Education and Life Long Learning at SETU, led a panel discussion titled European Universities Initiative: advancing the digitalisation of Higher Education. The panel featured Dr Mike Kinsella, Academic Lead for EU-CONEXUS at SETU and lecturer in the Department of Science; Sylvia Gallagher, Research Fellow at Trinity College Dublin and Charm-EU; and Dr Michael Hall, Senior Lecturer at Munster Technological University and INGENIUM European University. The discussion was a productive one, with shared challenges and common themes explored in depth. EU-CONEXUS also participated in a poster presentation with Dr Mike Kinsella, Dr Rebecca Power and Bridget Cheasty collaborating on a poster to showcase EU-CONEXUS activities.

Day two of the conference involved further engagement around the topic of European University Alliances. A true programme highlight was the Higher Education Institutes President’s panel chaired by Ambassador David Donoghue, featuring Prof. Veronica Campbell from SETU and Dr Orla Flynn from Atlantic Technological University and EU-Green European University. The panel discussion topic was titled European University Alliances – Empowering European Citizenship and Human Survival through SDG-Driven Collaboration, Education, Communities and Partnerships (SDG 4,11 & 17). The conversation emphasised the power of collaboration and was followed by a lively Q&A session. The overall consensus was that European University Alliances continue to demonstrate how shared vision and strong partnerships can drive meaningful impact.

In the afternoon, the EU-CONEXUS team contributed to paper presentation sessions. Dr Mike Kinsella, Bridget Cheasty, and SETU student Catherine Rutter presented Online Minors and Micro-credentials reflections from a student and staff perspective for online EU-CONEXUS offers. Catherine, who has taken part in both online and in-person micro-credentials, spoke eloquently about her experience, noting that she wished she had discovered EU-CONEXUS opportunities sooner. Dr Claire Doran and Dr Mike Kinsella then presented the Design and Development of Joint online Micro-credentials and a new interdisciplinary Joint Master.

EU-CONEXUS and European University Alliances featured prominently throughout DEC 25, contributing to important and timely conversations across the two-day programme.