A sixth-generation fiddle player and bilingual singer.

From Cork, Ireland. Clare draws deeply from the music of her ancestors, weaving Traditional Irish roots with Contemporary sounds and influences. Her songs are deeply connected to places where folklore, language, and activism rise in song. Known for her raw and infectious energy, she embodies a fearless warrior-like spirit that unites audiences around the world.

Visual Artist and Programme Lead, Professional Certificate in Creative Hospitality CFA at NCAD

Jennie Moran is a visual artist whose work explores hospitality as a creative and connective philosophy. Blending sculpture and food, she founded Luncheonette, an art/hospitality project at National College of Art and Design in 2013. She lectures widely, mentors in organisational hospitality and curates discursive events. Jennie is also the Programme Lead on CFA’s Professional Certificate in Creative Hospitality at NCAD.

She is chair of the Oxford Food Symposium and the Dublin Gastronomy Symposium and is the recipient of the Getty Research scholarship. Jennie is the author of ‘How to Soften Corners’ and was named Best Emerging Voice at the Irish Food Writing Awards.

Design Researcher, Service Designer and Healthcare Innovation Lead 

Martin McGinn is a design academic, service designer and lecturer at Ulster University with over 20 years’ experience at the intersection of healthcare, design and education. He co-founded the innovative out-of-hours end-of-life care service, Life and Time, and has led major initiatives in palliative care education and healthcare innovation. 

Martin co-developed Clinical Creativity, a pioneering programme delivered through NCAD, UCD School of Medicine and Creative Futures Academy, using design thinking and creative practice to transform clinical education. His work champions human-centred design to improve healthcare services, learning and patient experiences. 

Creative Lead at Accenture and Speculative Design Futures Graduate, CFA at IADT 

Shane Casey designs rehearsals of the future: structured encounters that let institutions test their strategies before reality does. He builds serious games and design-fiction experiences that take intangible questions and make them real. His recent work includes Raise Your Voice, a wargame on AI adoption in the humanitarian sector, and a design-fiction escape room on decentralised digital identity at SXSW. 

He is a creative fellow at King’s College London, working with the Leverhulme Centre for Research on Slavery in War and on the future of slavery in conflict. Shane leads applied futures work at Accenture’s innovation hub, The Dock, in Dublin.

Director of Creative Futures Academy

Louise is the Director of Creative Futures Academy, a partnership between the National College of Art & Design (NCAD), Institute of Art, Design + Technology (IADT) and University College Dublin (UCD) that provides modular credited programmes to creative professionals looking to develop their skills.

Louise has held numerous roles in the cultural sector as CEO and Head of Innovation and Research at the Design & Crafts Council Ireland; President of World Crafts Council Europe, and Head of the International Programme for Irish Design 2015.

Chief Executive, Institute of Designers in Ireland

Charlotte Barker is the Chief Executive of the representative body, The Institute of Designers in Ireland. Charlotte is a member of the Government Forum for Digital Creative Industries and a member of An Bord for the National College of Art and Design. In 2023 Charlotte instigated the sustainability platform Design Declares and recently led Design 2035, a vision of where Irish design will be in 10 years. The IDI will be leading a National Design Policy Lab programme through to 2027. 

Head of The School of Design, NCAD and CFA Institutional Lead 

Professor Alex Milton is Head of the School of Design at the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) in Ireland. His work focuses on participatory design, creative pedagogy and design for policy – developing national design strategies and running national design initiatives. He has authored 8 books. His creative work has been exhibited at numerous international venues including MUDAC Lausanne, Designers Block Milan, Irish Museum of Modern Art, National Museum of Scotland and 100% Design London. He has taught at Edinburgh College of Art, Heriot-Watt University, University of Dundee, Edinburgh Napier University, Central Saint Martins and the Central Academy of Fine Art, Beijing.

Irish artist working in various mediums 

His music has been described by Hotpress Magazine as “powerful, heartfelt and thought-provoking”. He has previously been selected for the RTÉ Radio 1 playlist and music industry magazine Record Of The Day and has performed at music, arts and theatre festivals in Ireland and the UK. 

Robert is currently in development with A Version of Life, a multidisciplinary show created in the Trapdoor Theatre at University College Dublin with support from Creative Futures Academy. Directed by Olivier Award Winner Donnacadh O’Briain, the piece first showcased at Dublin Fringe Festival in 2024 and will make its international debut at Edinburgh Fringe 2027.

Director of CFA at UCD

P.J. Mathews is Director of the CFA at University College Dublin, where he is a Professor of Irish Literature, Drama and Culture. He has written widely on Irish literature, theatre, music and cultural history. He is co-editor (with Declan Kiberd) of Handbook of the Irish Revival (2015), editor of The Cambridge Companion to J. M. Synge (2009), and author of Revival (2003). 

Film and television credits include Executive Producer (with Philip King and Adam Clayton), In Time: Dónal Lunny (South Wind Blows, 2025); Creator, The Flourishing (Tyrone Productions/ RTÉ, 2021); Script Writer and Literary Advisor, Voices of Ireland (Sky Arts / Red Shoe Productions, 2021). 

Head of Skills and Engagement, Higher Education Authority, Ireland 

Dr. Vivienne Patterson is Head of Skills, Engagement and Statistics at the Higher Education Authority (HEA). Since joining the HEA in 2006 as Head of Statistics, she has transformed the communication of education data through key national reports. Appointed to her current role in 2016, Vivienne oversees Springboard+, national apprenticeships in higher education, and the €300 million Human Capital Initiative driving agility and innovation across Ireland’s higher education system. She plays a key role in strategic engagement with enterprise to align education with future skills needs and serves on both the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs and the High-Level Skills Implementation Group.

Director, National College of Art & Design, Dublin 

Professor Sarah Glennie is Director of the National College of Art and Design in Dublin, Ireland. Prior to NCAD, she was Director of The Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin (2012-2015) and previously as Director of the Irish Film Institute (IFI) (2008-2012). She was Artistic Director of the Model Arts and Niland Gallery in Sligo (2005-2008), and Commissioner of Ireland’s participation in the 51st Venice Biennale in 2005.

President, Institute of Art, Design + Technology, Dun Laoghaire 

David Smith was appointed President of IADT in 2020. He is the former Head of Faculty of Film, Art and Creative Technologies at IADT.  He has extensive experience in higher education and professional practice. He is principal of the widely acclaimed design studio Atelier and was Programme Chair and Senior Lecturer in Visual Communications Design at IADT until 2015.

Senior Expert, EU-Commission, EU cultural and creative sectors and industries’ policies

Barbara is from Vienna/Austria and is a Senior Expert at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Education and Culture (DG EAC)’s Cultural Policy Unit. Her field of work is cultural policy making, in particular the crossroads of cultural and creative sectors/ industries/spaces, as well as innovation, competitiveness and financing. She also focusses on artists’ and creative professionals’ working conditions and worked with the OMC (Open Method of Coordination) EU Member States’ expert group, with EU social partners and stakeholders, and now on the EU Artists’ Charter of the Culture Compass for Europe.

Principal UCD College of Arts and Humanities, 

Príomhoifigeach Coláiste na nEalaíon agus na nDaonnachtaí 

Regina Uí Chollatáin is the Principal / Dean of UCD College of Arts and Humanities. She is the Chair of Modern Irish and Literature in University College Dublin and was appointed the Director of the UCD Ad Astra Academy in 2025. She is the Chair of Foras na Gaeilge, one of the six North-South implementation bodies of the Good Friday Agreement, responsible for the promotion of Irish on the island of Ireland, and she is a member of the board of the Fulbright Commission. 

Head of Programmes at ELIA

Barbara Revelli is Head of Programmes at ELIA, where she has worked since 2011. With over fifteen years’ experience in strategy, policy, and international collaboration, she leads major EU-funded projects connecting higher education, vocational training, and the cultural and creative industries. Barbara manages initiatives such as Making a Living from the Arts, CYANOTYPES, SACCORD, and the Creative Pact for Skills, and curated Creative Skills Week (2023–2025). Committed to innovation and cross-sector partnerships, she supports ELIA members in developing collaborations and advancing arts education. She previously worked in cinema, media, and fashion in Italy, France, and the Netherlands, and holds degrees in Arts and Cinema.