Since its launch in 2023, DEC has transformed Ireland’s digital education landscape by bridging research, policy, and practice. It responds to a fragmented approach to educational innovation and provides a national forum for inclusive, digitally transformative teaching and learning. DEC has driven educator professional development by showcasing applied research in Universal Design for Learning, AI, immersive learning (VR/AR), and assessment redesign. Attendees include higher education faculty, school educators, policymakers, and EdTech leaders. The inaugural doctoral colloquium engaged over 35 PhD scholars, boosting SETU’s profile and attracting researchers from outside the university. Importantly, DEC is student focused and fosters active student engagement and promotes student governance (e.g. student led panels). The conference has fostered over 15 industry partnerships (e.g., EdTech Ireland, Eirmersive), leading to successful funding bids, co-authored publications, and collaborative involvement in national proposals such as Research Ireland’s E-AI theme. Dara Calleary TD, Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation, officially launched the Eirmersive network at DEC 2024 where he met with the Irish immersive companies demonstrating at the event, and addressed the audience on the government’s recognition of the Irish immersive technology sector’s importance. DEC’s policy papers have been presented by Dr Zeta Dooly to Dara Calleary TD and the government. Further policy workshops have influenced debates on responsible AI, UDL policy, and sustainability pedagogy. Collaborations extend across Ireland and Europe (e.g., Trinity College Dublin, TU Dublin, TUS, MTU, ATU, DKIT, EU CONEXUS). The group has presented at over 18 conferences and participated in: Government of Ireland, Department of Education:Education Research and Futures Working Group member with Department of Education in collaboration with the Irish Universities Association (IUA) 2025Evidence for Policy Unit, HEI Research Advocates and Civil Service Research Network (CSRN) 2024Appointed by National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA) to the Technical Advisory Committee 2024Appointed by Government of Ireland, Department of Environment, Climate and Communications to the Sustainable Development Goals National Stakeholder Forum Committee 2024. SETU and SeerLab are members of the National Immersive Education Working Group, established by Eirmersive, with the support of Meta.Delivered recommendations on Immersive Learning for Education to Dara Calleary TD, Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation, in 2024 at Outreach event in Dublin. The work of Seerlab and DEC has resulted in the development and integration of technologies into curriculum modules at SETU including ‘Digital Education and Digital Creativity in Classroom’ (part of the Education and Lifelong Learning master's in education), ‘Management of the Burns Patient' (Faculty of Nursing module) and modules in the Faculty of Business. Seerlab members have also provided external training on digital education. Evidence of impact is seen in DEC participant evaluations, uptake of DEC outputs on SETU’s Moodle CPD community, and integration of tools into curricula and learning systems. DEC’s wider reach includes media coverage (Irish Independent, Beat FM), a podcast with H2Learning/ETB. Overall, DEC has enhanced educator confidence, advanced digital transformation readiness, and aligned education policy across sectors, positioning SETU as a national and international leader in digital education.

Technological University Dublin,Munster Technological University,Atlantic Technological University,Technological University Shannon,Trinity College Dublin,EU CONEXUS partner universities,EdTech Ireland,Eirmersive,HSE Ireland,Local enterprise offices and external partners,Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science,Department of Education,Higher Education Authority.

Technological University Dublin,Munster Technological University,Atlantic Technological University,Technological University Shannon,Trinity College Dublin,EU CONEXUS partner universities,EdTech Ireland,Eirmersive,HSE Ireland,Local enterprise offices and external partners,Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science,Department of Education,Higher Education Authority. Researchers: Dr Daithí Ó Murchú, Education Consultant, Dr Gearóid O’Suilleabhain (MTU), Dr PJ Wall (TUD), Dr Moira Maguire (DKIT), Dr Carina Ginty (ATU). External partners: Sunlife, Advance HE, Better Examinations, SOLAS, NTUTORR, EHID, ALL, EdTech Ireland sponsorship, National Forum T&L, SANOFI, Foróige, Brickfield Education Labs, PESTech.

Driving Digital Transformation in Education through the SETU Digital Education Conference (DEC)

Research team: Antoinette Jordan, Brian Ogilvie.

Funded by: European Union’s Ireland Wales Programme 2014-2020 (INTERREG V-A).

The challenge

SMEs in the South East of Ireland and in Wales face shared challenges in driving innovation, creating sustainable jobs and supporting regional development in rural and coastal areas. While strong sectoral clusters exist in food and drink, life sciences and renewable energy, collaboration across borders remains limited. Many small business owners respond creatively to challenges but lack access to structured, practical training in innovation management.

Most engage only with early-stage start-up supports and have little opportunity to connect with researchers or innovation networks. There is a clear need for targeted, co-designed entrepreneurship training that equips SMEs with the skills, tools and connections to innovate effectively. Strengthening these cross-border links will build long-term capacity, support new product development and help drive inclusive economic growth.

Since its launch in 2023, DEC has transformed Ireland’s digital education landscape by bridging research, policy, and practice. It responds to a fragmented approach to educational innovation and provides a national forum for inclusive, digitally transformative teaching and learning.

DEC has driven educator professional development by showcasing applied research in Universal Design for Learning, AI, immersive learning (VR/AR), and assessment redesign. Attendees include higher education faculty, school educators, policymakers, and EdTech leaders. The inaugural doctoral colloquium engaged over 35 PhD scholars, boosting SETU’s profile and attracting researchers from outside the university. Importantly, DEC is student focused and fosters active student engagement and promotes student governance (e.g. student led panels).

The conference has fostered over 15 industry partnerships (e.g., EdTech Ireland, Eirmersive), leading to successful funding bids, co-authored publications, and collaborative involvement in national proposals such as Research Ireland’s E-AI theme. Dara Calleary TD, Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation, officially launched the Eirmersive network at DEC 2024 where he met with the Irish immersive companies demonstrating at the event, and addressed the audience on the government’s recognition of the Irish immersive technology sector’s importance.

DEC’s policy papers have been presented by Dr Zeta Dooly to Dara Calleary TD and the government. Further policy workshops have influenced debates on responsible AI, UDL policy, and sustainability pedagogy. Collaborations extend across Ireland and Europe (e.g., Trinity College Dublin, TU Dublin, TUS, MTU, ATU, DKIT, EU CONEXUS). The group has presented at over 18 conferences and participated in:

Government of Ireland, Department of Education:
Education Research and Futures Working Group member with Department of Education in collaboration with the Irish Universities Association (IUA) 2025
Evidence for Policy Unit, HEI Research Advocates and Civil Service Research Network (CSRN) 2024
Appointed by National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA) to the Technical Advisory Committee 2024
Appointed by Government of Ireland, Department of Environment, Climate and Communications to the Sustainable Development Goals National Stakeholder Forum Committee 2024.
SETU and SeerLab are members of the National Immersive Education Working Group, established by Eirmersive, with the support of Meta.
Delivered recommendations on Immersive Learning for Education to Dara Calleary TD, Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation, in 2024 at Outreach event in Dublin.

The work of Seerlab and DEC has resulted in the development and integration of technologies into curriculum modules at SETU including ‘Digital Education and Digital Creativity in Classroom’ (part of the Education and Lifelong Learning master's in education), ‘Management of the Burns Patient' (Faculty of Nursing module) and modules in the Faculty of Business. Seerlab members have also provided external training on digital education.

Evidence of impact is seen in DEC participant evaluations, uptake of DEC outputs on SETU’s Moodle CPD community, and integration of tools into curricula and learning systems. DEC’s wider reach includes media coverage (Irish Independent, Beat FM), a podcast with H2Learning/ETB.

Overall, DEC has enhanced educator confidence, advanced digital transformation readiness, and aligned education policy across sectors, positioning SETU as a national and international leader in digital education.

SeerLab’s research underpinning DEC spans educational innovation, immersive technologies, and inclusive pedagogy. The group draws on interdisciplinary theories and frameworks, including the Community of Inquiry (Garrison, 2010), An Entangled Pedagogy (Fawns, 2022), and UDL principles.

The research addresses critical challenges in learner engagement, equity, and the responsible
integration of digital tools.

In preparation for DEC, SeerLab members engaged in design-based research and action research projects that explored how emerging technologies such as VR, AI, and adaptive platforms impact learner outcomes and educator practices. National SATLE projects (e.g. IGNITION, DDS-Map) and Erasmus+ collaborations (e.g. CITO, EBSN-PDS) provided a foundation for scalable pilot studies and demonstrator tools.

The conference themes and workshops were informed by these research projects, which
demonstrated that inclusive design and adaptive technologies enhance learning access,
particularly for neurodiverse and adult learners.

The group’s work on policy-informed pedagogies led to significant contributions to national UDL implementation guidelines and engagement with frameworks like the UNESCO AI Competency Framework and EU AI Act.

Research findings show that immersive and co-designed learning environments improve learner
motivation, digital literacy, and completion rates in both traditional and lifelong learning settings.
These insights have been translated into conference content that equips educators with concrete pedagogical strategies.

Notably, the DEC was shaped as a research-led initiative, embedding real-time feedback, digital
artefact analysis, and participant-led inquiry. Insights from over 600 attendees across three years have created a robust data set that informs SeerLab’s ongoing research into digital transformation, policy influence, and educational design.

Technological University Dublin,
Munster Technological University,
Atlantic Technological University,
Technological University Shannon,
Trinity College Dublin,
EU CONEXUS partner universities,
EdTech Ireland,
Eirmersive,
HSE Ireland,
Local enterprise offices and external partners,
Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science,
Department of Education,
Higher Education Authority.

Digital Education Conference 2024 Report

Digital Education Conference 2023 Report

Research outputs

Dooly, Z. (2024). Immersive Education Working Group Report - Recommendations to Government, 2024.

Dooly, Z., Lodge, E., Moran, L., & Wall, P. J. (2024). Searching for application areas for using AI and VR in HE classroom in Ireland. EDEN 2024, Graza, Austria. https://doi.org/10.5334/uproc.150

Dooly, Z. (2023). Building communities of teachers; stories from the classroom, how to scaffold learning adventures through trust, In Eden Conference

Media

SETU’s inaugural Digital Education Conference explores innovative learning

SETU’s inaugural Digital Education Conference explores innovative learning opportunities

Eirmersive Launch their Network and Celebrate Ireland’s Thriving Immersive Technology Sector

Eirmersive Launches with a Celebration of Ireland’s Thriving Immersive Technology Sector

YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMwLHKmo7HY

Technological University Dublin,
Munster Technological University,
Atlantic Technological University,
Technological University Shannon,
Trinity College Dublin,
EU CONEXUS partner universities,
EdTech Ireland,
Eirmersive,
HSE Ireland,
Local enterprise offices and external partners,
Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science,
Department of Education,
Higher Education Authority.

Researchers: Dr Daithí Ó Murchú, Education Consultant, Dr Gearóid O’Suilleabhain (MTU), Dr PJ Wall (TUD), Dr Moira Maguire (DKIT), Dr Carina Ginty (ATU).

External partners: Sunlife, Advance HE, Better Examinations, SOLAS, NTUTORR, EHID, ALL, EdTech Ireland sponsorship, National Forum T&L, SANOFI, Foróige, Brickfield Education Labs, PESTech.

SETU SATLE internal grants

SETU President’s Scholarships (PhD students)

Erasmus+ KA2

Research Ireland

9 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals - logos — This project contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15 and 17.