News
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Centre for Entrepreneurial Behaviour, Inclusion and Innovation
19th November 2025
Dr Con Kennedy has joined the Centre for Entrepreneurial Behaviour, Inclusion and Innovation (CEBII), a new research centre at TU Dublin, founded by Professor Thomas Cooney. CEBII's purpose is to enhance the entrepreneurial and innovative capabilities of individuals, organisations and countries through excellence in research, dissemination and advocacy.
The CEBII will advance academic research across the fields of entrepreneurial behaviour, inclusion in entrepreneurship, innovation in entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship policy and ecosystem development, education and training, global and comparative studies and impact measurement and evaluation.
CEBII have developed the following terms of reference:
Entrepreneurship Education and Training
Research Excellence and Visibility
Global Partnerships and Recognition
PhD Development
Funding and Sustainability
Entrepreneurship Events and Conferences
The CEBII prioritises the dissemination of research to wide-ranging audiences and the advocacy of regulatory and legislative changes to support entrepreneurship. The goals of the CEBII are supported by a globally networked, cross-disciplinary body of researchers from TU Dublin.
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Dr Con Kennedy Appointed Reviewer for Elevate at IADT
10th November 2025
Dr Con Kennedy will review IADT Elevate Post-Doctoral research grant applications delivered through the TU RISE Programme.
Elevate is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union through the ERDF Southern, Eastern & Midland Regional Programme 2021-27.
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TU Dublin School of Art and Design Celebrates Outstanding Success at the 2025 IDI Graduate Awards
17th October 2025
TU Dublin School of Art and Design students have once again demonstrated exceptional creativity and innovation at this year’s IDI Graduate Awards, held at MTU. They earned recognition across multiple disciplines and took home several major prizes, including the prestigious Grand Prix Award.
Visual Communications Design graduate Ruby Aron won the overall Grand Prix Award, in addition to receiving top honours for her typography project Tree Text and a Highly Commended for Cneasú don Gaeilge.
In the digital and experimental categories, Nicole Preece secured two category wins for her project Automated Affection, while Dan Kinlay’s Lissajous: An Audiovisual Experience received Highly Commended in Experimental Design and Commended in Design for Moving Image.
Recognition also went to Tom Whitfield, who won Product Design for his project Synapse Socket 1, and to students Genevieve Carolan and Sarah Marica, who both achieved Highly Commended in Design Research – Written.
Further commendations were awarded to Lenny Sanches, Aoife Roche, Nicole Preece, Oisín McPhillips, Katie Condren, Praise Akintokun, and Niamh Fanning, reflecting the depth and diversity of talent across the TU Dublin School of Art and Design’s creative programmes.
This year’s results underline TU Dublin’s continued strength in design education and celebrate the university’s commitment to fostering critical, socially engaged design practices.
TU Dublin School of Art and Design 2025 IDI Graduate Award Winners and Commended Students:
GRAND PRIX – Winner
Ruby Aron – Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin School of Art and Design)
BOOK DESIGN – Highly Commended
Cneasú don Gaeilge – Ruby Aron
TYPOGRAPHIC DESIGN – Winner
Tree Text – Ruby Aron
TYPOGRAPHIC DESIGN – Highly Commended
Cneasú don Gaeilge – Ruby Aron
TYPOGRAPHIC DESIGN – Commended
The Cacophony Prevents Us From Singing – Niamh Fanning
DESIGN FOR DIGITAL – Winner
Automated Affection – Nicole Preece
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN – Winner
Automated Affection – Nicole Preece
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN – Highly Commended
Lissajous: An Audiovisual Experience – Dan Kinlay
DESIGN FOR MOVING IMAGE – Commended
Lissajous: An Audiovisual Experience – Dan Kinlay
Spiral succession. Selective silence. – Lenny Sanches
Into the Foxgrove – Aoife Roche
PRODUCT DESIGN – Winner
Synapse Socket 1 – Tom Whitfield
GAMES DESIGN – Commended
Chrono Connect – Oisín McPhillips
ILLUSTRATION – Commended
Nocturnal Singers – Nicole Preece
INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN – Commended
The Cloisters Kinsale – Luxury Events and Conference Venue – Katie Condren
The L’Oréal Hub: Corporate Headquarters and Experiential Flagship – Praise Akintokun
DESIGN RESEARCH – Written – Highly Commended
Marketing The Imperial Premier League: English Football Jerseys and the Conquering of the Global Everyday – Genevieve Carolan
The ESB Head Office Building Redevelopment: Biophilic Design and Urbanisation in Dublin – Sarah Marica
TYPOGRAPHIC DESIGN – Commended
The Cacophony Prevents Us From Singing – Niamh Fanning
A huge CONGRATULATIONS to the winners and highly commended, commended and shortlisted entries of the IDI Graduate Awards 2025!
Winning TU Dublin School of Art and Design Graduates: Nicole Preece and Ruby Aron.
TU Dublin School of Art and Design Graduate Exhibition 2025
15th May 2025
Opens daily: 30th May – 5th June, 10:00am – 5:00pm (closed Sunday, but will re-open bank holiday Monday)
Location: The East Quad building, TU Dublin, Grangegorman, D07 XFF2.
This is the fourth year that we have hosted our exhibition at the East Quad, the creative and cultural hub in the heart of TU Dublin’s Grangegorman Campus. The East Quad is home to our state-of-the-art new studios, workshops, practice, and performance spaces.
The exhibition is the highlight of the academic year for students and staff. It features an exciting, innovative range of work from over 200 degree students from our programmes in Fine Art, Product Design (in partnership with the School of Mechanical Engineering), Interior and Furniture Design, Visual Merchandising, Visual Communication Design, Creative Industries and Visual Culture, Film and Broadcasting, Game Design, Photography, and Journalism.
This year, we are also joined by the TU Dublin Conservatoire, which will host performances from Music graduates and screenings of Drama and Opera.
The work presented in this exhibition, print publication and on our GradX website represents the culmination of many years of full-time study. It allows our students to showcase the results of their imaginations, hard work and significant creative skills.
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Hidden Scientists/Hidden Creatives Exhibition 2025
6th May 2025
“Hidden Scientists/Hidden Creatives” is an annual poster exhibition highlighting the vital work of underrepresented women in STEM and Graphic Design.
For this exhibition, the second-year TU973 B.A. (hons) Visual Communication Design students have honoured the work of underrepresented and marginalised women in science and the creative fields. By designing original posters by interpreting the style and aesthetics of female designers, the students created a series of posters highlighting the critical work of key female figures in science. The students completed this assignment in their Design and Career Management module.
This year, all the students who participated in this module are Erasmus students from TU Dublin’s international partners. This international cohort joined us from IADE - Universidade Europeia - Faculdade de Design, Tecnologia e Comunicação da Universidade Europeia, Lisbon, Portugal and Escuela de Arte San Telmo, Malaga, Spain.
This project is a collaboration between the TU Dublin School of Art and Design, the School of Biological, Health and Sports Sciences, the Sustainability and Research Hub, and the Research, Ethics, and Integrity Office. It is supported by the Office of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion and the Faculty of Sciences and Health.
This exhibition ran from 6-9 May 2025, East Quad Atrium, TU Dublin, City Campus, Grangegorman.
Click here for the 2025 exhibition.
Posters are permanently displayed in the TU Dublin Greenway Hub.
1.5
Dr Con Kennedy Appointed to the Advisory Board of the Liberties Festival
2nd April 2025
The Liberties Festival is one of Ireland’s oldest festivals. It is an innovative community festival that works with local community members and professional artists to place culture, creativity, and diversity at the heart of The Liberties. Founded in the 1970s, the Liberties Festival has become a highlight of Dublin summers, offering a series of family-friendly, sporting, and community events and an exciting multi-cultural and arts programme.
Dr Kennedy is intimately connected with the community in Dublin 8, having grown up in Oliver Bond House and attended both primary and secondary schools in the area. Dr Kennedy also has intergenerational connections to the Liberties and family members living in the community. Dr Kennedy’s later father was extensively involved in community work in the area, and he now continues his father’s legacy.
Dr Kennedy will be joined on the festival's first advisory board by Laura Gibbons (StayCity), Michael Quinn (Fáilte Ireland), and Sarah Byrne (MA Student - NCAD).
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Dr Con Kennedy featured in TU Dublin Staff Spotlight
25th March 2025
In this staff profile, Dr Con Kennedy discusses the importance of education and how TU Dublin has always been his first choice for pursuing his career in the graphic design industry.
Click here to read the full article.
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Dr Con Kennedy to host TU Dublin’s Start-Up Café
12th March 2025
The Start-up Café is a monthly meet-up where aspiring entrepreneurs connect, gain insights from guest founders & develop their business ideas.
Held on the last Thursday of each month, the Start-up Café is a free, relaxed coffee morning where aspiring entrepreneurs gather to learn, connect, and develop their business ideas. Each session features a guest entrepreneur who shares their journey, from early ideation to launch and leads a workshop to help you refine your concept. You’ll also have the chance to pitch your idea and receive valuable feedback in an open-mic session.
For more information: https://www.tudublin.ie/connect/enterprise-dev/news--events/startup-cafe/
Register here: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/march-start-up-cafe-tickets-1279029063359
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1.9
Italia Geniale—Design Enables
11th March 2025
Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Dublino invited Dr Con Kennedy to attend the launch of the exhibition Italia Geniale—Design Enables.
Italia Geniale is promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and organised by the Italian Embassy in Ireland in collaboration with the Italian Institute of Culture in Dublin, the ITA Italian Trade Agency London, and the Italian Irish Chamber of Commerce. The exhibition features over 60 iconic artefacts of Italian design, including pieces by Ferrari, Poltrona Frau, Flos, Artemide, and Olivetti.
The keynote speaker was Architect Massimo Roj from Progetto CMR. Since 2016, Massimo has been an Ambassador of Italian Design, nominated by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The exhibition is open to the public until 27th March.
Dr Con Kennedy appointed Chairperson to the TU Dublin Faculty of Arts and Humanities Student Enrolment and Growth Committee
20th January 2025
The Student Enrolment and Growth Committee (SEGC) is a subcommittee of the TU Dublin Faculty Executive Team. This committee oversees and supports activities that increase student enrolment and retention across the schools and disciplines of the Faculty of Arts & Humanities.
The purpose of the SEGC is:
Review and evaluate academic portfolio trends and engage in enrolment planning
Identify progression, transfer and retention figures across programmes of all types of educational provision in the Faculty
Define and identify progression/retention at national, university, and programme levels for this committee. At all NFQ levels provided in the Faculty
Devise and implement a plan to increase retention rates and to ensure that they meet the national retention norm. Devise a multi-annual iterative approach to enrolment and growth, each year drawing on learnings from previous years
Capture and show the diversity of our learners who are supported to progress and succeed at the Faculty of Arts & Humanities, TU Dublin (including internal recruitment from level 9). Record Inclusivity in the Faculty: We will be the most ‘accessible’ university in Ireland with the largest number of diverse learners’
Identify the significant transitions and incidents that contribute to a lack of progression (e.g., transition to higher education, assessment) and develop a framework for data collection
Liaise with the Student Experience & Success committee and relevant school recruitment committees to review and plan relevant supports that will help students progress through their studies at TU Dublin
Dr Kennedy will chair this new committee and help coordinate a new research-informed strategy for the Faculty.
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