Prof. Barry O'Sullivan
Bio
Professor Barry O’Sullivan, FAAAI, FAAIA, FEurAI, FIAE, FICS, MRIA is a full professor at the School of Computer Science & IT at University College Cork (Ireland) and a visiting professor at Northwestern (Illinois, USA). He works on artificial intelligence, constraint programming, operations research, AI/data ethics, and public policy. He contributes to several global Track II diplomacy efforts related to geopolitical aspects of AI.
He is founding director of the Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics at UCC and the SFI Centre for Research Training in AI. He is founding Editor-in-Chief of ACM AI Letters. He served as Vice Chair of the European Commission’s High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence which formulated the EU’s ethical approach to AI. He currently represents the European Union at the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence.
He conducts his diplomacy work in collaboration with INHR (Geneva, Brussels, Washington DC), the Center for New American Security (Washington DC), and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy. His awards include Science Foundation Ireland Researcher of the Year (2016), Member of the Royal Irish Academy (2017), IPEC-EATCS Nerode Prize (2020), Science Foundation Ireland Best International Engagement Award (2021), and the European AI Association’s Distinguished Service Award (2023). Professor O'Sullivan has been involved in winning and overseeing over €750m in R&D funding.
Kristina Mariager-Anderson
Keynote Overview
In a context of increasing complexity and growing reliance on AI, what remains distinctly human about career guidance?
This keynote explores professional judgement, ethical agency, and relational intelligence, arguing that AI exposes rather than replaces the social and ethical core of guidance practice.
Bio
Kristina Mariager-Anderson is Associate Professor in Career Guidance at the Danish School of Education (DPU), Aarhus University, and Professor II at the University of South-Eastern Norway.
Kristina heads the research unit for professional guidance at DPU and leads Working Group 3 on Critical Practice in Career Guidance within the European COST Action ‘Critical Perspectives on Career and Career Guidance’ (2024–2028). Her research focuses on career guidance in times of uncertainty, with particular attention to youth transitions, educational participation, and the role of professional judgement in institutional contexts.
She works from a critical perspective, examining how policy frameworks shape practice and possibilities for action. Kristina is especially interested in how guidance professionals can strengthen ethical agency and relational practices to support meaningful career development in a VUCA world.
Sok Ho Chong
Keynote Overview
If we were designing careers services from scratch today, would we build what we have now?
This session takes a critical look at legacy delivery models and explores how digital transformation offers an opportunity to fundamentally rethink career development learning.
It will consider the role of technology as an enabler of scale and personalisation, the growing importance of data in shaping strategic decision-making, and the need to move towards more embedded, institution-wide approaches.
Bio
Sok is based in Canberra and leads targetconnect's operations across the Asia-Pacific region managing all strategic decisions and operations for the region. With seven years of experience at the Australian National University in Careers and Employability, Work Integrated Learning, and operations, Sok brings a unique perspective to his role – having been both a university professional staff member and the person who led the procurement and implementation of targetconnect at ANU. This first-hand experience on both sides of the partnership gives Sok deep insights into the challenges universities face and how technology solutions can genuinely transform student outcomes.
It won’t come as a surprise that Sok is always happy to chat all things tech and platform related – from top tips on student engagement to technical details of platform implementation
Dr. Ciarán Dunne
Bio
Dr. Ciarán Dunne is the first Transversal Skills Director for Dublin City University (DCU), a unique role in higher education internationally, which focuses on helping students and graduates to thrive in an increasingly unscripted world through the acquisition, application and evidencing of a variety of key transversal skills.
Prior to taking on this role and following on from his experience working in both the public and private sector, Ciarán was Associate Professor in DCU, lecturing across multiple disciplines, including Sociology, Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Creativity and Creative Thinking, Futures Literacy, Intercultural Studies, and Spanish Language. He has a strong interest in understanding emerging trends and forces of disruption in both higher education and industry, so that students, graduates, employees and organisations can be future-capable in the context of rapid change. He is passionate about creativity, and his ‘Talking Creativity’ podcast explores how this innate human capacity can be cultivated both individually and collectively.
Ciarán has been an invited speaker at a variety of academic and industry events, both nationally and internationally, and has contributed to diverse media initiatives, including the award-winning ‘Where is My Mind?’ podcast and the ‘RTE Brainstorm’ series. He has been nominated for multiple teaching awards, winning the award for 'Distinctive Approaches to Teaching' (2018) and the Team Award (2025) in DCU’s President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and Learning
