Future Humanities Institute National Launch
National Launch of UCC’s Future Humanities Institute:
Ideas into Action
University College Cork is pleased to announce the national launch of the Future Humanities Institute (FHI) on Thursday, 23 April 2026, a landmark moment in the development of UCC Futures and in Ireland’s wider research landscape. The event, themed Ideas into Action, will take place in the Dora Allman Room from 2pm followed by a reception, research showcase, and the launch of FHI’s newest research cluster in the Aula Maxima.
The event will feature a keynote from Dr. Domhnaill Hernon. Dr Hernon is an award‑winning technology and innovation executive and Global Lead of the EY Intelligent Realities Lab. With a PhD in aerodynamics and a background spanning research leadership at Nokia Bell Labs, creative development, and applied innovation, he is internationally recognised for pioneering work at the intersection of art, technology, imagination and societal transformation. His work has been featured in Wired, Forbes, Times Square, SXSW, Nasdaq and TEDx, and he advises global cultural and innovation programmes.
About the Future Humanities Institute
The Future Humanities Institute (FHI), a UCC Futures Institute, brings together researchers from across the arts, humanities and collaborating disciplines to help society understand and respond to accelerating social, cultural, technological, political and environmental change.
These global grand challenges are fundamentally human ones. They demand creative responses. They also demand new insight into values, histories, identities, cultures, belief systems and the stories that guide collective action.
Through its Radical Humanities Laboratory and through the work of its thematic clusters, the FHI catalyses and champions the kind of bold arts and humanities-led research that generates these insights. Our researchers actively contribute to UN Sustainable Development Goals, and they shape culture, influence policy, debatesand bring arts and humanities‑driven perspectives into conversation with the sciences, engineering, medicine, sustainability research and industry.
The national launch of the Future Humanities Institute marks a significant moment for UCC and for the wider research landscape in Ireland. It signals the Institute’s commitment to supporting world‑leading scholarship and strengthening national research capacity. We look forward to welcoming colleagues, partners and stakeholders as we begin the next phase of the Future Humanities Institute’s mission.
Event Programme
The event is organised around three thematic ‘Conversations’, each exploring the role of the arts and humanities in imagining, driving and transforming our shared future.
14:00: Opening Session, Dora Allman Room
The event will open with a welcome from Professor Yvon Bonenfant, Director of the Future Humanities Institute, followed by an address from Professor John O’Halloran, President of UCC.
14:30–15:25: Conversation 1: Imagining Our Future
This session is anchored by a keynote from Dr Domhnall Hernon, Global Lead of the EY Intelligent Realities Lab. His presentation: “Why the Future of Innovation Requires Applied Imagination,” examines the vital role that inventiveness and originality play in steering technological innovation and societal change. This keynote will be followed by a response from Professor John Cryan, UCC Vice President for Research & Innovation. The Conversation concludes with a series of flash presentations:
Dr Alex Khalil — Harnessing Music’s Neural Infrastructure
Dr Lijuan Qian — Offering Community Agency
Dr Clíona O’Carroll — Cultural Heritage, Community, Action
Break
15:40–16:10: Conversation 2: Motors of Change
Chaired by Professor Whitney Battle‑Baptiste (University of Massachusetts Amherst), this conversation examines how humanities research catalyses social, cultural and institutional transformation.
Opening Statements
Professor Laura McAtackney — Material Memory Matters
Professor Nuala Finnegan — Building Bridges
Dr Dyuti Chakravarty — Migrant Storytelling in Healthcare Research
Dr Barbara Siller — Literary Multilingualism & Social Change
Panel Discussion
How humanities research drives change.
16:10-16:40: Conversation 3: Transforming Our Future
Chaired by Professor Luna Dolezal (University of Exeter), this final conversation examines transformative methodologies for future‑oriented humanities research.
Opening Statements
Dr Kian Mintz‑Woo — Climate Justice in Irish Governance
Dr Rosa Rogers — Climate Storytelling
Dr Eugene Costello — Ecology‑Healing History
Professor Des Fitzgerald — Humanities Brain
Panel Discussion
What makes a method transformative?
Closing Reflections and Reception
A closing response will be offered by Professor Yvon Bonenfant. The reception, which will take place in the Aula Maxima,at 17:10 will feature the launch of the Future Humanities Institute’s newest Research Cluster, as well as research posters and project tables led by:
Dr Conor Linehan and