Jeremy Keith

Jeremy Keith is an Irish web developer living in Brighton, England where he works with the web consultancy firm Clearleft. He has written three books, DOM Scripting, Bulletproof Ajax and most recently, HTML5 For Web Designers. His online home is adactio.com.

When he's not building websites, Jeremy plays bouzouki in the band Salter Cane. He is also the creator and curator of one of the web's largest online communities dedicated to Irish traditional music, TheSession.org. You should unfollow him on Twitter.

Keith Finglas

Keith spent twenty years in programme management with G.E. (U.S.A.), Guinness and Intel in Europe, the U.S.A., South America and the Far East. His last role in Intel was managing the Project Management Office for Intel’s world-wide Innovation Centre, before leaving to start Innovation Delivery with his co-founders in 2006.

Keith has been responsible for managing project groups and large projects in areas such as IT, Finance, HR and Construction.

He has taught project and programme management, as well as the development and application of innovation techniques within projects to achieve higher value solutions. He has written on the use of innovation techniques in software development.

As well as meeting the innovation needs of commercial clients, IDL run programmes in innovation leadership, management and techniques for third level students. Recent additions include Secondary and Primary school innovation programmes.

Over the last three years he has worked with clients and students in Ireland, the U.K., Iran and the U.S.A., helping them learn and apply innovative techniques to their projects and businesses.

Dónal Rice (CEUD NDA)

Dónal Rice is the Senior ICT Advisor for the NDA Centre for Excellence in Universal Design (CEUD) at the National Disability Authority of Ireland.

Dónal has over ten years experience working on accessible and user-centered designed ICT projects. He has responsibility for the NDA IT Accessibility Guidelines. He currently chairs the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) Workshop Agreement (CWA) on Curriculum for Training Professionals in Universal Design, (CEN WS/UD-Prof-Curriculum), is a partner in the EDeAN and eAccess+ networks and is editor of the ITU/G3ict eAccessibility Policy Toolkit for Persons with Disabilities.

Dónal holds an MSc in Computing and is currently undertaking a PhD in eAccessibility and Legislation with the Centre for Disability Law and Policy at the National University of Ireland, Galway.

Julia Cassim (HHC RCA)

Julia Cassim studied Fine Art and Sculpture in UK and Japan. From 1971-1998, Julia lived in Japan, where she was arts columnist of The Japan Times. She founded Access Vision, a non-profit organisation for visually impaired people engaged in research on accessing and interpreting museum collections. Julia curated and designed award winning exhibitions for audiences with visual impairments and learning disabilities and authored 'Into the Light – Museums and their Visually Impaired Visitors', which draws on this experience.

Julia joined the Helen Hamlyn Centre in 2000. Her main research focus since then has been development of creative partnerships between people with disabilities and designers; ways to involve them in the design process to encourage innovative, inclusive thinking and the development and dissemination of knowledge transfer methodologies on inclusive design to the design and business communities. She organises Challenges all over the world.

Julia is facilitator of the 24 Hour Universal Design Challenge.

Clive Grinyer (24 Hour Universal Design Challenge 2010 Patron)

Clive Grinyer is Director of Customer Experience in the Advisory service IBSG CISCO, which works with business and public sector organizations creating thought leadership on technology topics, creating strategy ad on live projects. His area of expertise is around the user, customer and citizen experience, and how to design products, services and technology based on a real understanding of those users. He has been involved for many years in Inclusive Design and has been invited to the advisory panel of the Helen Hamlyn Foundation, the inclusive design organization based at the Royal College of Art.

Dr Ger Craddock (CEUD NDA)

Dr Ger Craddock took up the post as Chief Officer of the Centre for Excellence in Universal Design in April 2007.He is a DCU graduate, with an Engineering degree in Electronics, a postgraduate diploma in Social and Vocational Rehabilitation Studies from UCD, followed by a PhD investigating the impact of Assistive Technology on Students with Disabilities. He previously worked in the Central Remedial Clinic and headed up the Client Technical Services Department for 14 years.

He has lead several EU projects: KPT (Keeping Pace with Technology) project; E4 (Education for Employment) Project; ILT (Inclusive Learning through Technology) Project; and RT (Reuse Technology) Centre. He is a visiting lecturer in the UCD Education and Engineering Departments and the DIT Kevin Street Engineering Department.

Ger is Past-President of the Association for the Advancement of Assistive Technology in Europe (AAATE) and currently sits on the Board.

Ger is chair of the 24 Hour Universal Design Challenge.

James Hubbard (CEUD NDA)

James Hubbard is a Senior Design Advisor with the Centre for Excellence in Universal Design. He works with awareness programmes, curriculum development, research projects and standards to promote and apply the benefits of Universal Design in the public and private sectors.

James holds a BSc in Technology Education and an MSc in Safety and Risk Control. He is certified as an Assistive Technology Professional (ATP) and a Rehabilitation Engineering Technologist (RET) with the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA). His 20 years of work in the field of technology and disability programs at the University of Wisconsin involved design and delivery of courses and trainings on Technology Education/Assistive Technology, as well he has managed specialised adaptive product design labs, developed services programmes and holds a patent for a Universal Designed Workstation.

James is director of the 24 Hour Universal Design Challenge.

Damini Kumar

Award winning innovator Damini Kumar is European Union Ambassador for Creativity & Innovation, a prestigious role which she was appointed by the EU Commission.

Damini's many awards include The Microsoft WMB Woman in Technology 2010, Young British Female Inventor of the Year, Young Achiever of the Year and she has been listed as one of the "Top 100 Women in the World" by Cosmopolitan magazine. She is an international expert in product design, creative thinking, design thinking, user centred design and innovation and recognised for inventing the world's first non-drip spout. In 2007 she joined NUI Maynooth in Ireland where she is now the Director of Design & Creativity and successfully set up a BSc degree in Product Design.

Damini has had huge worldwide media interest which she has used productively and has devoted her professional career so far to industry and academia in order to teach, promote and inspire creativity, design, entrepreneurship and innovation in others.

Damini is the 24 Hour Universal Design Challenge Co-Ambassador.

Sean McNulty (IDI)

Sean has over 28 years experience in innovation management and implementation. His key role is mentoring, training and implementing innovation management processes for SMEs. In the 1980's Sean worked in the US as an Industrial Designer. On returning to Ireland he worked in Kilkenny Design. Sean established Dolmen - New Product Development consultancy – in 1991, and the innovation management and NPD training consultancy INNOVATOR in 2000.

Dolmen has won various National and International Design Awards for developing innovative products. INNOVATOR is a consultancy that facilitates companies in the area of implementing Innovation Management through the development of customised processes. INNOVATOR also provides the knowledge and skill tools necessary to enable first time performers/entrepreneurs and SMEs to research, design, develop and commercialise their business ideas/activities.

Sean is Co-Ambassador for the 24 Hour Universal Design Challenge

Neil Murphy (CEUD NDA)

Neil Murphy took up the post as Senior Built Environment Advisor at the Centre for Excellence in Universal Design in October of 2008.

He is a graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology, Bolton Street & Trinity College Dublin with an honours degree in Architecture. He is also a registered Architect with the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland, MRIAI.

Neil has worked on a wide variety of projects in commercial Architecture in various Berlin & Dublin firms as both a Project & Site Architect for 12 years including winning an award for a boardwalk and river front amenity in 2007.

Neil Murphy is the 24 Hour Universal Design Challenge, Event Experience Coordinator

Antoinette Fennell (CFIT NCBI)

Antoinette is ICT Accessibility Researcher in the Centre for Inclusive Technology at the National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI CFIT). She holds a PhD in Zoology, specialising in Animal Behaviour, from UCD.

Antoinette has six years of experience in the area of Accessible Design and Universal Design. She worked as Human Factors Scientist in the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) in London. After this, she held research and project management roles in the Centre for Excellence in Universal Design (CEUD). Until recently, she worked in Trinity College Dublin's School of Engineering, where she focused on Universal Design of the Built Environment. She project managed the network Universally Designed Built Environments at the Urban Scale (UD-BUS) and was Co-Director of the first 24 Hour Universal Design Challenge.

Now at NCBI CFIT, Antoinette primarily works on the European Project VICON www.vicon-project.eu exploring the role of virtual users and environments in achieving Universal Design.

24 Hour Universal Design Challenge, Design Team Coordinator"

Rodd Bond (DKIT)

Rodd Bond is an Architect with unique experience in both development and application of technology applied to environments and processes that support people's health and wellness. Rodd graduated from the school of architecture at Brookes College, Oxford, in 1982, where his major study focused on evaluation frameworks applied to the design of primary care facilities in the UK.

Rodd directs the Netwell Centre in Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT). Based in the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Applied Sciences, the Netwell Centre hosts the Nestling Project – a collaborative initiative between the local authority, the HSE and DkIT. The Nestling Project examines the fusion of social networks, environments and technologies that support ageing-in-place. Rodd has managed Dundalk's participation in the WHO Age-Friendly Cities Project and is now managing Louth's Age-Friendly County Initiative.

Shane Hogan (NDA)

Shane Hogan is a Senior Standards Officer with the National Disability Authority. His main responsibility is managing their Excellence through Accessibility (EtA) Award scheme, which accredits public bodies that have achieved a high standard in accessibility of Quality Customer Services; Built Environment; and Information and Communications Technology. Shane is currently managing the development of an eLearning tool for introductory Disability Equality Training for public sector staff. Shane's previous role was managing the project management office of Microsoft's European Operation's Centre in Dublin. Shane led a number of key business transformation projects for Microsoft across commercial, retail and gaming markets. Prior to joining Microsoft, Shane was IT Manager for Johnson & Johnson Ireland and IT Consultant with KPMG. Shane has a B.Sc. degree in computer science and an Advanced Diploma in Project Management.

Charlie Rohan (NCR)

Leading the user experience function at NCR for over 10 years, Charlie had been responsible for the design, usability and accessibility of hardware and software solutions for all of NCR’s global industries. The consumer experience team, located across Scotland, Ireland and USA, is tasked with designing products that can be used by anyone, anywhere at any time and a universal design philosophy is crucial in making this happen. A great consumer experience is critical to the success of any commercial self-service solution and Charlie’s work in this space has driven recognition in NCR of the value of a design led organisation.

2009 is the 9th consecutive year in which Charlie has provided NCR’s sponsorship for the Royal Society for the Arts 'Design Directions' program in the UK. This and the ‘NCR Scottish Universities Design Competition’, now in its 6th year, show commitment to supporting and developing new design talent.

Paul Fortune (NCAD)

Paul Fortune is Director of the MAN:MEDICINE Design Centre at NCAD and was recently head of Department of Industrial Design, where students are trained as user-centred designers, combining complex technical, resource and economic issues with human needs. He is a Fellow of the Irish Ergonomics Society and has worked as a staff ergonomist and consultant in many types of industry. Paul was manager of the Product Design and Development Department at the Irish Trade Board (now Enterprise Ireland) and has extensive experience of product development. He was a founder member of the European Institute for Design and Disability and served as executive board member until recently. He has organised several major conferences in Ireland on universal design related topics, including the City and Town for All; Design, Corporate Design Responsibility and the Future and has participated as speaker at many others.