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Dr. Julie Byrne

Assistant Professor (Social Studies)
      
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Dr. Julie Byrne

Assistant Professor (Social Studies)

 byrnej18@tcd.ie

 


Julie is Assistant Professor in Online Education & Development and Director for Undergraduate Teaching and Learning in the School of Social Work and Social Policy. She has been part of two European Commission funded consortia under the Digital Europe Programme focused on meeting Europe's needs for Advanced Digital Skills (https://advancedskills.eu/). She was Trinity's Academic Lead (2019-2021) on the HEA funded project to enhance the digital skills of teaching staff in Ireland's university sector. She led the development of Trinity's first fully online postgraduate programme and was part of the first Microcreds pilot in Trinity offering an online micro credential in Digital Technologies in Human Services. Julie studied human resource management and development, at Dublin City University and University College Dublin. Her doctoral thesis at the University of Limerick focused on the meaning of career success. The career as a concept spans many occupations and professions and this has facilitated Julie's work with a variety of professions including engineers, teachers, managers and health and social care professionals. However, promoting education and careers for all has been an enduring feature of Julie's work as evidenced in her commitment to building accessable education pathways via part-time, online, blended and microcredential forms. Julie came to Trinity in 2009 to work in the National Institute for Intellectual Disability. There she coordinated the successful €1.5 million euro grant from Atlantic Philanthropies and served as Acting Director of the Institute which offered the pioneering Certificate in Contemporary Living for people with intellectual disabilities. Julie was previously Director of Academic Programmes at National College of Ireland where she lectured in Human Resource Management and Development and Business Management. While there, she founded the Institute for Managers of Community and Voluntary Organisations, an initiative funded by POBAL. Alongside her academic role, Julie provides consulting services to professional regulators and professional bodies on education, training and continuing professional development matters. She was part of the working group to develop CORU's first principles based standards of proficiency framework and later part of the Independent Drafting Group applying this framework to the draft standards for Psychologists in Ireland. Her research interests are digital skills and policy, human services and technology and the regulation and competence of professionals.
  Career Education & Planning   CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT   Continuous Professional Development for Practising Teachers   digital education competences   digital pedagogy   Education and training   Nonprofit Management   POSTGRADUATE TRAINING   PROFESSION   professional training policy (education and regulation)   Training and Development
Project Title
 LEADSx2030
From
2024
To
2028
Summary
Leading Europe"s Advanced Digital Skills to 2030. This project examines advanced digital skills shortages across Europe and develops strategies to build sustainable talent pipelines. It connects education systems, industry needs and policy frameworks to strengthen Europe"s digital leadership capacity.
Funding Agency
European Commission
Programme
Digital Europe
Project Title
 LeADS
From
2022
To
2024
Summary
The demand for Advanced Digital Skills (ADS) has become the cornerstone of Europe"s digital future. LEADS is at the forefront, dedicated to providing invaluable insights into the ever-changing landscape of ADS demands. The project aimed to equip skills suppliers, encompassing education suppliers, with the knowledge, guidance, and best practices essential to mould the future of European ADS talent.
Funding Agency
European Commission
Programme
Digital Europe
Project Title
 Enhancing the digital teaching capabilities of experienced online instructors and the digital learning capabilities of their students.
From
April 2019
To
December 2020
Summary
Online education requires both students and lecturers to acquire skills and display behaviours that fit the learning environment. While research has been conducted on the design and technical skills required in an online environment there has been relatively little research on the skills and behaviours required once an online course is 'live'. How students and lecturers can build a safe and vibrant online learning space which promotes student engagement is a growing area of study associated with student satisfaction and success. This project aims to address the gap by asking experienced online graduates and lecturers in Trinity to identify the behaviours they associate with good digital learning and teaching. Through focus groups with students as well as interviews with lecturers, the research will inform the development of online resources for students and add to the range of learning resources for those in higher education to develop their skills in line with the National Professional Development Framework in domains 3, 4 & 5
Funding Agency
National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning
Programme
Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund 2018
Project Type
Research
Project Title
 Development of a continuing professional development (CPD) Strategy
From
2014
To
2014
Summary
The aim of this project was to develop a continuing professional development strategy for a professional body. The research involved both secondary research and interviews with professionals and comparable professional bodies in other countries.
Funding Agency
Professional body
Project Title
 Development of occupational standards for managers in the community and voluntary sector
From
2009
To
2010
Summary
The aim of this project was to develop occupational standards for managers in the community and voluntary sector to support continuing professional development activities for the sector. The research involved secondary research to identify a framework for the standards and primary research with managers and their employers to identify the key competences for managers working in the community and voluntary sector.
Funding Agency
Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs

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Details Date
Coordinator All Ireland Social Work Student Survey 2021
Enhancing Digital Teaching and Learning Project Team - TCD Representative & Academic Lead 2019
All Ireland Social Work Study Survey - School Representative 2018
Reviewer - British Journal of Social Work 2026
QQI Accreditation Panel - Business Management in the Community & Voluntary Sector 2017
Reviewer - International Review of Open & Distance Learning 2017
Reviewer - Journal of Technology in Human Services 2017
Reviewer - British Journal of Social Work 2020
Reviewer - European Research on Management and Business Economics 2020
Reviewer - European Journal of Social Work 2020
Reviewer - Journal of Social Work Practice 2018
Reviewer - International Journal of Qualitative Methods 2021
Reviewer - Groupwork 2019
Founding Board member, Institute for Managers of Community & Voluntary Organisations in Ireland (IMCV) 2008
Steering Committee - development by Irish Institute of Training & Development of Masters programme in Training & Development 2008
Steering Committee - development by Dublin Docklands Development Authority of B.A. in Active Citizenship 2007
Language Skill Reading Skill Writing Skill Speaking
English Fluent Fluent Fluent
French Medium Basic Basic
German Medium Basic Medium
Spanish Medium Basic Medium
Details Date From Date To
Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development 1992 2013
Doolan Maher, R., Flynn, S. & Byrne, J., Through a Critical Realist Lens: Investigating Data Collection and Analysis Techniques in a Qualitative Study About Internet-Related Child Protection Risks for Children and Young People with Disabilities, International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 24, 2025, Notes: [https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406925137018], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI
Flynn, S.,Caffrey, L.,Antosik-Parsons, K.,Whiting, S., Byrne, J. and Conlon, C., New-Materialist Bricolage: Presenting an Ontological Position for Qualitative Internet-Based Research, International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 28, (2), 2025, p179 - 192, Notes: [DOI: 10.1080/13645579.2024.2329430], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  URL
Flynn, S., Doolan Maher, R., Byrne, J., Disability, Child Protection and the Internet: The Socio-Cultural Construction of Risk, Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies, 25, (1), 2025, Notes: [https://arrow.tudublin.ie/ijass/vol25/iss1/4], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI
Fu, N., Hoang, M., Salis, C. and Byrne, J., Leadsx2030 Annual Report Year 1, July, 2025, Notes: [Education and training policy regarding supply of advanced digital skills.], Report, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  URL
Doolan Maher, R., Flynn, S. and Byrne, J., Shifting Mindsets; A Critical Commentary on Child Protection and Welfare, Disability, and Online Risk Through Critical Literature Review, Child Care in Practice, 2024, phttps://doi.org/10.1080/135752 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI
Rowan, B., Borotis , S., Byrne, J. Fu, N., Kypriotis, E., de Lama, N., Menasalvas, E., Moreno, A. Moreno, J.J. Nielsen, J., Consolidated recommendations for the development of Advanced Digital Skills in Europe, June, 2024, Notes: [Education and training policy regarding the development of advanced digital skills in Ireland.], Report, PUBLISHED  URL
Moreno, A.M., Menasalvas, E. Moreno-Navarro, J.J., Kavanagh, S, Thibaudeau, F., Byrne, J. Welford. M., Leads Final Guidelines Report, June, 2024, Notes: [Demand and supply analysis of education and training for advanced digital skills. Provision challenges and solutions.], Report, PUBLISHED  URL
Kavanagh, S., Byrne, J. and Thibideau, F., Advanced Digital Skills: Meeting the Education and Training Challenges, 2024, Notes: [Education and training policy. Digital skills development. Industry collaboration with education and training providers.], Report, PUBLISHED  URL
Social Work Education and Digitalisation: The Classroom in Transition in, editor(s)Lopez Pelaez, A. and Kirwan, G. , Routledge International Handbook of Digital Social Work, London, UK, Routledge, 2023, [Byrne, J.], Book Chapter, PUBLISHED
"Vibrant, Open and Accessible" " Students" visions of higher education futures in, editor(s)Czerniewicz, L. and Cronin, C. , Higher Education for Good: Teaching and Learning Futures, Cambridge, UK, Open Book Publishers, 2023, pp335 - 352, [Flynn, S., Byrne, J., Devoy, M. Johnstone, J., Lowney, R., Magee, E., Molloy, K., Moloney, D., Munro, M., Ongolly, F., Ryan, J., Stone, S. Waters, M. and Wright, K.], Book Chapter, PUBLISHED  DOI  URL
  

Page 1 of 5
Byrne, J.,, Designing a sustainable interface between industry & higher education: Lessons for advanced digital skills, European Big Data Value Conference, Valencia, Spain,, 27-29 October, 2023, Oral Presentation, PUBLISHED
Byrne, J., Enhancing Interaction in Live Online Classes: What Works for Students?, Irish Universitites Association Webinar Series - Enhancing Digital Teaching and Learning, 25 January 2021, 2021, Invited Talk, PUBLISHED
Byrne, J., Co-Producing Interaction in Live Online Classes: Insights from Students and Educators, Professional Development Series, Online, 10 March, 2021, Dundalk Institute for Technology, Centre for Teaching and Learning, Invited Talk, PUBLISHED
Byrne, J., Working together to enhance interaction in live online classes , Learning online: a roundtable discussion with students and educators, University College Cork, 25 March , 2021, UCC, Invited Talk, PUBLISHED
Byrne, J., Learning from experience: what works in online classes?, School Learning Forum, School of Linguistic, Speech and Communication Sciences, 9 April, 2021, SLSCS, Invited Talk, PUBLISHED
Byrne, J., Enhancing Interaction in Live Online Classes: Digital Pedagogy Guidance for Educators, Social Work Research and Educators Forum, 7 - 8 January 2021, 2021, Oral Presentation, PUBLISHED
Byrne, J., Creating Career Narratives through the Career History Method, 5th Irish Narrative Inquiry Conference, Dublin, Ireland, 2-3 May, 2019, 2019, Oral Presentation, PUBLISHED
Julie Byrne, Gloria Kirwan, Situated Learning: The Transition of Social Workers from Professional Learning into Practice, The Learner Conference, Queens University Belfast, Northern Ireland, 24-26 July, edited by Common Ground , 2019, Oral Presentation, PRESENTED
Edwina Flavin, Gloria Kirwan, Julie Byrne, Working in a Culturally Competent Way? Exploring the Perceptions of Social Workers Engaging with Children and Their Families from Minority Ethnic Groups, 7th National Child Protection and Welfare Social Work Conference , University College Cork, 24 October 2019, edited by SWCONF , 2019, Oral Presentation, PRESENTED
Gloria Kirwan Julie Byrne,, EDUCATING PROFESSIONALS: THE ROLE OF REGULATORY STANDARDS IN PROGRAMME DEVELOPMENT, ICERI2019: 12th International Conference on Education, Research and Innovation , Seville, Spain, 11-12 November 2019, edited by IATED , 2019, Oral Presentation, PRESENTED

  


Page 1 of 3
Award Date
Excellence in Research Student Supervision nominated 2024
Online learning in higher education and professional development; impact of technology and digitisation on human services; professional careers and continuing professional development, leadership and management of human service organisations, regulation of professionals