Paul Jenkinson serves as president of the European Young Engineers, an international non-profit representing around 500,000 young engineers in more than 20 European nations. Paul Jenkinson leads an international non-profit uniting 100,000’s of young engineers across 30+ European engineering institutions. Holding a Master’s in Chemical Engineering, he’s managed various roles at Brookfield Infrastructure, overseeing the commissioning of the UK’s inaugural public 100% hydrogen pipeline. Presently, he serves as a Low Carbon District Energy Design Engineer, crafting heating and cooling networks across the UK. Paul has leadership experience through chairing the Institute of Chemical Engineering’s National Early Careers Committee (IChemE NECC, UK&I) and founding the European Federation of Chemical Engineers Early Career ChemEng’s group (EFCE EC).

Professor Vincent Cunnane has been the President of the Institute of Technology, Sligo since October 2014 and has just been appointed President of TUS. He is a native of Stranorlar in County Donegal. An electrochemist, he spent the majority of his career at the University of Limerick where he became the first Vice-President of Research in 2002.

In 2008 he became Chief Executive Officer of Shannon Development, contributing significantly to regional development in the Shannon region prior to merging the company with Shannon Airport to create the Shannon Group in 2014. Professor Cunnane was also appointed Chief Executive of the Mid-West Task Force, set up by the Irish Government in January 2009 to bring new investment to the Shannon region after the cessation of manufacturing by Dell Computers in Limerick. He is a former board member of Shannon Broadband Ltd, Shannon Castle Banquets & Heritage Ltd, and of the first National Research Support Fund Board.

Kate Scally is a chemical engineer working as a process Specialist in Pfizer’s API manufacturing facility in Ringaskiddy, Co. Cork. She has a bachelor’s in Chemical Engineers from UCC and a masters degree in Intelligent Manufacturing Systems from MTU Cork. Kate has experience working in the medical device, consumer healthcare and pharmaceuticals manufacturing industries across various departments such as Automation, process engineering, finance and supply chain. Kate is also the chairperson of  EI YES Cork and the 3rd Level Liaison Officer for the EI senior committee in Cork.

Dr. Wassim Derguech is Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of FMCI – Prior to joining FMCI, Wassim was a product owner and agile delivery lead at Jaguar Land Rover Ireland where he was leading the platform reliability engineering team responsible for the deployment solution of the cloud infrastructure for managing real-time vehicle data. Wassim worked as the technical manager at Derilinx, an SME that develops Open Data solutions for clients (such as the Irish Government, Central Statistics Office, the World Bank group and others) interested in publishing, linking, analysing and visualising their data using Linked Open Data principles.

Wassim is the chairperson of Shannon Chamber Skillnet Steering Committee member of Robots, Cobots and Robotics Technical Committee TC49 of the National Standards Authority of Ireland. He also worked as a research scientist at the Insight Centre for Data Analytics, National University of
Ireland, Galway where got his PhD and worked as the technical lead and solution architect for various national and European projects.
Wassim is also the coordinator of EALU-AER project which is Ireland’s first Digital Sky Demonstrator of U-space services. EALU-AER is a SESAR JU project co-funded by the European Commission – CINEA – European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency.

Regiane McLoughlin is driven by her passion for fostering diversity and inclusivity in professional environments. With over 6 years of experience as Business Development Executive at Engineers Ireland, she has been instrumental in spearheading initiatives to support professionals in developing their careers.

Regiane’s most notable contribution is the creation of the Global Engineers Series, aimed at assisting professionals in relocation and enhancing their career prospects. Through this series, she has personally supported and connected with over 12 thousand international engineers, establishing herself as a pivotal resource within the engineering sector for both professionals and organisations.

With academic credentials including a BSc in Business and Management and a BA in Tourism, coupled with certifications in digital marketing and event management, Regiane brings a diverse skill set to her role. Having called Ireland home for over 12 years, she possesses a deep understanding of the local landscape and is committed to driving positive change within the industry.

Alan Dooley is the Head of Digital Strategy for Limerick City & County Council. He is responsible for Digital Strategy, Digitalisation, European Projects, Telecoms, and CCTV. Alan’s role involves planning, developing, controlling, and maintaining digital infrastructure, innovation, and services for the Council and the Limerick region. The Council aims to use innovation in digital services and citizen engagement to transform Limerick into a smart, sustainable region, with digital transformation driving regional economic and spatial development. Alan is committed to building modern solutions for modern problems, from the inside out, and is dedicated to making Limerick a leader in the smart cities movement.

Before joining Limerick City & County Council, Alan worked for 25 years in software engineering, primarily in the U.S. financial and insurance industry. He led global engineering teams across many technology stacks, delivering digital transformation by enabling a change in engineering culture to embrace modern engineering practices.

Vanda Mesnjak Barsic is a Sustainable Business Strategy Manager at Ernst & Young, where she specializes in assisting clients in comprehending, quantifying, and conveying their sustainability endeavors and enduring value to stakeholders. With expertise in market analysis, business planning, and project management, she collaborates closely with senior leadership to formulate and implement business strategies, track industry developments, and facilitate new product innovations. Vanda is adept at driving cost efficiencies and refining business operations to enhance productivity. Her overarching objective is to synchronize business strategies with organizational goals while offering valuable insights into strategic direction.

With significant public and private sector experience, Dr Brown is responsible for the strategic development and operational management of research, development and innovation across all campuses of TUS, Ireland’s first cross-regional Technological University.  He leads the RDI team that is focused on addressing the needs of internal and external stakeholders – academic, industry and community through collaborative projects that result in clear social, cultural, economic and  environmental impact regionally, nationally and internationally. Sustained growth of funding, postgraduate and postdoctoral research across the RDI continuum is key.  Enterprise engagement and support including spin-outs and spin-ins along with delivering for all stakeholders through impactful projects and meaningful applied research output is the priority. 

Dr Brown also represents TUS on a number of external boards and is the TUS lead for the European Universities Alliance: RUN-EU (Regional University Network – European University). Dr Brown chairs the THEA  (Technological Higher Education Association) RDIE Committee  and is the national THEA board representative on EURASHE (European Association of Institutions in Higher Education).

Dr Brown holds a Bachelors and Masters Degree from the University of Limerick and a PhD from Trinity College Dublin focused on eLearning in the Workplace in the Enterprise Performance Optimisation Domain of Continuous Improvement – Lean and Six Sigma.

Veronica Mariti Sesoko

Innovation Analyst

Veronica Mariti Sesoko has been working with Innovation for the past 6 years. She is currently working for the Utilities company Uisce Éireann (formerly Irish Water) in the Innovation & Sustainability unit. Previously, she worked in the private sector multinational consulting company Accenture The Dock, their global flagship R&D hub; and for Dublin City Council, in Smart Cities / Smart Dublin section. Her academic background is in Civil Engineering, with a master’s degree from TCD in Transportation and undertaking a Postgraduate in Climate Entrepreneurship and has taught the Smart City & Creativity module for 3rd level education, in Brazil and more in Ireland as a guest lecturer. Veronica works on building a culture of innovation via stakeholder engagement and collaboration across multiple sectors, doing programme and project management, analysing performance, and developing strategies and plans. Veronica has experience in topics such as drones (UAV), Digital Twin, Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) and more, which have been included in Governmental Action Plans or received international awards and recognition.