IADT Industry Day 2026
IADT Industry Day 2026: CONNECT: Bringing Industry and Academia Together
A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for IADT Industry Day 2026.
Image 1. L–R: Attracta van Rensburg (EisnerAmper Ireland), Rachel Gallagher (IADT Enterprise & Innovation), Dr Tina Kinsella Kinsella (IADT Research), Helen McNulty (Host), David Smith (IADT President), Prof. Elena Matsa (NIBRT), Dr Barry Fennell (Enterprise Ireland), Dr Audrey Stenson Ph.D. (IADT), Dr Rachel Clarke (IADT Elevate).
This year’s theme, CONNECT, explored the increasingly important role that industry-academic collaboration plays in helping organisations respond to technological change, emerging skills needs, and new opportunities for innovation.
The event celebrated a broad range of IADT’s collaborative partnerships and showcased examples of collaboration spanning sectors as diverse as financial services, life sciences, creative technology, screen industries, and research commercialisation.
Across the discussions, a common theme emerged: innovation increasingly happens when different forms of expertise, disciplines and sectors come together to address shared challenges.
Thank you to our speakers, panellists, partners, staff, students and attendees whose contributions made the event such an engaging and thought-provoking exploration of collaboration and innovation. We look forward to building on the conversations, connections and opportunities that emerged throughout the day.
The TU RISE IADT Elevate Programme was delighted to sponsor this year’s event. The TU RISE Elevate Programme is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union through the ERDF Southern, Eastern & Midland Regional Programme 2021–27.
PhD candidate Eilís N. explores loneliness, isolation and our growing dependence on digital spaces in a newly published article examining Bo Burnham’s *Inside* (2021), featured in the *Irish Screen Studies Journal* special issue, *Cinema and Loneliness*.
Building Entrepreneurial Skills Through The IADT Student Accelerator Programme
The TU RISE IADT Elevate Programme hosted an XR Design Sprint bringing together enterprises and creative practitioners to explore real-world applications of immersive technologies through collaborative, hands-on innovation. Over five days, participants developed early-stage concepts across education, culture and creative industries, supported by design thinking and industry expertise.