Dundalk IT's Dr. Ronan Bree appointed to Europe’s digital learning leadership board

Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) has announced that Dr. Ronan Bree has been appointed to the Management Board of EDEN Digital Learning Europe – Europe’s leading network for advancing digital education. 

Senior Lecturer in Education Development and Digital Practice in the Centre of Excellence for Learning and Teaching, Ronan has played a transformative role in enhancing digital teaching and learning in recent years. 

This includes serving as an Education Developer with the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching & Learning in Higher Education, where he worked on the design and development of the National Resource Hub for open educational resources. 

More recently, Ronan was DkIT’s Institute Lead for the N-TUTORR project – a €40m initiative which sought to empower learners, develop staff capabilities, and embed digital ecosystems to transform learning across Ireland’s Technological Higher Education sector.

EDEN Digital Learning Europe is an international educational association and not-for-profit organisation focused on the development and exchange of research, policy and practice in open, distance, and digital education. 

As a professional community for learning, EDEN fosters knowledge exchange and enhances understanding among professionals in these fields, while promoting best practices and policies throughout Europe and beyond. 

As part of his new role, Ronan attended EDEN’s Annual Conference, which included a role as a panel member in the event’s PhD Symposium – a supportive platform for those completing PhD programmes in this field.

 This year’s conference focused on “Shaping the Future of Education in the Age of AI: Empowering Inclusion, Innovation and Ethical Growth”. The conference welcomed over 300 delegates to the University of Bologna where they collectively explored the transformative potential of generative AI in education. 

Topics included personalised learning, micro-credentials, global learning networks, AI literacy, and the ethical implications of AI in teaching, learning and assessment. 

The conference also explored shaping digital and AI-driven education policy across Europe, with a strong emphasis on inclusion, societal well-being, and upskilling for the future of work.

Speaking about his new appointment, Ronan said: “It is a great privilege to join the EDEN Management Board and I look forward to contributing to the strategic dialogue on the future of digital learning across Europe. As an educational community, we stand at a pivotal moment where AI has the potential to redefine how we teach, assess, and support our students. Following on from the conference, I’m excited to contribute to the conversation on harnessing AI responsibly and creatively, ensuring that educational innovation remains grounded in equity, quality, and human-centred values”.

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DkIT’s Head of Learning and Teaching, Dr. Gerry Gallagher added: “We are delighted to congratulate Ronan on his appointment to this very prestigious role on the Management Board of EDEN Digital Learning Europe.  Over a period of almost 35 years, EDEN has developed as a network which seeks to lead in the advancement of digital education in Europe.  

“Ronan’s position on its Management Board means that DkIT will be able to contribute to ongoing its dialogue on the integration of educational technology into learning and teaching, while being able to capitalise on valuable insights and support from our European colleagues.  This will be particularly important as all our institutions grapple with the possibilities and implications of AI in higher education“.