Laura Hegarty

Background

About Laura Hegarty

Laura is a lecturer in Digital and Technology in the School of Business at ATU Galway with a special interest in Universal Design for Learning (UDL), Digital Transformation and Digital Media Technologies. Laura lectures at undergraduate, postgraduate, and executive levels. Laura teaches and supervises on the MSc. in Digital Media and Marketing in ATU. Laura holds substantial experience having worked in IT industry and higher education over the past 21 years. Laura received the “Presidents Award for Teaching Excellence” in 2020. The President's Award for Teaching Excellence recognises and celebrates teaching of a particularly high standard. The award recognises that excellence in teaching can arise in a wide variety of ways. In 2022, Laura was a finalist for itag Excellence Awards for "Digital Woman in Tech Award". Laura has played a formidable role as a digital mentor in ATU Galway's online digital strategy for teaching and learning within the department of Enterprise and Technology. In doing so she has coordinated and led numerous workshops and seminar series promoting and demonstrating the use of contemporary digital technologies in higher education and teaching and learning. In 2020, Laura was a finalist for The John Kelly Award. The John Kelly Awards for Universal Design in Further and Higher Education recognise the innovative practice of teaching staff in further and higher education engaging with the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework to deliver a more inclusive learning experience for their students. The award aims to celebrate and promote the use of UDL in further education and higher education settings. In 2020, Laura received her global recognition and certification from CAST, USA for her knowledge and teaching in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as well as national recognition as a UDL leader and facilitator with AHEAD and UCD. Laura is one of the core founders of Digital West. Digital West was setup in 2018 to create awareness of "Digital" in the West of Ireland linking businesses (in conjunction with ATU Innovation Hubs) and higher education (ATU Mayo and Galway City) to share experiences, knowledge by hosting a yearly event every January to connect and create our communities together. Digital West themes included: Supercharge your Business with AI (2024), Digital Disruption: The Aftershock (2023), Cybersecurity and Trust (2022), Digital Transformation (2021), Remote Working (2020), Design Thinking (2019) and Digital Trends (2018).