The Innovative University: How UCD is building the culture and institutional capacity to change

Drawing on UCD Innovation Academy’s work with universities, public bodies and enterprise partners, Eleanor Kelly will share practical insights into fostering innovation within complex public institutions. The conversation will consider the distinctive constraints universities face, from distributed authority and competing stakeholder interests to limited time, risk aversion and institutional silos. It will also explore the relationship between culture and institutional maturity: why creativity programmes alone are not enough, how leaders can empower internal changemakers, and what structures, incentives and resources are needed to turn promising ideas into sustained organisational change.

This Fireside Chat will focus on:

1. How universities can apply the principles of public-sector innovation to their own institutional challenges and ways of working.
2. The role of leadership, collaboration and systems thinking in driving institutional change.
3. Which cultural, leadership and organisational conditions enable academic and professional staff to experiment and implement new ideas.
4. How institutions can move beyond isolated pockets of innovation and develop a more distributed and mature capacity for change.
5. How universities can balance experimentation and psychological safety with accountability, competing priorities and public scrutiny.

Eleanor Kelly is Head of Strategy and Partnerships at UCD Innovation Academy, where she develops partnerships and programmes that build innovation capabilities across higher education, the public sector and industry. Her work includes university–enterprise engagement, public-sector innovation and the development of experiential approaches to creativity, leadership and organisational change. Before joining UCD, Eleanor worked internationally across policy, advocacy and public affairs in the public, private and non-profit sectors, giving her a broad perspective on how complex institutions can mobilise people and partnerships to address societal challenges.

A UIIN Fireside Chat is a 30-minute interview session between a UIIN facilitator and an external industry expert on a high-level topic. Participants will leave with insights and inspiration after hearing the experiences and perspectives of the guest speaker, and have the opportunity to ask questions during the session. Fireside Chats are also recorded for UIIN podcasts and are available after the session.