TEDxQueensUniversityBelfast

Speakers

Speakers may not be confirmed. Check the event website for the latest lineup.

• Aisling Cannon

  Aisling Cannon is currently completing an LLM in International Human Rights Law at Queen's University Belfast. Originally from Donegal, Aisling moved to Belfast in 2022 to study at Queen's and graduated with an LLB in Law in July this year. Interest in law and human rights was sparked at fifteen after reading Malala Yousafzai's biography, inspiring advocacy for change. Aisling co-founded the Walkie Talkie Girlies Society to create a safe space for people to exercise, socialise and get outdoors, serving as Chairperson since its establishment in November 2023. Alongside studies, Aisling has worked at Queen's Students' Union as a receptionist, peer mentored younger law students, and spoken at events on equality and community. Selected to represent Queen's Law School on the Irish Chief Justice Programme, Aisling spent summer working in Dublin for a Central Criminal Court judge. Outside academia, interests include music, sport, coffee with friends, and time back home in Donegal with family.

• Dominic Bryan

  Professor Dominic Bryan is a distinguished anthropologist at Queen's University Belfast, renowned for his work on identity, ritual, and conflict in Northern Ireland. Over three decades, he has explored how symbols, parades, and public rituals shape group identity in contested civic spaces. His research has profoundly impacted public policy, contributing to the establishment of the Parades Commission and as Co-Chair of the Flags, Identity, Culture & Tradition Commission. Bryan's scholarship bridges anthropology, history, law, and conflict studies. His landmark monograph Orange Parades (Pluto Press 2000) remains a foundational text in understanding NI's symbolic landscape. Beyond academia, he engages with communities, policymakers, and media to foster dialogue & peacebuilding, exemplifying how ethnographic research informs real-world change. As mentor & thought leader, Prof Bryan continues shaping political anthropology & remains vital in discussions on identity, memory & reconciliation.

• Emma Humphries

  Emma Humphries completed a PhD in French in 2021 with a COVID viva on the day Joe Biden became US President. Since then, research and teaching positions have been held at Birmingham, Cambridge, Cardiff, and Queen's University Belfast. Now back at Queen's as a Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow, Emma's research explores how we judge the way people speak, write, and sign. From comments about "good grammar" to accent-based assumptions about intelligence or class, language attitudes reveal powerful social biases. Often so entrenched we rarely question them, these beliefs limit social mobility, narrow opportunity, and reinforce inequality for those whose language doesn't fit a "correct" standard. Raising awareness of these barriers is necessary to bringing them down. Emma enjoys engaging with people on their own language, showing how ideas about what is "correct" are a patchwork of historical happenstance, shifting opinions, and social judgements.

• Joe Kennedy III

  Joe Kennedy III is an Honorary Professor at Queen’s University Belfast and a committed public servant who has dedicated his career to advancing social and economic justice. A former U.S. Congressman, Special Envoy, legal aid volunteer, and assistant district attorney. Joe currently serves as President of Citizens Energy; a diversified renewable energy non-profit organisation committed to making clean energy more accessible and affordable. He is also the founder of the Groundwork Project; a political advocacy organisation focused on supporting community organising in historically under-resourced and disenfranchised regions of the United States. From 2022 to 2024, Joe was appointed by President Joe Biden as the U.S. Special Envoy to Northern Ireland for Economic Affairs, a diplomatic role aimed at promoting economic opportunity and sustaining the U.S. commitment to peace, prosperity, and stability in the region.

• Kathy Ruddy

  Dr Kathy Ruddy is a neuroscientist specialising in brain stimulation and Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) to modify neurophysiological function. Graduating with first class honours in Psychology from Queen's University Belfast in 2010, followed by a PhD in Motor Neuroscience in 2014, Kathy worked as a postdoctoral researcher at ETH Zürich for three years. In 2017, work began as a postdoctoral research fellow at Trinity College Dublin, and in 2019 an Emerging Investigator Award from the Health Research Board of Ireland enabled establishment of the Translational Brain Health Lab at Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience. In 2023, Kathy joined Queen's as Senior Lecturer in Psychology. Named Irish Researcher of the Year by the Irish Research Council in 2021, Kathy has won early career awards from the Psychological Society of Ireland and Neuroscience Ireland, and the 2022 Northern Ireland Firmus Energy award for 'Inspirational Woman of the Year' in STEM.

• Kieran David Robertson

  Kieran David Robertson is originally from Manchester, the world's first industrial city. Growing up terrified of insects, everything changed after getting a pet mantis named Ivy who revealed that insects are actually the most interesting group of animals with terrible PR. In 2023, Kieran moved to Belfast for doctoral research exploring insect-derived proteins in livestock diets, improving food security and promoting sustainability. Passionate about entomology and public engagement, Kieran serves as convenor of the Royal Entomological Society Food and Feed Special Interest Group and leads the Insect Welfare Research Society Early Careers Committee. Recently interviewed by BBC, Kieran busted myths about spiders. Through outreach, the aim is to make entomology accessible and inspire others to see insects as co-inhabitants holding secrets to a sustainable future. Outside academia, Kieran loves opera—though cannot hold a note!

• Linda Oyama

  Dr Linda Boniface Oyama is a Senior Lecturer in Microbiomics, Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), and One Health at Queen’s University Belfast. She founded the AMR & One Health Lab in 2022, and in just three years has grown it into a thriving team of doctoral researchers, postdoctoral researchers, and collaborators working across human, animal, and environmental health. As both a researcher and mentor, Linda is passionate about creating a supportive environment for early-career researchers (ECRs) while leading ambitious interdisciplinary projects that drive practical AMR solutions. She also coordinates the UKRI-funded Futures AMR Network, which connects ECRs with researchers, policymakers, and industry partners and empowers them to build collective capacity in tackling antimicrobial resistance. Through her work, she advocates for responsible antimicrobial use, evidence-based policy, and a more connected One Health approach to global health challenges.

• Lorraine Marks

  Lorraine Marks is the Head of Business Support Programmes in Queen’s University Belfast. She has been involved in Knowledge Transfer Partnerships since 1997, helping businesses access the skills and expertise in the University. Under Lorraine’s leadership, Queen’s University has exceeded all other UK knowledge base partners, securing funding for over 400 KTP projects and achieving 25 National KTP Awards. In addition to managing a portfolio of around 30 live KTP projects, Lorraine supports business partners with Innovation Vouchers, the Innovation Boost programme and engages with the Further Education sector via the Connected programme. Lorraine lives just outside Ballymena with her husband, four grown up children and two dogs.

• Niveda Vinay

  Niveda is a curious soul who finds meaning in the spaces where art, design, and memory meet. She has always been drawn to how architecture and music hold stories—how they shape who we are and how we connect. Growing up in Bangalore and now living in Belfast, she is learning to see the world through contrasts: familiarity and distance, tradition and change. Niveda is currently pursuing her master's in Arts Management while working part-time with an arts organisation, where she gets to bridge creativity and community. At heart, she is trying to understand how spaces—and people—carry hope through time

• Orla Smyth

  Orla is a Queen's University Belfast graduate with an LLB, Postgraduate diploma in Criminal Justice Management, and qualification from the Institute of Professional Legal Studies. After practicing as a corporate lawyer for 12 years, she founded Kaffe O in 2014, which has grown to eight units alongside a thriving corporate and event catering operation. Beyond her entrepreneurial success, Orla is deeply committed to community service and governance. She serves as Chairperson of Transplant Sport Northern Ireland and holds directorships with the IFA Stadium Development Company Ltd, Rosario Development Company Ltd, and the World Transplant Games Federation. Through her diverse portfolio, she combines legal expertise, business acumen, and a passion for advancing both sport and transplant awareness across Northern Ireland and internationally.

• Richard Good

  Richard Good has worked for over twenty years in politics, public affairs and public service in Northern Ireland (NI) in roles such as senior staff member of the Alliance Party, Adviser to the Speaker of the NI Assembly, and Special Adviser to Northern Ireland's Minister of Justice. These periods covered many significant stages of the political and peace process and the establishment of power-sharing institutions. These experiences required working across the political spectrum within Northern Ireland and with politicians and officials in Britain and Ireland, developing skills now applied in other settings. Richard currently serves on a Commission established by the Northern Ireland Executive to identify fresh approaches to flags, identity, culture and tradition in a divided community. He is also founder and Director of the Turnaround Project, which encourages enterprises employing people before and after prison, addressing barriers to employment for those returning to the community.

• Richard Miles

  Richard Miles is the Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Queen’s University, Belfast. He was previously Pro-Vice Chancellor (Education and Enterprise,) and Professor of Roman History and Archaeology at the University of Sydney, and before that, taught at the University of Cambridge. Richard is the author of a number of books on the ancient world, and has written and presented documentaries, including 'Carthage, the Roman Holocaust' (ABC), 'Ancient Worlds' (BBC) and 'Archaeology: A Secret History’ (SBS).