News | Owen White eyes new ventures – Peter Hamilton appointed Interim Director

Following two years of significant growth, Owen White, Director of The Learnovate Centre in Trinity College Dublin (pictured above), has decided to move on. In a carefully-managed handover process, Peter Hamilton has been appointed as Interim Centre Director. The Centre Steering Committee will initiate the selection process for a permanent director.

Speaking on behalf of the Centre Steering Committee, Chair Jonny Parkes said ‘We are fortunate to have a leader of Peter’s calibre stepping into this interim role to help us manage this positive transition. As a member of the Centre Steering Committee for six years, Peter brings strong continuity to this role. His stewardship will ensure Learnovate builds on the Centre’s impressive success under Owen White’s leadership and continues to support Irish companies using technology in learning.’

Learnovate doubled the number of companies the Centre supported in 2018 – companies that have created hundreds of new jobs in the Irish economy. Based in Trinity College Dublin, Learnovate is funded by Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland to help companies with learning, technology, user experience, and innovation to ensure business success.

Peter Hamilton | Interim Centre Director

With involvement in the Centre since its inception, Peter is committed to the Centre’s vision to transform learners’ lives in work, school, university and at home. A technology evangelist with 30+ years’ experience in the IT sector including 25 years at Intel in Ireland and the US, Peter said, ‘Technology’s role in amplifying learning has become increasingly important and increasingly powerful. I am excited to lead the Centre as Interim Director inspiring Irish companies to embrace creativity and innovation in learning. I look forward to meeting our members, clients and research partners and working together to create new jobs in Ireland’s flourishing learning technology sector.’

Since joining Learnovate in 2017, Owen led a transformation of the Centre to align the Centre’s research and development activities with the needs of Irish companies developing or using technology in learning. Owen and the team have worked closely with Peter and the Centre Steering Committee in shaping the future direction of the Centre. Owen said, ‘Learnovate is playing a key role in the learning technologies sector in Ireland bringing research from universities to industry and helping companies develop sustainable global learning solutions. I’m delighted Peter will continue this work furthering the impact of Learnovate as one of the leading research centres in learning technologies in Europe.’ From April, Owen will return to his roots as an entrepreneur with several new projects.

To find out more about Learnovate’s research and activities, sign up to receive emails at www.learnovatecentre.org/subscribe or follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn