Marianne Checkley
CEO, Kinia
Gráinne Flanagan
Head of Communications, Kinia
Improving equity in digital skills education
A year ago, most of them had never heard of a fuel cell. This April, a team from Cherry Orchard Youth Service in Ballyfermot won Ireland’s first ever Hydrogen Grand Prix and secured their place at the world final in Switzerland.
Meanwhile, in Mullingar, Transition Year students from Loreto College won the AI and Machine Learning Award at Creative Technology Week 2026 after designing and delivering an AI programme for first-year students. They moved quickly beyond learning about AI and began guiding others.
In both cases, students were doing more than acquiring technical knowledge. They were solving problems, working together and applying their learning in real-world contexts. They were discovering their strengths and opening new pathways. That distinction matters.
OECD and UNESCO emphasise that, to develop their talents, young people need opportunities to apply knowledge with critical thinking, ethics and responsibility.
Ireland has no shortage of talent; the challenge is ensuring that opportunity is not limited by geography, circumstance or background
Building sustainable communities
This is not an abstract challenge, nor is it one that the education system can solve on its own. Ireland’s ambitions for climate action and digital transformation depend as much on people as on technology.
A successful green and digital transition requires more than technical expertise. It requires collaboration, adaptability and sound judgement. Digital confidence, green literacy and the capacity to keep learning are not school subjects; they are qualities that will underpin strong, sustainable communities.
Innovation starts with opportunity
The importance of these qualities is increasingly clear, and the question is who has the opportunity to develop them? Not every school or community has the same access to resources, industry connections, technology or hands-on learning experiences that allow students to explore, create and lead.
Access opens the door. Opportunity, participation and belonging determine who gets to walk through it. Who gets to experiment? Who gets to create? Who gets to fail safely and try again? Who gets to discover what they are brilliant at?
Ireland has no shortage of talent; the challenge is ensuring that opportunity is not limited by geography, circumstance or background. The stories of building hydrogen-powered cars in Cherry Orchard and teaching AI in Mullingar are not the exception. They are evidence of what becomes possible when young people are trusted with meaningful challenges and when their potential becomes a shared investment in our collective future.
Ní thagann saol gan foghlaim: Learning is Life. It is essential that every young person has opportunities to learn, create and lead; experiences that equip them not only with knowledge, but with the judgement, creativity and confidence to imagine the future they want to see, as well as the ability to build it.
