Education: Lighting the Spark: Padraig Daly at TEDxUCD

Pádraig Daly is a University College Dublin (UCD) PhD student in the UCD Electricity Research Centre, whose TEDxUCD 2014 talk is entitled 'Education: Lighting the Spark'.

What is the most powerful resource in the classroom? The stacks of text books or the computer or the teacher ?

Pádraig in his TEDxUCD 2014 talk explained why he thinks it is something entirely different, something collective, the diverse talents and dreams of students.

With this in mind Padraig's talks passionately about and the importance of mathematics education for young people and his experiences of working with students at The Think Academy, helping to ignite student engagement, instilling student confidence, and guiding them in the development of problem solving, critical thinking and communication skills.

Pádraig Daly is a UCD PhD student in the UCD Electricity Research Centre, studying electrical engineering with a focus on incorporating wind energy into power systems. He is also a UCD graduate having graduated with a BSc in Engineering and an ME in Energy Systems.

Pádraig is a co-founder of The Think Academy, a summer mathematics programme which inspires confidence, sparks engagement and develops students' understanding in mathematics. He is also involved in the Engineers Ireland STEPS programme promoting science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects in primary and post-primary schools.

He is from Co. Kilkenny, Ireland and particularly likes hurling.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)