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Patrick Wall

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Dr Patrick Wall

 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5859-4425

Accepting PhD Students

PhD projects

Sustainability, AI ethics, digital innovation, global development

Personal profile

Professional Information

I am a senior academic and researcher with extensive research, teaching, and leadership experience in Irish and international higher education.  My current post is as a Lecturer in the School of Business Technology, Retail, and Supply Chain within the Faculty of Business at TU Dublin.  I held the position of Faculty Head of Research & Innovation between December 2024 and September 2025.  

I am Director of the Research Centre for Sustainable Technology and Digital Innovation (STaDIa), and a member of the TU Dublin Research and Innovation Academy.  I also hold Adjunct Professor positions with Trinity College Dublin and the Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur (IITJ).

I hold Funded Investigator status with Research Ireland, which formally recognises my role as an independent researcher with responsibility for leading defined research strands within large, externally funded programmes (such as the ADAPT Centre).  This status demonstrates my capacity to manage research teams and budgets, supervise postgraduate researchers, and contribute strategically to national and international collaborations.  

I have won competitive funding of over €1.9 million for TU Dublin and Trinity College Dublin.  This includes 3 MSCA Senior Research Fellows who work under my supervision.  I am currently Principle Investigator for the following funded projects:

•  GETM4 - Horizons Europe 
•  Technology in my Life I & Il - SFI Discover 
•  Technology for the Sustainable Development Goals - Higher Education Authority

 

Research Interests

My research explores the intersection of artificial intelligence, ethics, and sustainability, focusing on how digital technologies are designed, governed, and deployed in both the Global North and the Global South.  I investigate the ethical, social, and political implications of using AI to address sustainability challenges, ensuring interventions advance equity, inclusion, and contextual sensitivity rather than reinforce structural inequalities.
 
I gave a TEDx talk in Karolinska, Sweden, in March 2024.  The talk was titled “Innovation Unleashed: Crafting a Brighter Future for the Global South”, where I explored how inclusive, context-sensitive innovation can address global challenges.  I emphasised the importance of equity, sustainability, and local participation in shaping technological futures.  I have also given multiple other keynote talks at national and international universities and events, including for the EUt+ European University of Technology Innovation Talks #5 – "Digital Innovation and the Potential of AI for Sustainability" (2025), and the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs Global Island Policy Series – "Creating ‘A Better World’ with Ethical AI: In Conversation with Dr PJ Wall" (2024). 
 
As Director of the Centre for Sustainable Technology and Digital Innovation (STaDIa) at TU Dublin, I lead a research agenda that combines academic rigour with real-world impact, fostering transdisciplinary collaborations with global partners.  
 
I currently supervise 3 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions MSCA Senior Postdoctoral Fellows and 7 PhD candidates working on topics such as AI ethics, digital health, and sustainability-driven innovation.  My work is grounded in applied research, including AI-for-development (AI4D) projects in Uganda, Ethiopia, and India, co-designed with local stakeholders, NGOs, and universities.  These initiatives apply AI-enabled systems to strengthen agricultural resilience, public health, and education, producing solutions that are socio-culturally appropriate, locally driven, and globally relevant.
 
My PhD research examined mobile and digital health (mHealth) interventions in Sierra Leone, using critical realist methods to uncover the political, ethical, and cultural dynamics of technology deployment in low-resource and post-conflict settings. This continues to shape my engagement with digital health, data justice, user agency, and the limits of techno-solutionism.
 
Across all projects, I work to advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly:
•  SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being)
•  SDG 4 (Quality Education)
•  SDG 5 (Gender Equality)
•  SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation)
•  SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities)
•  SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production)
•  SDG 13 (Climate Action)
One main focus is embedding SDG 17 (Partnerships) through collaboration, policy engagement, and capacity-building.
 
My overarching aim is to produce research that is academically rigorous, ethically grounded, and socially meaningful, with a clear focus on impact and which contributes to digital transformation for good.
 

Education/Academic qualification

PhD, PhD Information Systems & Computer Science, The Provost, Fellows, Foundation Scholars & The Other Members Of Board, Of The College Of The Holy & Undivided Trinity Of Queen Elizabeth Near Dublin

Master, MBS Electronic Commerce, UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School

External positions

Adjunct Professor, Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur

Adjunct Professor, The Provost, Fellows, Foundation Scholars & The Other Members Of Board, Of The College Of The Holy & Undivided Trinity Of Queen Elizabeth Near Dublin

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