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Research

Stay ahead of your competition with access to our leading research on the transformative power of learning. Our team uses the latest applied research, innovative practices and cutting-edge technologies to solve complex challenges facing the sector.

Our research agenda is influenced by industry partners grappling with real-life problems.

Our projects

Learnovate members benefit from exclusive access to our extensive research programme, which is shaped by our world-class industry and research partners. Below is a sample of recent Learnovate projects.

Moving Towards More Authentic Learning Experiences

Technology enables authentic learning experiences, but this research focuses on applying it innovatively to align with and enhance educational best practices, ensuring its use truly supports effective learning.

How will Generative AI transform the way teachers plan and conduct assessments?

This research work uses a case study with an eye on this still prominent problem. The question is now how to interrogate the current new technology, Generative AI, into classroom practices and see the opportunities and challenges that it presents.

AgileDT – Skills for the labour market

Agile DT seeks to adapt VET programmes to future labour market needs by changing the way that students and teachers collaborate in agile teams.

ALMANAC

ALMANAC is a multimodal software framework designed to provide learners with an engaging and intuitive learning experience incorporating a rich blend of multimedia including textual content, images, videos and animations. ALMANAC provides the learner with access to tailored learning experiences that are dynamically generated based on the learner’s immediate learning needs.

ALMANAC for Schools

ALMANAC for Schools is a multimodal adaptive learning framework designed to provide learners with an engaging and intuitive learning experience incorporating a rich blend of multimedia including textual content, images, videos and animations.

App Store Analytics

This reports provides an analysis of educational apps available in Apple’s App Store over a five-year span including pricing, age ratings, languages and publisher information.

Assess21C

The assessment of 21st Century (transversal) skills is an active area of research at Learnovate with several past projects investigating the use of self assessment (Skilltrack, Assessmake21) and peer assessment (Feedback, DEVELOP) in schools, higher education and corporate learning environments. More recently we have had the opportunity to take an initial look at the challenges faced in higher and further education and conceptualise potential solutions that address the specific needs of this sector.

ASSESSMAKE21

As the maker movement is increasingly adopted into K-12 schools and nonformal makerspaces, students have more opportunities to generate unique, personalized projects and artifacts.

Automating the Tagging of Content for Reuse

This report was created to help EdTech SMEs in Ireland understand the capabilities of off-the-shelf machine learning tools as machine learning becomes an increasingly important technology. We developed a prototype to automate the tagging of learning content.

Business Value of L&D (Pulse)

At a workshop on the most pressing challenges for Learning and Development professionals, the issue of most concern was the need for corporate Learning and Development (L&D) to show business value to senior leadership and the participants’ current lack of insight into how to achieve this goal.

Connecting Teachers & Open Education Resources (OER)

The experience of the sudden shift to online, remote or hybrid education in K-12 as a result of the pandemic, led Gates Ventures to ask what the most effective ways to engage teachers with online Communities of Practice (CoP) are.

Corporate Chatbot

Access to the right information at the right time can be the key to getting the job done effectively and efficiently. This has never been more true than in our modern world where the powerful systems that we work with are getting ever more complex whether they’re business processes, software or devices.

DIALS

The DIALS (Democratic Inclusive & Authentic Assessment for Learning & Sustainability) research has begun with a focus on authentic assessment in K-12 schools; how the process can provide an engaging experience for both students and teachers, and can harness wellbeing and a love of learning.

DEVELOP

Led by Learnovate at Trinity College Dublin, DEVELOP aims to deliver an adaptive learning environment that dynamically tailors the exploration, comprehension, and planning of learning opportunities and career paths in medium and large companies.

Digital Games in Early Childhood Report

This report explores the rapidly expanding market of early childhood digital game-based learning and investigates the effectiveness of games published for children aged three to six.

DILECTINGS

The Erasmus+ project “DIgital Literature Educational Competences for Teachers: Intercultural iNclusive Good-practices for Second-language learning” aims to promote and scale-up Digital Literature Literacy (DLL) and Literature Digital Reading (LDR) Skills.

ECDA (European Chips Diversity Alliance)

The European Chips Diversity Alliance (ECDA) is an innovative and robust partnership between academia and industry in the microelectronics sector to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Exploring Generative AI and the future of Learning Technology

The potential for Artificial Intelligence (AI) to have a significant impact has been a topic of discussion for many years. Generally, the focus tended to be on the automation of repetitive or manual tasks where a machine could be ‘trained’ to replicate the performance of a human.

Feedback

Our mobile peer feedback app offers an agile peer feedback process that allows for continuous formative peer assessment of transversal competencies based on near to real time on-the- job performance.

Generative AI and Metacognition: Using AI to help learners become better learners

This report explores how Generative AI (GenAI) could be used to foster learner metacognition, which is the ability to reflect upon and regulate one’s own thinking.

Generative AI for Authentic Point-of-Need Learning

As GenAI continues to be developed it is worth considering what the real benefits are to the learner and user experience. In this short article, we will explore the use of point-of-need learning and ask how this learning experience could be made more authentic, reliable and valuable to the learner?

iLearn

iLearn is an immersive learning environment designed to develop and assess problem solving and collaboration skills through task-based learning. Problem solving and collaboration have been identified as key 21st century workforce skills but there is uncertainty amongst trainers and educators as to how to leverage technology to develop and assess these complex skills.

Machine Learning for Corporate Learning and Performance

This report investigates applying machine learning to HR and LMS data to help solves challenges in data analytics and reporting, personalisation and recommendation, chatbots and virtual assistants, assessment and feedback.

Learning from the Extremes

Learning from the Extremes will address inequalities of access to digital education by enhancing inclusion.

Gaming for Peace (GAP)

Led by Trinity College Dublin, in response to identified training needs, to develop an innovative base curriculum and tool for delivery and further development of that base curriculum through the design and play of a multiple player online role-playing game.

View all of our projects

Research areas

Learn more
Accelerated Digital Transformation
21st Century Skills
Personal Learning
The Future of Work and Learning

Success Stories

Our success stories show how our expertise in learning, technology and innovation has helped companies succeed.

  • 10 Feb 2025
Zelfio

Zelfio and Learnovate have been working together since September 2021 exploring ways to enhance Zelfio’s digital coaching app.

  • 10 Feb 2025
Wolf Academy

Wolf Academy has a range of courses aimed at young people, from mental health awareness and ‘managing your mind’ to performance improvement, to help them to discover and create who they are. Learnovate worked with the personas of the Wolf Academy learners to identify how to motivate and engage them on their learning journey.

  • 10 Feb 2025
Searsol

The Searsol project began with an appraisal of the learning platform they were using however it has quickly grown into an ongoing partnership where Learnovate have accompanied Searsol through an accelerated digital transformation process.

  • 10 Feb 2025
Premier TEFL

For a number of years, Premier TEFL have been delivering a certified Level 5 course, however they wished to review this learning programme to ensure it was delivering the best possible experience for their students.

  • 10 Feb 2025
Gates Ventures

The OER Project has developed a number of full courses for use in schools and looked to enable teachers in the successful delivery and tools to improve student outcomes.

  • 20 Jan 2025
Future Learning

Future Learning sought research services from the Learnovate Centre in Trinity College Dublin to identify, create and validate a practical framework for the effective assessment of 21st century skills development in language learners.

View all success stories

Our researchers

Ilse White

Senior Learning Researcher

Bilal Ahmad

Technology Lead

Daniel Fernandez

Web Developer

Birva Mehta

UX/UI Specialist
View all researchers

Research Working Groups

Research Working Groups are a group of individuals who collaborate to shape the research projects that we undertake at Learnovate.

Each group comprises individuals from member organisations and Learnovate researchers. This ensures our research solves real-world challenges that we know organisations are currently facing.

More about Research Working Groups