Triena Delany, Director of Operations for the Faculty of Education at Mary Immaculate College, has been confirmed as a member of the judging panel for the Education Awards 2027, bringing strategic operations leadership across one of Ireland's largest education faculties to the evaluation of excellence across the Irish education sector.

Delany's role at Mary Immaculate College encompasses the full breadth of faculty operations, spanning strategic planning, governance, accreditation, quality assurance, placements, examinations, postgraduate programmes, and curriculum development.

That scope of responsibility, sustained across a faculty serving students within a wide range of programmes, gives her a command of the operational and governance frameworks that underpin educational excellence in Irish higher education.

Her work requires close collaboration with academic and professional colleagues to ensure high-quality, compliant, and student-centred service delivery, a daily balancing of institutional standards and individual student outcomes that is directly relevant to a programme that recognises achievement across every dimension of the education sector in Ireland.

Moreover, her commitment to building strong teams and ensuring that operational excellence underpins positive student experiences gives her panel contribution a perspective attentive to the human and institutional dimensions of educational achievement alike.

That orientation toward student success and collaborative leadership reflects the values the Education Awards is designed to celebrate across higher education, further education, and professional training.

Delany joins a panel that includes Dr Mary Kelly of Hibernia College, Allison Kenneally of South East Technological University, Rachael Langford of Cardiff Metropolitan University, Paul Mullally of Education Lighthouse, Ciarán Ó Hannracháin of Atlantic Technological University, Martin O'Connell of UCC-Tyndall, Dr Kushan Rathnasekara of the University of Kelaniya, Patrice Twomey of the University of Limerick, and Shauna Whyte of South East Technological University.

Entries for the 2027 cycle are now open, with submissions closing on 18 December 2026. The Education Awards 2027 ceremony will take place on 15 April 2027, with finalists to be announced on 11 February 2027.

For the complete judging panel, category criteria, and past winners, visit the Education Awards website and subscribe to the newsletter for updates and insights.