Sara Kennedy

Dr. Sara Kennedy serves as Head of the Department of Nursing and Health Care at South East Technological University (SETU), leveraging extensive clinical experience as a General and Children's nurse to advance academic and research initiatives. She actively mentors PhD students and maintains international research collaborations across Europe and America.

Her educational credentials include:

• PhD in Empowerment of Nursing Students in Clinical Practice (University of Salford, 2016)
• Masters in Advancing Healthcare (University of Manchester, 2010)
• Bachelors Degree (Trinity College Dublin, 2000)

Dr. Kennedy's research examines student empowerment dynamics in clinical environments, healthcare leadership frameworks, and equity-focused care models for marginalized populations. Her work integrates UN Sustainable Development Goals through educational innovation and policy-relevant scholarship, with recent emphasis on pandemic-era adaptations in nursing pedagogy and technology-enhanced clinical training methodologies.

Analysis of her 2021-2025 publications reveals consistent focus on transforming nursing education through blended learning approaches, international comparative studies, and technological interventions. Key thematic threads include pandemic resilience in clinical training, XR applications for neurodiverse pediatric populations, and ethical frameworks for geriatric care responsibility allocation.

Dr. Kennedy currently supervises PhD candidates and leads curriculum development for Management and Leadership programs, Summer Schools, and an International MSc. Her externally funded projects facilitate cross-border educational partnerships addressing global nursing workforce challenges.

Her research network spans six international institutions, with active collaborations in European pandemic response studies and transatlantic autism intervention research. Current projects include the 2025 European comparative study on post-COVID nursing education and XR motor skills development trials for autistic children.