Academic biography

Dr. Christine O’Kelly is a recognised changemaker advancing how higher education responds to longer lives, demographic change, and intergenerational opportunity. As Director of the Age-Friendly University (AFU) Unit at Dublin City University (DCU), she leads one of the most established institutional models of age-inclusive practice, engaging over 2,500 older adults annually in education, research, cultural engagement, wellness, sport, and social participation.

She has played a pivotal role in the development and global expansion of the AFU Global Network (AFUGN), supporting higher education institutions worldwide to embed age inclusivity across teaching, research, innovation, and civic engagement. Through her leadership, universities across Europe, Asia, the Americas, and beyond have joined the network, adopting a framework that positions higher education as a lifelong public good rather than a life-stage service.

Dr. O’Kelly works at the intersection of research, policy, and institutional transformation. Her expertise supports universities to translate age-friendly principles into practice, reshaping systems, cultures, and participation pathways to ensure meaningful engagement across generations.

A committed ageism champion, she promotes a shift from deficit-based narratives of ageing towards recognising capability, contribution, and lived experience as societal assets. She welcomes engagement with institutions interested in joining the AFU Global Network and encourages collaboration in age-related research, intergenerational learning, lifelong learning, and initiatives that challenge ageism.

Under her leadership, DCU became the first university in Ireland to receive Erasmus+ Adult Education Accreditation, strengthening international collaboration and mobility in later-life learning and intergenerational practice.

Her research focuses on how universities can evolve to become inclusive across the life course, exploring leadership approaches, structural innovation, and partnership models that support participation beyond traditional student populations.

Through her work at DCU and internationally, Dr. O’Kelly continues to support universities in shaping a future-facing higher education sector that is inclusive, participatory, and responsive to societies shaped by longevity.