Bridget Carroll

Biography

Bridget Carroll is a lecturer in the Department of Food Business & Development and a researcher in the Centre for Co-operative Studies. She obtained a BA in Public Administration from University of Limerick while her postgraduate qualifications include an MSc in Co-operative Organisation and a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching & Learning in Higher Education, both from UCC. Bridget acted as Academic Manager for distance education for several years during the development and delivery of the first degree programme delivered entirely by distance learning in UCC (the BSc Mutual & Credit Union Business). She is currently reading for a doctorate in co-operative organisation in the University of Stirling, Scotland. Bridget contributes to a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes as well as being particularly involved in developing and delivering flexible learning programmes for adult practitioners in co-operatives, credit unions and the broader third sector. She was the founding Academic Programme Director for the undergraduate components of “Pathways”, a suite of accredited education programmes for credit union officers across Ireland. Pathways is an academic-industry partnership between UCC and the Irish League of Credit Unions. It consists of six qualifications across certificate, diploma, degree and masters level. Bridget has been involved in a number of funded research projects in the area of distance, blended and e- learning. Bridget has long been involved in outreach activities in her capacity as member of the Centre for Co-operative Studies and has addressed many groups on the topic of co-operative development. She is a member of the Society for Co-operative Studies in Ireland (SCSI) and a former supervisor of a credit union.

Research Interest

Her research to date has focussed on organisational, legislative and regulatory aspects of co-operatives. My MSc research focussed on worker co-operatives and led to the development of a postgraduate module on this topic. Recent research has expanded this work to explore the role of employee owned business in succession issues that emerge in family businesses. My doctoral research seeks to apply a network governance perspective to co-operative development. Other recent work includes an analysis of co-operative legislation, regulation and public policy in Ireland. I am an associate member of SGECOL, a study group on European co-operative law based at EURICSE, University of Trento. I have an ongoing interest in methodologies and pedagogies of blended, on-line and distance learning. I've been involved in a number of funded EU research projects in this area.