Keynote speaker

Mac MacLachlan

Picture of MacMacLachlan

Mac MacLachlan is Director of the ALL (Assisting Living & Learning) Institute at Maynooth University, Ireland. Mac has also held visiting professorships at the universities of Stellenbosch, Olomouc and Harvard. He has worked as an academic, clinician, organisational consultant and policy adviser in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America; with government, civil society, corporates and United Nations agencies.   
Mac is currently Research & Innovation Coordinator for WHO’s Global Cooperation on Assistive Technology (GATE) programme; and  Knowledge Management Lead for the United Nations’ Partnership for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD). He is a Fellow of the Psychological Society of Ireland and of the British Psychological Society; and Member of the Royal Irish Academy.  He is the recipient of a number of awards, including the American Psychological Association’s International Humanitarian Award (2014), the Royal Irish Academy’s Gold Medal for Social Science (2017) and the British Psychological Society’s Award for Promoting Equality of Opportunity (2018). He has particular interests in assistive technology research, policy and systems.