In this edition of the podcast, we focus more on the “knowledge transfer” as opposed to the “digital”.

Managing the amount of stress we experience is an important part of anyone’s life, especially in today’s busy world. We employ a multitude of methods to keep our stress levels under control; relaxation techniques, avoiding overcommitment, engaging with nature…..there are endless stress relief techniques available, and a very worthwhile industry supporting the area.

However, what if we told you that stress can have a positive influence on your life? In the same way that our muscles and cardiovascular systems get stronger when we overload them with controlled exercise, the same is the case for the neural pathways in our brains. The science of improving the performance of the brain via using neural pathways more frequently and to a greater degree - i.e. putting the brain under an amount of controlled stress - is known as neuroplasticity.

Patrick Philips is the Career Consultant and Advisor of MBA students and Alumni of Trinity College, Dublin. He is also a published author of several scientific papers on the subject of neuroplastcity. He utilises the science in advising his students, many of whom are top-performing business executives, to help them improve their mental clarity and capacity for critical thinking in high-achieving environments.

When Shane Monahan retired from professional Rugby Union and started @Limor (an abbreviation for “Less is More) several years ago, traditional podcasting was in its early stages and the concept of voice social media was not yet on the radar.

Fast forward to 2024 and there is an emerging trend in everyday use of “social audio”. Platforms such as Limor are providing the tools and technologies which enable short podcasts to be recorded, edited and distributed almost instantaneously. It is much easier and quicker to produce sonic equivalents of Tik-Toks and video shorts, which are the most popular form of online media consumed today, plus the possibilities for voice-activated social audio, especially when overlayed with AI tools, are enormous with universal language translations and voice-activated e-commerce being just two of them.  

Almost half a billion people globally are listening to podcasts today, however this represents less than 10% of all internet users globally, so the potential for growth of the social audio universe is huge and something that we will almost certainly significant increases in over the next 3-5 years. Also, early-adopter businesses are already looking at including social audio in their marketing mix as an innovative way to reach customers with improved immediacy and engagement.

Kevin McDermott started out as a journalist in the 1980’s and rose to the position of Northern Editor of the Irish Mail on Sunday, followed by Group Editor of Gazette Group Newspapers. He moved into the online education, learning and publishing space over a decade ago and has worked extensively in both Europe and the Middle East. 

Digital Learning Management Systems (LMS’s) have been around for several years and are in use in the vast majority of schools and universities today. However as they become more sophisticated and intuitive, their usage in the commercial world to educate and upskill employees in niche fields has become more prevalent versus the traditional classroom-based learning approach. In particular, the ability of LMS’s to utilise interactive tools, gamification and AI to identify additional skills gaps and improve methods of learning has further increased their importance in the overall education landscape. With universities increasingly moving towards resembling commercial businesses via offering more and more courses in exchange for sometimes very high fees, we discuss with Kevin the growing role of LMS’s in both traditional education and workplace upskilling. We also explore how relevant institutions such as universities might be in the future given the increased scope for personalised education versus a growing and more sophisticated array of digital platforms.