A groundbreaking initiative is underway at Trinity College Dublin, where a team of researchers has successfully secured €500,000 in funding to develop Diotima, an innovative artificial intelligence (AI) platform. This new tool is set to revolutionise how teachers create assessments and provide personalised feedback to students, ultimately aiming to improve learning outcomes and ease the workload for educators.
The substantial funding was granted under Enterprise Ireland’s Commercialisation Fund, a scheme specifically designed to help third-level researchers transform their academic work into practical, market-ready products, services, and new businesses. This investment highlights the potential of Diotima to make a significant impact in the education sector.
Diotima is being developed with a core focus on using AI responsibly to enhance teaching practices. By providing learners with timely and effective feedback, the platform is expected to lead to more frequent and better-quality assessments, directly contributing to improved student learning. For teachers, the promise is a more manageable workload, freeing them to focus on core teaching activities.
The project is strongly supported by The Learnovate Centre, a leading global research and innovation hub for learning technology, based at Trinity College Dublin. Diotima commenced its partnership with Learnovate in February this year and is on track to spin out as an independent company in 2026.
The vision for Diotima was conceived by its co-founders, Siobhan Ryan and Jonathan Dempsey. Siobhan Ryan, who serves as Diotima’s Learning Lead, brings a unique perspective to the project. After a twelve-year career in the brewing industry with Diageo, she retrained as a secondary school teacher. Her invaluable experience in the classroom highlighted the critical need for a supportive platform that could leverage AI to assist teachers in a safe, transparent, and empowering manner. Jonathan Dempsey, the Commercial Lead at Diotima, is an accomplished EdTech professional with extensive experience in both start-up and corporate environments. His background includes serving as CEO of the Enterprise Ireland-backed EdTech firm Digitary, which is now part of the multinational Instructure Inc., and holding leadership roles at Ellucian and TCS, demonstrating his expertise in bringing education technologies to market. The project also benefits from the academic leadership of Associate Professor Ann Devitt, Head of the Trinity School of Education, and Carl Vogel, Professor of Computational Linguistics and Director of the Trinity Centre for Computing and Language Studies, who are serving as co-principal investigators.
Since receiving the funding in February, the Diotima team has wasted no time. They have established an education advisory group, comprising representatives from post-primary and professional education organisations, to ensure the platform meets real-world needs. The Enterprise Ireland funding has also facilitated the hiring of two post-doctoral researchers, who are now leading the crucial AI research ahead of the planned launch of an initial version of the platform in September 2025. Diotima aims to conduct two major trials of the platform as they actively seek further investment.
Nessa McEniff, Director of The Learnovate Centre, expressed her enthusiasm for the collaboration: “We are delighted to have collaborated with the Diotima team to secure €500,000 investment from Enterprise Ireland’s Commercialisation Fund. Diotima promises to develop into a revolutionary platform for learners in secondary schools and professional education organisations, delivering formative feedback and better outcomes overall. We look forward to supporting them further as they continue to develop the platform in the months ahead.”
Marina Donohoe, Head of Research, Innovation and Infrastructure at Enterprise Ireland, also shared her positive outlook: "Enterprise Ireland is delighted to support Diotima under the Commercialisation Fund. We look forward to seeing them continue in their mission to transform teaching practice through AI-enabled assessment and feedback. We believe that the combination of excellence in AI and in education from Trinity College, expertise in education technology from the Learnovate Centre and focus on compliance with the EU AI Act and other regulations will see the Diotima team make a global impact."
Co-founder Siobhan Ryan spoke about the immediate impact of the funding: “We’re delighted to have received such a significant award from the Enterprise Ireland Commercialisation Fund. The investment is already having a positive effect, allowing us to hire two post-doctoral researchers in AI whose work has been vital to progressing the platform towards the first testing phase. We’re extremely grateful to Learnovate for helping us gain access to the funding from Enterprise Ireland, as well as their assistance in hiring and technical expertise. Our partnership with Learnovate has exceeded our expectations and we look forward to building on that relationship as we strive towards spinning out in 2026.”
Jonathan Dempsey elaborated on the insights gained from their preliminary studies: “We did a detailed feasibility study with teachers and with education organisations for the funding application that showed that educators agree unanimously that individualised feedback for learners is powerful, but difficult for teachers, particularly with large classes. It also showed that there is a massive appetite to use AI to help, but also concerns about the reliability of feedback and about compliance with the EU AI Act. Diotima is being built to deliver reliable feedback with AI and is engineered for compliance from the start.” This commitment to both effectiveness and regulatory adherence underscores Diotima’s responsible approach to integrating AI into education.
The photograph shows Learnovate Centre Director Nessa McEniff alongside Diotima Commercial Lead and co-founder Jonathan Dempsey, and Diotima Learning Lead and co-founder Siobhan Ryan, symbolising the collaborative spirit driving this exciting new venture.