The Inaugural Lecture of Professor Na Fu

Title: Shaping the Future of Work: People, Technology, and Responsible Leadership

Abstract

The future of work is being reshaped by artificial intelligence (AI), digital technologies, demographic change, and shifting societal expectations. These transformations are not only technological or economic; they raise fundamental questions about how work is organised, how people develop skills, how organisations are managed, and what responsible leadership means in contemporary and future society.

This inaugural lecture reflects on an intellectual journey exploring the relationships between people, technology, and organisations over the past two decades, spanning research in strategic human resource management, organisational paradox, digitalisation, and more recent work on AI and human-tech skill complementarity. Drawing on research and collaborative projects across industry, healthcare, and European research programmes, the lecture argues that the central challenge facing organisations today is not simply technology adoption, but the integration of technological and human capabilities in ways that are productive, sustainable, and socially responsible.

Looking forward, the lecture positions responsible leadership at the centre of shaping the future of work. It outlines an agenda for research, education, and practice focused on designing work, developing human and organisational capabilities, and ensuring that technological progress contributes not only to productivity and innovation, but also to meaningful work, inclusive organisations, and sustainable societies.

About Professor Na Fu

Professor Na Fu is Professor of Responsible Leadership and Fellow at Trinity College Dublin, and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). Her work focuses on the future of work and examines how people, technology, and organisations evolve together in times of technological and societal change. Over the past two decades, her research has explored strategic human resource management, organisational paradox, digitalisation, and artificial intelligence, with a strong emphasis on addressing real organisational and societal challenges.

Professor Fu’s research has been published in leading international journals such as the Journal of Management, Human Resource Management, Human Resource Management Journal, Human Relations, Journal of Business Ethics, and the International Journal of Human Resource Management. She has secured over €11 million in competitive research funding and leads and contributes to several European research projects on advanced digital skills, AI adoption, and the digitalisation of work, including LEADS, LEADSx2030, TechConnect, and WOTAM. As Founder and Director of the Trinity AI XR Hub, she is transforming education through innovative and immersive approaches that develop leadership, advanced digital skills, and human–tech skill complementarity for the future of work.

Professor Fu has established and leads a global academic–industry network across Europe, the United States, Australia, Asia, and the United Arab Emirates, contributing to interdisciplinary research, leadership development, and international collaboration. Her work is driven by a deep commitment to shaping the future of work in ways that are productive, inclusive, and socially responsible, and to developing responsible leadership for a technological and changing world.

About the School of Business

Trinity Business School, founded in 1925 and recently celebrating its centenary, is a globally recognised, triple-accredited institution (EQUIS, AACSB and AMBA). Guided by its mission to Transform Business for Good, the School advances responsible leadership through research-led education, strong industry engagement, and a global outlook.

Its diverse faculty comprises both leading academics and experienced industry practitioners, internationally recognised for their research and thought leadership across a broad range of disciplines, with a shared commitment to contributing positively to business and society.

The School’s research strengths span areas including humane business, corporate social responsibility, governance and business ethics, entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship, marketing and consumer behaviour, artificial intelligence, finance and accounting, work and people, strategy and organisational change, international business, and innovation and systems.

Trinity Business School is home to two centres of excellence: the Trinity Centre for Social Innovation and the Trinity Centre for Digital Business. The School also hosts the Trinity AI XR Hub, which advances the responsible application of artificial intelligence and extended reality in education, business, and research, and the Trinity Corporate Governance Lab, which delivers collaborative research and innovation in corporate governance and business ethics.

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Host or Publisher Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences